Jerrie

Male infertility is a worldwide phenomenon but in our country it is a double-edged sword because it hits not just the men but the women who are married to these men. For, the matter of the fact is that it is the woman who gets blamed for the infertility. Additionally, the man who suffers is unwilling to take responsibility for doing anything getting married to another woman is often considered a viable option.

Here, we have tried to break through the myths that erode the whole concept that does not help anybody who is suffering.

"Infertility is a woman's problem."

With 40 per cent of all infertility attributable to male factors (with another 20 per cent attributed to both male and female), many lay people still assume that infertility is a female problem.

However, male infertility is a major issue and it should be treated seriously; otherwise it may cause major problems within a marriage.

Size of organ: Smaller the penis, more the chances of infertile male.

This is totally wrong. The size of the male organ, or the shape of it, has nothing to do with fertility of the man and the two should not be confused at all.

Infertility and impotency is same.

This too is totally wrong. There is absolutely no connection between the issue of infertility and impotency in a man's sexual life.

"You need 20 million sperm."

Doctors consider 20 million sperms per ml of ejaculate - give or take a few million - to be a "normal sperm" count. Sut men with lower sperm counts do father children on their own. Far fewer than 20 million sperms are needed to fertilise an egg. Here again, as in most things in life, it is not the quantity but the quality of sperm that matters.

"You only need one."

On the other end of the routine, myths believed by the general public is the old line that "it only takes one sperm for a woman to conceive." This too is not quite true. It's quite difficult to work with just one, or even two or three sperms. You don't need 20 million, but you do need more than one to impregnate a woman.

"All sperms are created equal."

A common misconception is that a sperm is a sperm. Unfortunately, not all sperms can fertilise an egg, or the ova, of a woman. A semen analysis looks at the number of sperms, and it evaluates mobility and morphology and some parameters of seminal fluid. Mobility refers to how effectively the sperm swim.

Do they move at a good pace and head in the right direction or are the little guys swimming around in circles, destination unknown? Morphology refers to the shape of the sperm.

Are they well formed or do they have malformed heads or tails? So, really, not all sperms are equal in quality.

Getting pregnant is easy

No, it is not. While some women and men as couples might find it easy for the woman to get pregnant, it is quite a task if one of the two is not working at the optimum level for which there may be many factors.

If you have periods, you'll get pregnant.

The pregnancy factor for a woman would depend on her egg being released. The ideal days for the woman to get pregnant can be calculated quite accurately. However, these are just 'better' days and not guaranteed days.

If you adopt, you will get pregnant

While some couples find that the woman gets pregnant after adopting a baby, there is no logical reason behind it. Yes, maybe in some cases, the woman, after the pressure for her to get pregnant is removed might conceive, there is no other reason behind it. Or maybe the male infertility has been rectified by lifestyle reasons.

The male infertility problems are all in the head.

Fertility issues are not psychological, but physical. There are physical reasons why the woman is not getting pregnant. Your fertility doctor or reproductive endocrinologist can help you figure out what your specific issues are and try to help you overcome them. However, about 10 per cent of all reasons for infertility are unexplained, but that doesn't mean they are in your head, just not as obvious as an ovulation disorder or sperm issue.

If you have had a baby the man cannot be infertile.

Strange, but true. A man may father a child and then get affected by infertility.

Definition of infertility

While the main myths have been clarified, there might be some case-specific doubts that a couple may be harbouring. For those to be removed, it is important to know what male infertility is. It means that the couple has had regular sex for one year without using any birth control pills or methods and the woman is unable to get pregnant. Infertility is not the same as being sterile. On an average, 15 to 20 per cent of healthy adults have infertility problems, so there is nothing to be ashamed of.

The issue should be dealt with in a mature manner for a quick diagnosis and effective treatment. Help is available for male infertility. A man has to be man enough to ask for it.

Following are some of the things that can interfere with a couple getting pregnant but are not causes of infertility.

- Use of lotions during intercourse.

- Position during intercourse.

- Douching (rinsing the vagina) after intercourse.

- Too frequent ejaculation.

In conclusion:

- Physical problem is found to be the cause of 80 to 90 per cent of all cases of infertility.

- Being infertile is a sexual problem. In fact, most couples with impaired infertility do not have any problem having intercourse.

- Adopting improves a couple's chance of conceiving. Unfortunately, no improvement in fertility was found in couples who adopted over couples who did not adopt.

- There are many other religious and cultural issues about infertility as well. Consult a qualified person if you are worried about any of these or other myths about being infertile.

Michael Douglas is a relationship expert and a sex therapist. Visit his website http://www.time4tips.com for healthy sex education and to know more about male infertility and impotence.