Male Infertility - How It Can Be Managed?

Male infertility is when the male is not able to get a fertile female pregnant. Though not openly admitted, it is an extremely common condition. For a man, it is highly hurting to the ego when it is identified. Given the discrete nature of the topic, it is difficult both for a man to admit that he could possibly be the reason the couple is not able to conceive. If that happens, the next challenge is to get them to undergo treatment.
With times, things are changing and more men are open to getting tested. The changed lifestyles are also contributing to male infertility, and the incidence has risen by a couple of percentages.

Causes: Male infertility is caused by a variety of issues leading to poor sperm quality and/or quantity, ranging from:

1. Sperm production, which can be reduced in numbers.
2. The quality of the sperm could be poor, with reduced mobility being extremely common. When this happens, they are not able to travel up the uterus and penetrate the egg.
3. Erectile dysfunction, where the erection is too soft or short for penetration into the female
4. Premature ejaculation, where the sperms are released very soon before they can enter the female.
5. In addition, lifestyle causes are another major cause of male infertility. These include smoking, increased stress levels, alcohol abuse, lack of exercise, poor dietary habits, and increased junk food.

Management: Male infertility is not as easily accepted as female fertility, though it is the cause for the couple’s inability to conceive in about 50% of the cases.
Once identified and accepted, treating male infertility is quite easy compared to female infertility. In order of progression, the treatment modes are listed below.

Counseling: In most cases, a sexual counseling session with the couple can help iron out performance anxiety and help build trust and frankness in the relationship. In many couples, this helps in overcoming the problem. Given the discrete nature of the topic, it takes time for a couple to get to know each other. There is also the male performance anxiety which can lead to poor performance. All this needs some time and some external help, which can improve the sexual compatibility and overall relationship.

Hormonal therapy: This is another simple and effective way to manage male infertility. Topical or systemic androgens can help in treating male infertility.

Surgery: In worse cases, where there are blocked sperm tubes, surgery may be required to unblock them.

In vitro fertilization: In couples whom none of the above work, IVF could be used to help in conception.

Male infertility needs to be accepted and then it becomes easier to treat.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!