Today, we will share some informative details from our 6th live class conducted by Blue Bee One as part of our advocacy to help couples in improving their fertility health and guide people most especially women to achieve a healthy pregnancy until they give birth.
If you are one of the couples who are trying to conceive, we are pleased to invite you to read our article carefully. This time, we have Dr. Gleen Rose, our new medical advisor who will teach us what we need to do and what we need to know in this matter.
Common Issues in Fertility in Men
One of the most common issues that many couples are experiencing is infertility. If you are planning to conceive, it is important that both man and woman or the couple need go together for a clinical check-up. Dr. Gleen pointed out in the graph that infertility causes equal the male and female, meaning the causes of infertility have similar percentages.
Sperm Count and Sperm Motility
She added that when the doctors examine the sperm quality and counts, most of the sperm that are collected are really motile and there are no abnormalities in the sperm morphology so the patient can still conceive. Take note that the lack of sperm in ejaculation does not indicate the absence of sperm production because there are some cases that patients who have retrograde ejaculation.
Most men who have problems with their sperm count and motility have issues with their sexual function. They have a low sex drive, erection issues, and sometimes with pain and swelling or cyst in their testicles. Some have symptoms that are interrelated to hormonal imbalance. What are the common causes of these issues? If your partner or spouse is smoking a lot, drinking alcohol excessively, taking drugs, overweight, or obese, has severe stress and depression, or someone with higher infections like sexually transmitted infections, and other cases who are exposed to toxins and other deadly chemical substances, then these are the common causes of his infertility issue.
Below are the other causes of infertility in men:
- Genetics/Hereditary
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
- Vasectomy
- Undescended testicle
Methods and Tests in Diagnosing the Fertility Levels of Men and Women
For women, doctors usually do an ultrasound and some hormonal testing so that we are able to know if there is a problem. For men, they conduct semen analysis along with physical examination. During the interview, the doctor will ask the male patient concerning his sexual development history, and sexual history including libido, frequency of intercourse, and assessment of abuse.
The semen analysis is conducted when the patient has 7 days of abstinence from sexual activity prior to the testing. Then, it will be done in the clinic. After the collection of samples, those samples will be submitted to the laboratory for evaluation. The parameter to know if the semen analysis is normal is when the semen volume of the patient has 1.1 greater than or equal to 1.5 ml. On the other hand, sperm motility should be 40% or it should be greater than or equal to 58%. Then, the sperm morphology should be in the normal range as well.
CONCLUSION
In order to achieve a successful pregnancy, couples should be well-informed about their fertility levels and their overall reproductive health. Taking some general examinations and screening tests conducted by professional fertility doctors will help them to gain a clear perspective on their reproductive health and assess their issues if they have several health conditions that affect their fertility and pregnancy. Men should be aware of their sperm count and sperm motility and be careful of their lifestyle. Look forward to our next article as we will share more valuable information related to this matter.
