Male Factor

Men get off relatively easy when it comes to infertility. The woman is advised to do all sorts of things to improve her chances of conception, but the man is often let off the hook when it comes to making lifestyle changes. Often the female partner is told to watch what she eats and drinks while the male partner (even if male factor plays a role) is rarely similarly inundated with advice revolving around not eating certain foods, drinking caffeine or alcohol, smoking, exercising or not, etc. Most couples undergoing fertility treatments do know the "rule" that the male should not ejaculate 2-3 days prior to providing a sample, but many don't know that the sperm that… [more]

Even before my husband and I began to try to have children I knew that I could have fertility issues. I annually (at first) saw a gynecologist and had times when I turned to him for consult regarding one female issue or another. I was aware that I had irregular periods, heavy bleeding and painful cramping - all signs that female fertility problems can be present. My husband, on the other hand, had no real indication of if he could have a problem or not. He did not see a physician regularly and had no occasion to visit a doctor that could or would diagnose problems that could affect fertility. So, after a year of trying to conceive with no… [more]

There is a dirty little secret that a lot of infertile people keep - sometimes we want someone else to blame. Unless you know from the outset that one or the other of you has reproductive issues, there always comes that time when you begin testing to determine whose "fault" it is that you are having trouble conceiving. More often than not both partners have issues - but sometimes the male or female in the relationship bares the brunt of the troubles and therefore takes the "blame" for the inability to have a child. Let me explain. When my husband and I first started to realize that we were facing fertility issues I knew that I was bringing a lot of… [more]

When people found out that we were about to try IVF we were asked many times if we were going to have multiple children, with more than one reference to us as Larry and Sheila plus 8. After my twins were born and a friend asked how we were doing, we honestly said that although we were loving every minute of it, two newborns were hard. She said, "well you did IVF, you knew you were going to have twins or more." In response to both of these statements I tried to really explain the IVF procedure and the chances of multiple births. Granted, my explanation was more plausible before IVF rather than after, when I knew that I had… [more]

Before I ever tried to conceive a baby, I used to watch the TV show Coach. The main characters, Hayden and Christine, tried to have a baby. After going through diagnostic tests, they learned that Hayden had a low sperm count. The doctor told him to switch from briefs to boxers, stay out of hot tubs, and do other things to keep his swimmers "cool."

I thought this storyline was rather funny, but I did not know whether it was based in reality. I just thought it was an amusing comment, leading to some of the funniest episodes of the series.

A few years later, hub and I were the ones going through diagnostic testing and learning that hub's sperm count was low. I was surprised… [more]

Testosterone is the male hormone that affects sexual features and development. The amount of testosterone in a man's body is controlled by the pituitary gland. If the level is low, then the pituitary gland releases luteinizing hormone (LH), which tells the testicles to make more testosterone. An issue with either the pituitary gland or the testicles can result in a low testosterone level. See Testosterone for more on this subject.

If a man has low levels of testosterone in his body, then his body might make a reduced number of sperm, resulting in a low sperm count. If a man's sperm count is too low, then he might have trouble conceiving a child. Determining whether a low testosterone level is causing the… [more]

Varicoceles are a common cause of male factor infertility. My husband's reduced sperm count was due to a varicocele, and having the varicocele removed solved his fertility woes. (However, since he was still married to an infertile woman, solving his fertility issue still did not result in his conceiving a child.)

A varicocele is a varicose vein in the testicles. A varicocele causes problems because it holds a pocket of blood and keeps the sperm too warm, causing some of the sperm to die off. When the testicle tries to protect the sperm from overheating, the varicocele manages to keep the warm blood against the sperm. When I think of varicose veins, I think of the really large… [more]

My husband used to have a low sperm count until he had a varicocele removed. The surgery corrected the problem, and he is now fertile. Unfortunately, since he is still married to an infertile woman, his fertility is not doing him much good. Such is life.

When my husband found out his sperm count was low, he took the news hard. My husband is a tall, muscular man and is "macho" in temperament. If you put him in a line-up, you truly would not guess that he was the one with the low sperm count. Unfortunately, many men connect their sperm production with their manhood, so finding out there is a problem can really rock a man.

It baffled my husband… [more]

Somehow, we managed to trudge through our second holiday season as an infertile couple. January brought a second try at becoming pregnant through an intrauterine insemination (IUI). Unfortunately, my husband's sperm count was still much lower than we hoped. For a second time, we did the IUI despite a low sperm count, and for a second time, we did not conceive.

Dr. M referred my husband to a urologist (Dr. P) to determine what was causing his low sperm count. Dr. P performed a physical exam in his office but did not find anything amiss. Dr. P said that we needed to do an ultrasound of my husband's reproductive organs, so we scheduled that procedure for the following week. That… [more]

Persistence Paid Off For Paralyzed Dad Miami Project Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago I have heard of procedures to help retain the sperm of paralyzed men in episodes of Law and Order and also on shows like ER. But I began wondering how true any of these series were. What options are there for paralyzed men and their families? How closely did these shows resemble what is available in real life? I found the article, "Persistence Paid Off For Paralyzed Dad" on HappyNews.com, which, as you know, is one of my favorite sites to get info off of. The other links at the top of this post are also provided by the original article. The article narrates the fertility success of a couple named The Luthers. Geoff had… [more]