Testosterone is an important hormone for men. Produced by the testes, the hormone gives men many of their masculine characteristics, like facial hair and a deeper voice. It is involved with sperm production and sex drive. It also contributes to strength, bones, and muscle mass.
Low testosterone, also called hypogonadism, occurs when a man’s body doesn’t produce adequate amounts of the hormone.
It can cause low self-esteem, performance anxiety, depression, and stress. Erectile Dysfunction (ED) may affect the quality of a marriage or intimate relationship. The good news is there are many safe and effective treatments.
Once a couple decides to go ahead with IVF(In vitro fertilization), the next concern is the IVF success rate and to decide when to go for IVF treatment. As we all know IVF has its limitations and a variety of factors influence the outcome. Some of them are under our control and some of them are not.
The outcome of an IVF cycle depends on the quality of the embryo which in turn depends on the egg quality and the sperm quality. Egg quality is mainly dependent on the age of the woman. As age increases, particularly in the late thirties, the chances of having aneuploid/ abnormal eggs increases.
ICSI( intracytoplasmic sperm injection) can overcome most of the sperm-related problems but severely abnormal semen samples can give rise to poor quality embryos, thereby compromising the IVF success rates. Egg numbers are equally important. Studies show that IVF success increases as the number of eggs retrieved increases up to about 15 eggs. Thereafter there is no further increase in the success.
There has been increasing evidence on the global decline in human sperm quality over the past few decades. In the most recent report, an international study group performed a systematic analysis of the current trends in sperm counts. This comprehensive study involved 42,935 men with semen samples spanning over 40 years. They reported a significant decline of 50– 60% in sperm counts amongst men from North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. This latest finding has sparked even greater concern over the reasons behind the apparent decline in the sperm count of Western men.
Alcohol addiction can have a negative influence on both female and male fertility causing significant hurdles in their journey from infertility to fertility.
Infertility is a relatively common condition affecting one in 6 couples. Despite this, it remains a taboo. It affects the couple psychologically, economically and socially. They avoid meeting people as “children” will be a topic of conversation. Everybody you meet wants to suggest options. Seeing an infertility clinic is one of them. With the word “infertility clinic” many couples freak out.
‘Smoking is injurious to health’. This applies to reproductive health as well. Passive smoking is equally harmful, but not many women are aware of this. One survey of female hospital employees found that less than 1 in 4 knew that smoking could hurt their fertility or increase the risk of miscarriage.
Usually each month one ovary will be stimulated by hormones produced in the brain. These cause a small cyst or follicle to grow on the ovary in which an egg develops. Another hormone then causes the follicle to release one egg to travel down the fallopian tube where it can be fertilized by the sperm which swims up from the vagina. This usually occurs around 14 days after the beginning of a period but can vary between 11 – 16 days.
Infertility can affect women of any age and from any background. In fact, approximately one out of every seven couples trying to conceive today experience difficulties with infertility. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 12 percent of women in the U.S. ages 15 to 44 have difficulty getting pregnant or carrying a pregnancy to term. That’s nearly one in five women in the U.S. So it’s likely that you know someone struggling with infertility, whether they choose to share it or not.
