Do You Know How Often It’s the Man’s Problem?

Written by Gordon

For generations, it was thought that any fertility problems between a couple were pretty much the woman’s fault. Many assumed that since she was the one who got pregnant, then she was the one responsible for “giving” the couple a baby. Additionally, because it took medical science that long to catch up with technology that allowed doctors to really investigate one’s physical makeup, it took generations for this assumption to be corrected.

So then, the question arises as to how often it typically is the man’s reproductive system that is at fault when it comes to fertility.

First, it’s good to understand the different problems that can happen with a man’s ability to impregnate a woman, so that one can have a better understanding of the different problems he may be experiencing along the way.

Low sperm count is one common problem. A man may have millions of sperm produced at any one time, but sperm itself is very fragile, and very few of these survive the journey necessary to fertilize a woman’s egg. Because of this, it’s necessary for him to have a particular count in order for any one sperm to make that journey. When his count is low, it greatly decreases his chances for fertilizations.

Poor sperm motility is another common problem. Although it’s not a long journey by human standard for the sperm to reach its intended target, for the microscopic sperm, it certainly seems like it! Sperm that are not able to make this journey and that die off before they do are useless. This problem is also sometimes referred to as “lazy” or “slow” sperm.

Sperm that is malformed or otherwise defective is another common reason. Defective sperm not only has a problem making the journey towards fertilization, it also has a problem with the fertilization process as well.

The reasons for these problems with male infertility are typically genetic; there usually isn’t something one can do to improve these factors outside of medical intervention. And of course there are other reasons why a man might have problems with fertility, including blocked sperm ducts or a temporary drop in sperm production due to injury, illness, or something else.

So with those thoughts in mind, the question again is, how often is infertility the result of a problem on the man’s part? In truth, the real scientific answer is that it’s about 50/50, or an equal chance that it could be his problem rather than simply her problem. Again, while pregnancy may be all up to the woman to handle, conception is an equal responsibility between both, and most couples experiencing problems in this regard are finding that the man needs assistance just as often as the woman does.