quick clicks

preconception articles

preconception q&a

community & groups

research baby names

prepare a birth plan

content channels

ip channel rss feeds

read birth stories

read parenting stories

recommended books

e-newsletters

safety recalls

ip diaries

ip store

mom of the month

dad of the month

editor's letter

letters to the editor

Male Factor Infertility

Infertility From His Perspective

By Tamar Weiss

Most often when we think of infertility, we think of a couple unable to become pregnant as a result of some underlying medical problem with the woman. The picture of a woman desperate to have a child, and as a result under terrible emotional duress, may come to mind.

Often, it is overlooked how great a man's desire can be to have children and create a family of his own. Although infertility is a couple's issue – something that they must deal with and work out together, individuals going through the methodical and uncomfortable testing and proceedings may be having a particularly hard time of dealing with infertility.

Those who have begun the process of fertility testing know that one of the initial procedures is to test the male. With approximately 15 to 20 percent of American couples failing to conceive after one year of trying, one half of these instances involve male factor infertility. Thus, it is not at all uncommon for men to have difficulty impregnating a woman.

All too often, men see male factor infertility as a blow to manhood – as if their ability to fertilize a female egg is the defining element of their masculinity. In addition to this, some of the fertility tests and procedures that men undergo can be uncomfortable and even humiliating for them.

If this is not enough to juggle, infertility is extremely taxing emotionally and can be trying for the couple having to endure it. Perhaps a better understanding of the medical problems and procedures at hand would help both individuals in the relationship, and the couple as a whole, to deal with the upheaval of infertility.

Couples who have been trying unsuccessfully to conceive for one year may choose to begin fertility testing. If, however, the female partner is older than 30 or has a history of abnormal menstrual cycles, evaluation may be started earlier.

When diagnosing male factor infertility, the physician will take a complete medical history including previous illnesses, surgeries and hospitalizations along with use of recreational drugs, alcohol and tobacco. The history will also include questions as to possible exposure of environmental and occupational toxins. The physician will take a reproductive history including when sexual maturation began, risk of sexually transmitted diseases, how often intercourse takes place, problems with erection or ejaculation and use of lubricants, plus a family history. Then, a complete physical exam will follow. All of these questions and procedures will aid the doctor in diagnosing the specific causes of the infertility.

Want to see more?

• I Want Another, He Doesn't: 3 Steps to Coping
• Myth Busters: 10 Not-so-true Statements
• How Old Is Too Old? Giving Birth Late in Life
• Talk about it!