When it comes to infertility, most of the time it is thought it is women. But, the truth is male infertility is very common. Around 30 to 40 percent cases of infertility are due to men. However, most of the people are still not aware of the reasons or what leads to the decline. Read this guide for better knowledge.

Introduction

When patients visit our IVF centre they often ask us what are the reasons behind the male fertility decline. Well, there are several issues which can make it difficult for the couple to conceive

Fortunately, there are treatment options that can help the men to overcome the fertility issue. Treatment of ICSI is used along with IVF in the case of male infertility.

Reason of decline in male fertility

Medical Issue

Various medical issues can affect sperm production, or make it difficult for the sperm to go out from the body. Some of them include:

• Some of the men are facing illness or a certain type of infection like:
• Inflammation of the epididymis.
• Inflammation of the testicles
• Hormonal Imbalance
• Low testosterone
• Sexually transmitted infection

With such conditions, the immune system is affected due to which the body starts attacking the sperm and this leads to male infertility.

• The chromosomal defect can lead to abnormal development in the male reproductive organs.
• DNA fragmentation means sperm DNA is abnormal and this leads to failure of conception or miscarriage.

Medical History factors

• There is a certain type of medication like for cancer, antifungal medication, testosterone replacement therapy, or certain other health issue medications that can affect sperm production and cause male infertility.
• Men who have undergone surgery in the past due to which the sperm path got blocked like testicular surgery, hernia repairs, vasectomy, or prostate surgery.
• Environmental factors such as industrial chemicals, radiation, or heavy chemicals can also affect fertility.

Lifestyle factors

The male who consumes excessive amounts of alcohol, illicit drugs, and does smoking are also at increased risk of infertility. With these conditions, the testosterone level decreases and it can cause erectile dysfunction or low sperm count. Men also need to make sure their body weight is normal.

Age also affects male fertility

Age-related infertility is experienced by both men and women. But, with male fertility declines less significantly as compared to women. Research has shown that men’s fertility declines later in life as compared to women. Due to age, male fertility can get impacted by different reasons like:

• Male fertility can decline due to poor sperm motility which means the sperm is not able to swim properly.
• There can be issues of decreased sperm shape and size. The egg will not get fertilized properly.
• The semen volume can be low as compared to normal which triggers infertility.