Male factor infertility in a married couple

We start from the characteristics of the female body, the female cycle and the male factor. Women have a period called ovulation, and if we miss this ovulation, then the rest of the time we miss. Therefore, when the frequency of sexual intercourse is higher, then there is a higher probability that we will hit the period when the egg is ready. Therefore, couples are given a period of one year, since if you take a shorter period, it is not a fact that they hit this favorable period for various reasons, including they could simply not know about ovulation. And only after a year can we consider the causes of male infertility.

Male infertility: modern statistics

The problem of male infertility has been discussed not so long ago, because it was previously believed that if a married couple does not have a child, then all the blame lies with the woman. The man was usually never touched, no one looked for the cause in him. Gradually, when this issue began to be raised, and everyone moved away from gender bias that the woman is to blame for everything, the real picture began to emerge.

The percentage of male infertility has recently become higher and higher.

If you look at the results of studies that have been conducted over the past 50 years, we will see that the quality of sperm in men deteriorates by 1% every year, they become weaker and weaker. If earlier cases of male infertility were isolated, now they occur on par with female infertility (50 to 50) - and there are reasons for this. The female factor, which used to dominate, is now on par with the male factor due to the growth of male infertility.

In terms of frequency of occurrence, this problem is even more common than diabetes, which is diagnosed in 3-4% of Russia. Infertility affects 7% of the entire male population of the country.

Causes of male infertility

If we consider the causes that lead to infertility, we cannot limit ourselves to any one factor, because more often we are dealing with complexity. We will list the types not by the number of cases, but by the difficulty of correction.

Congenital pathologies and genetic disorders - when a child is born infertile and nothing can be done about it. For example, there are conditions when the testicles are completely absent or underdeveloped, and during maturation there is a violation of the spermatogenic layer in the testicles, which is not enough to produce an adequate amount of sperm for conception - this leads to infertility.

Radiation and chemotherapy is the next destructive factor of male infertility. Usually, people are exposed to radiation during chemical or radiation treatment of cancer. In this case, the oncological disease can occur in a completely different organ, and it is not necessarily testicular cancer. As a result, we will get the main reasons - in a healthy patient with good indicators in the spermogram, after the treatment, everything can get much worse.

In my practice, there was a case when a patient was treated for blood cancer and his chest was irradiated. After that, his spermogram indicators became terrible and began to gradually decrease - there was a threat of male infertility. Before that, neither he nor his parents were told that it is better to donate samples to a sperm bank before irradiation. Usually, when a patient is of fertile age, wants to have children, and he needs to undergo irradiation, they recommend donating his material so that later, when there is a desire to start a family and have a child, he has where to get it from. And after irradiation and after some time, a person may come with a desire to have children, but he no longer has the opportunity - the infertility factor plays a role. And it is often impossible to somehow improve this function or restore it.

Overheating of the body and thermal effects are other important causes of infertility. The scrotum in the male body is located outside, so a temperature of approximately 32°C is necessary for spermatogenesis. Against the background of any thermal effects, spermatozoa cannot fully and adequately go through the entire cycle of formation, as defects develop, or they become more sluggish, and this is visible on the spermogram. Overheating most often occurs as a result of inflammatory processes or varicocele - expansion of the veins of the pampiniform plexus of the male system. Blood temperature is about 37°C, and therefore the testicle is exposed to elevated temperature. Also, lovers of baths and saunas are at risk. Therefore, when planning a pregnancy, a urologist recommends to refrain from baths and saunas to exclude these causes of infertility.

When we tell men that they need to take a spermogram to determine fertility (or find the cause of infertility), we recommend getting a good night's sleep, taking a non-contrast refreshing shower, not drinking coffee, and going to take the spermogram in a good mood and with a smile. Because this analysis and current fertility depend even on the mood you go in. When I first started working at the family planning center, a lab technician said that many factors affect the spermogram - even mood. If a man does this in a good mood, then his tests are much better.

There is one phrase: "When the body thinks about how to survive, it does not think about how to reproduce."

Stress or the environment can cause male infertility, as they greatly affect the quality of sperm. Stress is one of the most important factors and is definitely a male cause - against its background, there is a strong deterioration in spermatogenesis in general. In many sources devoted to andrology, fertility, spermatozoa, spermatogenesis, no one places responsibility only on the patient and the andrologist. In such situations, it is often impossible to figure it out without an endocrinologist, since hormonal imbalances may be present - additional causes of infertility.

Hormonal drugs and protein diets - now men's physical health is in fashion, building up a large amount of muscle, and people drive themselves to a state where gradual testicular atrophy is observed. In such situations, it is difficult to do anything, since against the background of hormonal drugs, there is suppression of function and gradual destruction of the spermatogenic layer.

Hormones and related problems can cause male infertility.

And if muscles can be pumped up in a normal way, then nothing can be restored below. How much nature gave you, that's all. If you use it up, then there will be no more cells and what is left will be produced. If it produces little, then sorry. Who is to blame?

In fact, there are many possible causes of male infertility. There is no general classification and division into groups, since they overlap. There are many factors that can cause infertility, including various autoimmune diseases. Even just ecology and an unhealthy lifestyle play an important role.

Spermogram: the main indicator of fertility

Usually, patients turn to specialists with questions about male infertility when the process has already started, and it is necessary to identify the causes. Rarely do they come to us before the couple starts trying and planning a pregnancy. The only analysis that interests us most is a spermogram. It is the starting point. With its help, you can see if there are inflammatory reactions, autoimmune processes and defects in the structure of spermatozoa, that is, a violation of morphology (abnormal development of the head, tail breakage, lack of tail). All these main factors are reflected in the spermogram.

Then, based on the analysis, complaints and possible doubts after unprotected sexual intercourse on the side, the study is expanded. Including diagnostics for the absence of infectious diseases, inflammatory processes in the organs of interest to us: the prostate gland, urethra, testicles. We start from the opposite, and if a person has no complaints about infertility, it is wrong to send him for all sorts of tests.

The only symptom of male infertility can be called the absence of pregnancy in a partner for a year with frequent unprotected sexual intercourse. In this case, we question infertility, we begin to identify the causes. It happens that not all elements enter the man's body with food, and because of this, spermatogenesis is disrupted. If we are talking about permanent infertility, then, of course, we need to figure it out.