About Male Infertility

Overview

According to the Mayo Clinic, "An estimated 10 percent to 15 percent of couples are classified as infertile," and male infertility is a factor in approximately half of those cases. Male infertility, or the inability to father a child after a year of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse with an otherwise fertile female partner, may be caused by abnormally shaped or structured sperm, a low or non-existent sperm count or sperm with poor motility.

Causes

Conditions that may cause problems with sperm and lead to male infertility include chromosomal defects, hormone disorders such as low testosterone, undescended testicles (where the testicles do not descend, or do not descend completely, into the scrotum, and are thus subjected to higher temperatures because of proximity to the rest of the body), infections including sexually transmitted diseases like chlamydia, swelling or obstructions in the scrotum or testicles that obstruct the flow of semen, erectile dysfunction and retrograde ejaculation (a condition in which ejaculated semen flows backward in the urethra to the bladder instead of out of the body through the urethral opening in the penis).

Lifestyle

Certain lifestyle factors may have an adverse affect on male fertility. These include intense or prolonged emotional stress; tobacco, alcohol and drug use; deficiencies in some vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C, selenium, zinc and folate; obesity; age; and other medical conditions like cystic fibrosis, cirrhosis, kidney disease and celiac disease (a digestive disorder).

Examination

When infertility is suspected, both the man and the woman are evaluated for possible causes of infertility. Expect to give a detailed medical history including childhood illnesses, allergies, family history, exposure to sexually transmitted diseases, and the frequency and timing of your sexual intercourse. You'll be asked to undergo a physical examination of the scrotum and testes by a urologist. You may also be required to provide a post-ejaculatory urine sample or a semen sample for analysis.

Treatments

Possible treatments for male infertility include surgery to remove obstructions such as a variocele (swelling of a vein in the scrotum); medication or counseling to treat sexual dysfunctions; hormone or medical therapy to adjust hormone levels, and medical reproductive technology such as in vitro fertilization, where a man's sperm are injected directly into his partner's egg in a lab, with the fertilized egg then implanted into the woman's uterus.

Remedies

Steps you may be able to take to combat male fertility, depending on the cause, include: avoiding lifestyle factors that increase the risk of infertility; avoiding activities that excessively heat the testicles such as long, hot showers and time in a hot tub; wearing loose-fitting undershorts; having sex less often, and not using lubricants during sex.

Considerations

Sometimes it's not possible to correct or remedy a case of male infertility. When this happens, you are biologically unable to father a child, and your urologist or fertility specialist may encourage you to consider adoption or the use of a sperm donor as a way of having children.