How does your sexual health affect male fertility?
In broad terms, male fertility is generally described as a mans ability to father a child. Male fertility depends on your body making normal sperm and delivering them. The sperm go into the female partner’s vagina. The sperm travel through her cervix into her uterus to her fallopian tubes. There, if a sperm and egg meet, fertilization happens.
The male reproductive system makes, stores, and transports sperm. Chemicals in your body called hormones control this production of sperm – which upon ejaculation is delivered into the woman via semen.
Sperm and the male sex hormone (testosterone) are made in the two testicles. The testicles are in the scrotum, a sac of skin below the penis. When the sperm leave the testicles, they go into a tube behind each testicle. This tube is called the epididymis.
Several factors are involved in the proper function of the male reproductive system, and a problem with any single factor can have a serious impact male fertility. One of the more obvious components of male fertility is the health and quantity of a mans sperm. If you are not producing enough sperm – or if your sperm are not viable and healthy – you may run into problems with your fertility.
A diagnosis of male infertility can be one of the hardest challenges a man can face. For some men this diagnosis can be quite devastating. Infertility affects approximately 1 out of every 6 couples. An infertility diagnosis is given to a couple who are unable to conceive over the course of one year.
When the problem lies with the male partner it is referred to as male infertility. Male infertility factors contribute to approximately 30% of all infertility cases, and male infertility alone accounts for approximately one-fifth of all infertility cases.
Some causes of male infertility are classified as “unknown causes” – and in fact this applies to a large number of male fertility cases. However, not surprisingly, sperm is often the case of fertility issues – as in: not enough sperm, unhealthy sperm, damaged sperm, or low sperm count.
Causes of male infertility
There are 4 main causes of male infertility:
- Sperm transport disorder (10-20%)
- Gonad disorder (30-40%)
- Hypothalamic/Pituitary disorder (1-2%)
- Unknown causes (10-20%)
As you can see from the statistics above, many cases of male fertility problems are diagnosed as “unknown causes”. This shows that much research still needs to be done on the topic of male infertility. Other than ‘unknown causes’, male infertility usually occurs because of sperm that are abnormal, because of inadequate numbers of sperm, or problems with ejaculation.
Because of this fact, it’s obvious that sperm and semen health are of utmost concern for men concerned about their current or future fertility. Anything you can do to improve sperm health and motility will have a profound impact on your fertility and ability to conceive a child. Semen supplements have proven extremely helpful in this area.
For men, sperm is the key component of fertility, and men with healthy sperm generally will be able to conceive a child. Men with abnormal sperm will have a high chance of fertility problems. Sperm abnormalities may happen for a variety of reasons.
Sperm abnormalities may be caused by one or more of the following:
- –> Inflammation of the testicles
- –> Swollen veins in the scrotum
- –> Abnormally developed testicles
There are many factors that can negatively affect male fertility, and many of them revolve around the health of your sperm. Healthy sperm are the cornerstone of male fertility and reproductive health, and unhealthy men will often have unhealthy or damaged sperm.
The good news is that just like your overall health – the health of your sperm can be dramatically improved when you take charge of your reproductive health. The sooner you tackle male fertility issues – the sooner you can overcome them and regain your sexual potency.
Male Fertility Problems – What can I do
We hear from many men each month who are suffering from male fertility issues – so we know how serious this problem is for men everywhere. The good news is that there are several things you can do to improve your sexual health and restore your fertility.
We have several articles throughout the website with information on tips for restoring sperm health, increasing semen production and improving male fertility. We encourage you to explore the many resources on this website on your path to improving your reproductive health!
Table of Contents