Male infertility plays a very important role for infertile couples. About 30% of pregnancy problems are due to male factors. Infertile men generally have poor sperm quality in most cases. This means that their sperm may not be able to fertilize the egg, leading to pregnancy. Depending on the cause of this male infertility, specific treatments can be found to enable these couples to become parents.
Causes of male infertility
Male infertility can be caused by a number of factors that can be grouped into four groups.
- Anterior Testis or Endocrine Factor:– An imbalance of hormones affecting testicular development and/or function.
- Testicular factor:– direct testicular involvement
- Post-testicular factor:– problems with sperm evacuation.
- Semen abnormalities:– problems directly related to the quality of the semen produced.
Despite the wide range of causes leading to male infertility, in each case the quality of ejaculation is reduced to some degree. A semen sample must meet certain parameters to be considered high quality. These include sperm concentration, sperm motility, sperm morphology and sperm viability. To diagnose possible causes of male infertility, it is necessary to perform some diagnostic studies, starting with a spermogram.
Symptoms of male infertility
In most cases, men do not experience overt signs of infertility. In almost all cases, the only sign of male infertility is failure to conceive after one year of trying.
However, if a man has already been diagnosed with another condition, such as hypogonadism, he may already suspect that he will have difficulty having children.
Other signs and symptoms commonly associated with male infertility include:
- Low libido and erection problems
- Altered semen, such as unusual color, strong odor, very watery and very thick
- Testicles smaller than normal
- Changes in voice indicating possible hormonal changes, hair loss or loss of muscle mass
- A change in urine or pain when urinating warns of possible infection
- Appearance of varicose veins in testis
Male Infertility Solutions
To combat male infertility, you need to know what is preventing you from getting pregnant. In some cases, men’s fertility can be restored through medication or surgery. In the most severe cases, assisted reproduction will be the only option. Below you can find some possible treatments for male infertility:
- Natural Remedies – A healthy lifestyle with vitamin supplements and a balanced diet can help improve sperm quality even in less severe cases. First of all, antioxidants such as selenium, carnitine and vitamins E, A, C and B12 are very important.
- Hormonal Preparations – Gonadotropins and clomiphene citrate are prescribed for men with gonadotropin-induced hypogonadism.
- Surgery – For testicular diseases such as cryptorchidism or varicose veins.
- Auxiliary Replay – If the previous option is not applicable or successful.
- In the face of serious male factors, the most successful method is ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection).
At BabyScience IVF Clinics, we interact closely with patients with male infertility to comprehend their exact problems. After that, our doctors recommend a few tests to know the root cause/real problem and treat the same.
