Male Factor

In the past, infertility was most often considered to be a woman’s problem, but this is far from true. In more than 30% of cases where a couple cannot conceive, the cause is attributed to male-factor infertility.Male-factor infertility is the inability to get an otherwise fertile woman pregnant. This is most often due to physical or hormonal problems or lifestyle and environmental factors.

While the causes of male factor infertility are sometimes unknown, the problems are often related to:

-Anatomic irregularities of the man’s reproductive organs

-Childhood illnesses

-Sperm production

-Certain medications

-Chronic health problems

-Environmental factors or exposures

-Previous injury or surgery

The best test to determine if a man is infertile is a comprehensive semen analysis to assess sperm count, the percentage of moving sperm (motility) and normally shaped sperm (morphology) and the presence of a possible infection. Treatments for male-factor infertility may include medication, surgery to remove blockages, intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in-vitro fertilization (IVF) with intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) which is a laboratory process of injecting sperm directly into a mature egg with a tiny needle as a part of IVF.

In order to avoid problems with future fertility, it is recommended that men avoid smoking, recreational drug use – especially marijuana, alcohol use, performance enhancing steroids, excessive heat to the testes from hot tubs or electronic devices such as laptop computers.

At CRE, couples seeking infertility treatment for male infertility will find a program specifically tailored to their needs and designed to provide the very best chances of conceiving a child. Our doctors and medical team will show you your options at every step of the way, provide support, listen to your questions and provide clear, understandable answers.

(10/15/2011)