Male Infertility: New Treatments, More Pregnancies

The ultimate goal of male infertility treatment is to produce a pregnancy. Ideally, the cause of the infertility is reversible and then conception can result from natural sex. Here are a few common male infertility treatments that will be considered if you go to Metropolitan Urological Services in St. Louis, MO.

•   Varicoceles are fixed with surgery to shut off the abnormal veins. This seems to lead to a significant improvement in fertility, although some studies disagree.
•   Hormonal abnormalities can sometimes be addressed with medicine or surgery.
•   Obstructions in the sperm transport plumbing can often be surgically corrected.

In the past, if the above methods didn’t work, it often meant lifelong male infertility. Today, assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs) offer powerful new options.

These high-tech male infertility treatments give sperm an artificial boost to get into an egg. ARTs have made conception possible even for men with very low or abnormal sperm. If you live in Crestwood, Chesterfield, Washington, St. Louis, Missouri, or the surrounding areas, you need to consider these options.

First, sperm are collected either from ejaculated semen or by a needle from the testicle. They're then processed and introduced to eggs by different methods.

•   Intrauterine insemination (IUI.) At the time of ovulation, sperm are injected straight into the uterus. Medicines are usually given to the woman first to boost the number of eggs she releases.
•   In-vitro fertilization (IVF.) Sperm are mixed with multiple eggs collected from the woman in  a plastic dish. Fertilized eggs are then put into the uterus. IVF requires at least some viable sperm.
•   Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI.) A single sperm is injected through a tiny needle into an egg. The fertilized egg is then implanted in the uterus. ICSI can be performed when sperm counts are really low or abnormal.

By utilizing some combination of ARTs for several months, most couples can expect a pregnancy around 40 to 50% of the time.

Male Infertility Treatments To Try At Home

But are there any things you could do on your own to maximize your fertility? Yes. For one, don’t do things to hurt your chances to have viable sperm — marijuana, cocaine, tobacco, and more than two alcoholic drinks a day harm sperm production. Men should avoid hot baths and whirlpools since the high temperatures impede your sperm factory.

Taking testosterone, or any over-the-counter androgen like DHEA (for weight training), can harm fertility. People have had unnecessary surgeries because they forgot to say they were on these medicines.

Of course, living right helps. Anything that improves quality of health, such as adequate sleep and nutrition should improve fertility. If you have any questions about male infertility, Metropolitan Urological Services is the place to go. They help couples all over Crestwood, Chesterfield, Washington, and St. Louis, Missouri.