Male Infertility
When couples struggle to get pregnant, the spotlight automatically shifts to the female half of the equation – and unfairly so. In fact, we know that 40% of all infertility is related to male factors, 40% to female, and 20% is due to unexplained or other causes. In other words, it’s important that couples struggling to conceive are both evaluated, so there aren’t any erroneous assumptions getting in the way of timely fertility treatment success.
Is it taking you and your partner longer than you thought to get pregnant? Doctors recommend scheduling a fertility consult when your female partner is:
- 34-years old or younger, and you’ve tried to conceive unsuccessfully for 12-consecutive months
- 35- to 38-years old, and you’ve tried to conceive unsuccessfully for 6-consecutive months
- 38- to 41-years old, and you’ve tried to conceive unsuccessfully for 3-consecutive months
- 42-years or older, at which point her fertility rates are rapidly dropping below the 5% mark
If any of the above resonates with you, contact the team here at Fertility Center of Dallas, or by phone at 214-823-2692, to schedule a consultation. We’ve been in the business of building families, one miracle at a time, for more than two decades – and we have some of the most successful fertility rates in the Dallas and Fort Worth metropolitan areas.
What is Male Infertility Factor?
Male infertility factor means there is something at play in the penis, sperm, testes, hormone balance, etc., that’s making it difficult for your sperm to successfully fertilize an egg. As we mentioned above, 40% of the time, infertility is diagnosed in the male-half of the equation, and there is always the chance both you and your spouse have infertility factors in the works, called multiple factor infertility.
Either way, accurate diagnosis is critical in getting you on the right fertility treatment track so we can facilitate conception, a healthy full-term pregnancy and the birth of a beautiful baby as soon as possible.
How is it diagnosed?
First, we’ll start with the information we learn at your first consultation, when you and your partner go through an in-depth review of your personal and medical histories, family medical histories and your personal reproductive history, as well as a routine physical.
Then, we’ll perform a semen analysis, evaluating:
- Sperm count. We’ll analyze how many sperm are in your semen sample, and we’re hoping to see a sperm count of 15 million or more sperm per milliliter of semen. Anything lower than that, or lower than 39 million sperm per total ejaculate, results in a diagnosis of low sperm count.
- Sperm morphology. This refers to the general shape of the sperm. Sperm that are poorly shaped or inconsistently shaped are more prone to having chromosomal/genetic abnormalities and are less able to penetrate the egg’s cell wall.
- Sperm motility. This term refers to sperm movement. If sperm aren’t able to swim well, or directly, they’re less likely to fertilize an egg. This can also be a sign of DNA fragmentation or poor DNA quality, that can lead to unsuccessful fertilization, increased chances of miscarriage or a higher likelihood of a baby with chromosomal/genetic abnormalities.
Male infertility factors linked to poor sperm quality or quantity can be treated via sperm washing, Intrauterine Insemination (IUI), Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) where the sperm are manually inserted into the egg for fertilization, and/or IVF depending on the situation.
NOTE: Even if your GP did a semen analysis that came back “normal,” we highly suggest you submit another semen sample to our office or your urologist for more specialized review. Lab technicians working for fertility specialists and urologists are more specifically trained to examine sperm than those working in a general lab setting.
Depending on the results of your physical, review of your medical history and/or semen analysis, we may also refer you to a urologist who will evaluate:
- Low testosterone levels or other medical conditions contributing to infertility
- Healthy thyroid and pituitary function
- Genetic conditions, like cystic fibrosis, that cause infertility
- Anatomical abnormalities such as testicular blockages or varicoceles
- Sexual issues such as erectile dysfunction (ED), premature ejaculation, delayed ejaculation, etc.
Accurate Diagnosis of Male Infertility Factors Leads to Quicker Fertility Success
The good news is that the large majority of male infertility factors are entirely treatable via the right fertility treatment plan. If we are unable to retrieve viable, healthy sperm, you and your partner have the option to use donor sperm for very successful outcomes.
Contact the Fertility Center of Dallas and know that your fertility future is in the best of hands. We’ll work closely with you and your partner to create the fertility plan that yields the highest chances of success, as soon as possible.