Trouble Having a Baby? It Might Be Male Infertility

Infertility is often viewed as a woman's problem but when a couple has trouble conceiving, there's a good chance it's related to male factors -- in fact, that's the case 40-50 percent of the time. That's why the male partner should be part of any couple's fertility assessment. Not only is male infertility more common than most people realize, male factors are the sole reason for a couple's inability to have a baby 15 percent to 25 percent of the time. While some reasons for male infertility are well understood, at least 50 percent of problems are due to unknown factors. Male infertility can occur when men have a less than normal semen analysis because of a reproductive problem such as testicular damage that reduces their chances of getting their partner pregnant and affects development and live birth. Problems with sperm range from producing too few (low sperm concentration or count), movement (low motility) issues or sperm that are not shaped properly (abnormal morphology). Or, there may be physical problems such as a blockage of the reproductive tract that prevent sperm from getting out. Besides a physical exam and medical history, there are a variety of diagnostic tests that may be used to identify problems and hopefully lead to a solution. These include semen analysis which will look at the quality and quantity of sperm including the volume of semen, the number of sperm, whether they move and are shaped correctly. The semen must be tested within an hour of collectio...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news