5 Things That You Should Know About Male Infertility
Infertility is very often defined as a woman’s health-related problem, however the fact that it might be due to a man-related issue is disregarded. In fact, according to the recent studies, 30-40% of such cases are due to problems with the man.
- Man’s lifestyle can affect on his sperm quality and thus, his fertility
Each woman is born with millions of ova, which diminish with age until they are gone at menopause. On the other hand, each man produces sperm during his whole life on a daily basis. Taking into account that sperm are continuously produced in the man’s body, environment and lifestyle can dramatically affect the quality of sperm. Therefore, smoking, alcohol and drug consumption, weight gain, stress and sexually transmitted or other kinds of diseases can significantly affect man’s fertility. Naturally, these facts also impact on the ovum fertilization and quality, however impact is stronger in man’s case.
- Age negatively affects man’s fertility
Man can have a biological child at any age, however modern medicine suggests that age negatively affects man’s fertility.
According to the recent studies, in case of men over the age of 40, likelihood of pregnancy in a partner is low and chances of miscarriage is high. It is also more likely that a child to be born to an older father will have autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or other health-related problem. In 2018, study based on 8,000 pregnancy cases showed that among men over the age of 40, likelihood of pregnancy in the partner is decreased by 30%.
What happens is that along with aging, sperm quantity might reduce, its morphology might worsen or certain changes might occur in the sperm DNA, which can eventually result in man’s infertility.
- Men with azoospermia can have biological children
Medical treatment to a man’s infertility is determined following medical testing. For instance, if Spermogram shows that sperm parameters do not match the norms, ReproART offers the couple to use in-vitro fertilization with Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (IVF/ICSI).
It should be noted that Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection was first used in Georgia by the founder of ReproART – Lika Chkonia, who taught this method in the USA. In 2004, first Georgian baby was born using this method, which also marked the inception of an important period in treating man’s infertility: men, who were considered to be sterile (infertile), were given a chance to have a biological child.
However, there are cases when there are no sperm in the ejaculate or medical tests show that the number of sperm with fragmented DNA is high. In such cases, highly qualified ReproART staff resort to sperm aspiration from the man’s testicles, which is done through micro-surgery.
- Timely treatment is a step forward to success
Modern medicine successfully treats major causes of infertility, however failure sometimes can be caused by delayed treatment. There are cases, when a man resorts to ReproART after 10-years of unsuccessful medical treatment.
Due to that, reproductive endocrinologist warn those men, who would like to have biological children, to start early intervention. As men grow older, the likelihood of other problems also increases.
- Assessment of man’s reproductive health requires high quality and cutting edge medical research
First step to assess man’s fertility is sperm analyses – Spermogram. Sperm analysis is necessary when a man, despite having regular and unprotected sexual intercourse for a duration of 1 year with a partner aged under 35, cannot impregnate his partner. Spermogram at ReproART is done by qualified personnel using cutting-edge technologies.
Another method for understanding the main cause of man’s infertility and for determining an effective medical treatment strategy is sperm DNA fragmentation test. DNA damage impedes embryo development and leads to early miscarriage. Therefore, this test helps to clarify whether a man’s infertility is caused by DNA damage. The test also enables ReproART doctors to define customized medical treatment.
