Male infertility can be difficult and painful for many individuals. If you are having difficulty becoming a father, you are not alone. Alone in United States about 10 to 15% of couples struggle due to fertility challenges. Meaning that the female individual or partner is not able to conceive in spite of unprotected sexual intercourse. Generally, a couple gets concern regarding conceiving when they perform sexual intercourse and simultaneously avoids protection for a long duration. Without any prominent result.
If a couple is struggling to conceive a baby it can be due to various reasons. One of the most prominent reason can be the infertility of one of the individuals. By statistics we can say that there is a 50% chance of the male being infertile as well as 50% chance that the female is infertile. In our patriarchal society male infertility is associated with stress and frustration. There are treatments and procedures that if subjected on proper time may increase the chances of conception. Now let’s find out what are the factors that you should be aware of regarding male infertility and why.
What is male infertility?
In medical terms male infertility is referred to as incapability of a male individual to Impregnate. There are several factors causing the same. Some of them are low sperm production, abnormal sperms, illness, chronic health issues and unhealthy lifestyle choices.
Symptoms you should be aware of!
The most obvious sign is the incapability to conceive a child. Sometimes this condition of infertility can be an affect of underlying health issues. That may result in some additional symptoms, such as
- Erectile dysfunction, difficulty maintaining an erection.
- Tumor growth in testicle.
- Pain in testicle area.
- Gynecomastia, development of feminine characteristics.
- Decreased level of testosterone.
- Recurrent respiratory infections.
- Lower sperm count, specifically lower than 15 million sperm per milliliter of semen.
Male infertility is often accompanied by psychological and emotional imbalance. It is a common belief that in this male dominant society male infertility is considered as a shame. Which as a result induce depression, grief and the feeling of inadequacy?
Clinical diagnosis of male infertility!
For an infertile couple, the problem of infertility is usually due to more than one reason. That’s why it is recommended to perform a full body check-up before reaching to any conclusions. Both the members will likely need to see a doctor. Many of the time male infertility is idiopathic in nature. Which means colours cannot be identified.
The first step is to perform physical exam. Which includes examining your genitals and reviewing your family medical history. They may also consider to ask about your sexual habits.
If The physical exam wont concludes some results. Your healthcare provider can perform a dedicated semen analysis. In which professionals moniters your sperms thoroughly including their shape and movement. Other tests may include the following:
- Sperm DNA assessment
- Semen biochemistry fructose test
- Azoospermia specimen staining
- Kruger’s morphology classification.
- Leukocytospermia Quantitation also known as Endtz test.
- H.O morphology for sperm assessment.
- Sperm antibody tests.
Male infertility treatment may include:
There are many options available to rectify male infertility.
Treatment options for male infertility may include:
Surgeries, that can treat Male fertility include vasectomy reversal. It can also include sperm retrieval surgery. During the reversal of vasectomy surgeon reconnects the path through which sperms reaches the tip of the penis from testis. Similarly, in vasoepididymostomy, we remove the blockage in the pathway of sperm which is known as vas deferens. Sometimes the semen does not contain sperms in those cases sperm retrieval comes in handy. In sperm retrieval specialists take sperms out directly from the testis.
Hormone therapy, hormone treatments and medication that increase the level of hormones main increase the number of sperms produced.
Assisted reproductive technology (ART), In assisted reproductive technology sperms collected from normal individual or from donor individual including surgical extraction. Then these sperms get allowance to move in females genitalia. Sometimes these sperms are useful for in-vitro fertilization or intracytoplasmic sperm injection.
Generally, Underlying bacterial infections are responsible for to male infertility. These bacterial infections generally effect sexual reproductive organ.
Dealing with male infertility can be frustrating and painful experience for an individual. along with the individual the other partner Also suffers. If you are struggling to conceive, seek a medical specialist. There are number of available treatments. You can work together and can increase your chances of conception.