How Your Man May Be Impacting Your Chances of Pregnancy

Sponsored by: The Stork® OTC

You know your man isn’t perfect. He may be your main man, but he also forgets to clean the grinds out of the coffee maker. He may be your moon and stars, but he also wakes you up when you are sleeping with his spectacular snoring.

When it comes to fertility, women have a longstanding reputation for blaming ourselves. We change our eating, we cut our alcohol consumption, and we do the tests.

But, after all, it does take two to tango, and if your new sport is baby making, it may be useful for your man to examine his role. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, in approximately 40 percent of infertile couples, the male partner is either the sole cause or a contributing cause of infertility.

Male infertility may be caused by one of four main reasons:

1. Abnormal sperm: At least 30 percent of a man’s sperm should be shaped “normally” and somehow we all know this shape, thanks to Monty Python. Oval head, long tail.
2. An inadequate number of sperm: Below 10 million per millimeter is considered poor, which is a really insane number, if you think about it. Normal numbers are 20 million to 300 million per millimeter.
3. Problems with ejaculation: This may include premature ejaculation, retrograde ejaculation or erectile dysfunction and may be the result of radiation, surgery or stress.
4. Unknown causes: There’s still a lot of research to be done on male infertility, especially around the causes. According to American Pregnancy Association, 40 to 50 percent of male infertility cases receive a diagnosis of unknown cause.

Although we are certain that your man would insist that his sperm is top-notch, the only way to be sure is to get tested. Semen analysis is a big part of male fertility testing, and often a blood test will be done to check hormonal levels.

Depending on the diagnosis, there are a host of conventional methods that can help to treat male fertility issues.

Some are as simple as lifestyle changes, but there are also medications that can improve sperm production, hormones to help with hormonal balance, and antibiotics to help treat an infection.

Hot tubs, tight clothing and bicycles may be okay in moderation, but men’s testes are outside of the body for a reason: they need to be cool. ³

There is evidence that obesity does negatively affect male fertility levels⁴ so the basics hold here as they do for any other aspect of health. Encourage your man to eat well, avoid toxins, exercise and get plenty of sleep. (Oh, and have sex with you – probably the most important part of reproducing.)

Up to 50 percent of the causes of male infertility are unknown, but that doesn’t mean that all hope is lost. ²

One at-home fertility booster to try before pursuing more aggressive treatments is The Stork® OTC. The Stork® OTC uses cervical cap insemination to help place sperm directly at the cervix for up to six hours, optimizing the chances of conception.

Don’t give up. A specialist may be able to help your man to supercharge his sperm in no time. In the meantime, get really good at trying to have a baby. That’s the fun part.

Reviewed October 12, 2016
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith