In one of our previous posts, Why is male infertility so often ignored?, we explored some of the cultural and societal reasons that male infertility is often ignored, as well as some of the repercussions. In this post, we discuss another very real reason male infertility is so often ignored: improper testing.
At Collaborative Care, we often hear the same response from women when asked about their partner’s sperm quality. It sounds a bit like this: “Oh, he’s been told his sperm is great!” or, “Yeah, no issues there. Apparently it’s my poor egg quality.”
Not only does this put more pressure on the female, who has to take all the medication, have surgery (for the egg retrieval), and go to 95% percent of the weekly–and at times daily–monitoring appointments, but it’s actually not always true that men aren’t part of the problem. (In fact, one-third of infertility cases are caused by male reproductive issues, one-third by female reproductive issues, and one-third by both male and female reproductive issues or by unknown factors, according to this CDC source.)
Many men are contributing to the infertility problem with out the couple even knowing it. Here’s why: the typical semen analysis performed by most fertility centers to test sperm parameters does not give the full picture. A more conclusive sperm test is done by a urologist. A urologist checks the prostate and analyzes all the other important fluids that flow with, nourish, and support sperm on a more comprehensive semen analysis. This is why we strongly encourage couples to seek out a semen analysis with a urologist at the early stages of fertility treatment.
If male infertility issues are suspected either through a semen analysis or for “unknown causes” of infertility, we offer treatment for men over a 90-day period using acupuncture, diet and herbs. Learn more from our other post Why is male infertility so often ignored? and/or check our one of our testimonial videos about a couple that we helped with male infertility issues: Unexplained Ongoing Infertility: Jen & Nick’s Success Story.
