What are the Causes of Male Infertility?

If your partner and you are just not getting pregnant, know that you’re not alone.  As many as 10 to 15% of couples in the United States are facing infertility problems. Now, infertility may be due to one or multiple factors in your partner or you. But the good thing is, it can be treated and overcome. You see, for a woman to get pregnant she has to ovulate. Reproduction is a complex process where certain factors have to work just right at the right time.

What happens is, every month the pituitary gland in a woman’s brain sends a signal to the ovaries to start preparing an egg for ovulation. The pituitary hormones then stimulate the ovaries to release the egg. This is the process of ovulation when a woman is considered most fertile. Now, the released egg goes through the fallopian tube and can be fertilized within 24 hours of its release.

A woman is most likely to conceive if she has unprotected sex a day or two before she ovulates. For pregnancy to occur, a sperm needs to unite with the egg in the fallopian tube during this brief window. Now, certain other conditions also have to be met for the woman to conceive. The man has to ejaculate enough sperm into the vagina and it has to be properly shaped and needs to move in the right way. As for the woman, she has to have a healthy and congenial inner environment for the sperm to fertilize the egg. When the egg is fertilized, it moves into the uterus and attaches itself to the uterine lining, beginning a nine month period of growth.

When it comes to men, besides smoking, obesity, sexual problems, alcohol and drug consumption, genetic defects, these are some causes of male infertility:

• Low sperm count, impaired mobility or inability to fertilize the egg are the most common reasons for male infertility. As mentioned earlier, sperm needs to be properly shaped and has to move quickly toward the egg in order to fertilize it.
• Varicocele is a condition wherein the varicose vein in the scrotum doesn’t cool the testicle properly, leading to reduced sperm count.
• Deficiency of testosterone.
• Repeated sexual transmitted diseases (STD’s) can lead to scarring and blockage of the sperm passage.
• Problems with delivering sperm from the penis into the vagina.

If you suffer from any of these conditions, consult your doctor. Remember there is always hope!