Male Factor

"Who's infertile, you or your spouse?"  When I get this question… oh, wait.  Actually, I don't usually get this question, as this would presume a certain level of knowledge on the topic (as in that it takes two to tango). Actually, whenever our infertility is revealed for the first time to a new person, it is automatically assumed that the condition lies with my body, and the commentary and advice that follow is based on this assumption. But let's just say, for the sake of argument, that someone would ask this question.  What is the appropriate way to answer it? First of all, infertility is a unique condition in that while it often lies physically in the body of only one individual, the effect is equally spread between both partners.  Therefore, it is… [more]

Tonight I turned on the internet and when my homepage (www.msn.com) uploaded I was shocked to see the headline- 10 Surprising Factors Killing Your Sperm. I was honestly taken back by the fact that the creators of MSN would choose this for a top headline of the day. Forget the volcano in Iceland; we have male reproductive issues to discuss! Most of what the article suggested as being a potential sperm killer were all things we've been told before by our doctor. The main issues that the article addresses are increased heat to the scrotum and how it can decrease sperm count and/or have a negative affect on sperm mobility. Although we've dealt with these issues several times over, I did… [more]

In college it was the cool thing to wear those yellow wrist bands for testicular cancer. I would see people with several of them on each arm at times! One night at work I was talking with a coworker about them. He told me he thought they were dumb and how he didn't think wearing a bracelet showed "true support". When I inquired further on the matter he explained that he had testicular cancer. At this point I was shocked! I'm not naive but for some reason I always envision cancer patients as the elderly or those children on the television commercials. There standing next to me was an early 20s man who played water polo and was studying to be an… [more]

That is an exact quote from my husband when he was told what he could have done to help correct his male factor infertility. Let me start by saying my husband and had been very patient and understanding when I asked him if he would join me in getting tested, and treated, for infertility. He dealt with everything like a champ, although most of the time we probably wished we were the type of people who could have been happy living childless. My husband has large enough varicolceles that the doctor was able to detect them from sight and palpation. The two of them had a good laugh at how lucky he was that they found the issue right off. I didn't think it was as funny, but at… [more]

I have an odd gift of finding the craziest things I think. So for this month’s crazy infertility myth I'm going to write about eating monkey brains. At first I thought this was an urban legend that sprang from an Indiana Jones movie, but on further studying I've found this to be a real tradition. In several Asian countries it is believed that eating monkey brains can cure impotence. One study states, “Indonesian medical experts say most legitimate traditional medicines are derived from plants, not animals. However, the belief in animal cures remains strong. Although about 85% of the population is Muslim, many Indonesians retain ancient animistic beliefs.” These countries have very inadequate health care and medical treatments can be insanely… [more]

Talking about issues with infertility is extremely difficult. You see other people holding their children and you feel like crying or running from the room. Eventually you find some people to whom you can open up and with whom you can discuss your frustrations, trials, and limited (if any) success. Then you realize that everyone has an opinion. The majority of the time when my husband and I would talk with other people we would get the response, “so what’s wrong with her?” Yes, I do have some factors that keep me from getting pregnant, but so does my husband. Why didn’t anyone ask what his “problems” were or what he was doing “wrong”? I already felt awful for not being able to… [more]

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]