Male Infertility Today

Though erectile dysfunction seems to get tons of airtime, you don't often hear mention of  male infertility. Male infertility, also referred to as “subfertility”, is an issue that one in six men will experience in their lifetime (based on 2002 reports from the Center for Disease Control). That being said, most of these men will not be aware of their infertility until they are trying to conceive, or if they experience dry orgasms.

Who is infertile?

Any man can experience male infertility, and just because you are infertile today does not mean that you will be so two years later. The National Women's Health Information Center (a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) defines infertility as the failure to conceive after one year of trying through unprotected intercourse.

Although it's possible, male infertility does not need to be something blocked or obstructed. It can also be hormonal or related to the production of the sperm. These issues can result from habits that you never dreamed could have a negative effect on sperm production, such as testosterone creams or tight pants. As many as 25% of men that experience male infertility, have cases that are deemed idiopathic; which simply means no body understands why.

How do you find out?

If you suspect that your attempts at conception are being undermined by infertility, typically the first place you should look is at the male; though your fertility clinic may want to start testing you as a couple. This is not to say that the male is any more likely to be infertile, or the only one that is experiencing infertility, but male infertility is much easier to determine and has a much higher success rate than female infertility.  Page 1  2