Find out the facts so these common misconceptions don’t keep you and your man from getting pregnant.
When it comes to making a baby, women tend to get all the attention. After all, they carry the baby, experience birth, and nurse their infants with milk their own bodies make. It’s easy to see how men can get left out of the discussion—and why myths about male infertility flourish.
One of the biggest myths: that there’s just not very much that can be done to make infertile men fathers. That’s less true than ever before. “Not too long ago, treatment for a severe male factor was limited to inseminations or IVF [in vitro fertilization] using donor sperm,” says Mark Perloe, M.D., medical director of Georgia Reproductive Specialists in Atlanta. “Today, advances in male infertility have introduced innovative therapeutic options that offer men a greatly improved chance to conceive their own biological offspring.”
And there are other common misconceptions about men and fertility that can sometimes keep couples from realizing their dreams of starting or adding to their families.
Here are some of the most persistent misconceptions—and the facts.
Size makes no difference to his paternity potential
Penis size has nothing to do with fertility. “However, to some extent, testicle size does correspond with fertility,” says Abraham Morgentaler, M.D., associate clinical professor of urology at Harvard Medical School and author of Testosterone for Life (McGraw-Hill, 2008). “Since most of the testicle is dedicated to sperm production, men with smaller testicles often have lower sperm numbers.” And while many men with small testicles are able to get their partners pregnant easily, when delays occur it’s wise to get evaluated sooner rather than later.
Infertility is a woman’s problem
This widely held view “could not be farther from the truth,” says Dr. Perloe. “In fact, in nearly 30 percent of all infertility cases, the cause is attributed to a factor in the male, such as deficiencies in sperm production and blockages in the sperm delivery system. And in an additional 30 percent of cases, the cause is attributed to both male and female factors.”
The inability to conceive after one year up to age 35, or within six months after age 35, should be seen as a couple’s problem until tests prove otherwise. That means guys should be a part of the fertility evaluation almost from the get-go. If a woman has been referred to a reproductive endocrinologist, her partner needs a semen analysis, which looks for problems in the number and movement of sperm. If this test shows a problem, men should be referred to a male infertility specialist. (Unexplained infertility also warrants a visit.)
The more sex men have, the greater their chances of fertilizing an egg. Or . . . The more men abstain, the more sperm they'll accumulate
Neither myth is correct. More sex around a woman’s ovulation isn’t necessarily better for maximizing fertility. “Having sex every day will lower sperm counts significantly,” says Karen Elizabeth Boyle, M.D., director of male fertility at Shady Grove Fertility Reproductive Science Center in Baltimore and Rockville, Maryland, and clinical instructor of urology at George Washington University.
Likewise, there’s no use in abstaining for a long period of time in order to maximize the number of sperm deposited. After three days, the quality of the sperm decreases, even if overall numbers increase somewhat.
Solution: “If you’re timing intercourse for around the time of ovulation, aim to have intercourse every other day,” Dr. Boyle says. “This allows sperm counts to normalize for maximum fertility potential.”
One more thing. Dr. Morgentaler says, “Guys should be aware that frequent masturbation (more than once daily) on any given day may lower the number of sperm in each ‘deposit’ on that day, which may affect the likelihood of pregnancy.”
Once a man has had a vasectomy, there’s no going back
It’s true that vasectomy is considered a form of permanent birth control. With the procedure, the vas deferens (which transports sperm) within each testicle is cut or sealed to prevent the release of sperm when a man ejaculates.
Luckily, however, that’s not always an impediment to fatherhood. “When performed by a fellowship-trained micro-surgeon who specializes in male fertility, a vasectomy reversal is successful in over 90 percent of men who have the procedure performed,” says Dr. Boyle. “This is the only way for a couple to conceive naturally after vasectomy.”
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