Key Points

• Understand the top four causes of male infertility and how they affect your chances of having a child.
• Learn what risk factors are affecting the health of your fertility and your ability to get your partner pregnant.
• Find a surrogacy professional who can help you connect with fertility professionals and take the next steps toward family-building.

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Discovering you are facing male infertility can take an emotional toll. When you’ve been trying to conceive a child it can be devastating to learn things are more difficult than they appear. Male infertility is usually diagnosed after trying to conceive with a female partner for one year without protection or birth control. Getting a diagnosis and addressing the cause of male infertility can help you move forward as a couple to build your family.

If you are wondering about your options, working with a surrogacy agency can help. Qualified surrogacy professionals are available to help you on your journey to deciding the best options for you and have a vast network of professionals to refer you to. Contact a surrogacy professional today.

Top 4 Causes of Male Infertility

There are four main causes of male infertility. These include medical, environmental, health and lifestyle. Some of these issues can be taken care of through surgery, medication or lifestyle changes while others may need a more in-depth treatment plan.

Medical Causes

There are several medical issues that can cause male infertility. Some of these issues may be fixed with surgery, medications and other treatment plans. Typical medical issues include:

• Varicocele
• Infections including inflammation of the testicles and STIs
• Ejaculation issues
• Antibodies attacking the sperm
• Tumors
• Undescended testicles
• Hormone imbalances
• Defects of tubules that transport sperm

Environmental Causes

While there may be some things you can do to help with environmental causes, many men may not realize the effects of the environments they’ve been in. Some environmental causes of male infertility include:

• Industrial chemicals including pesticides, herbicides, organic solvents and painting materials
• Heavy metal exposure and lead exposure
• Radiation or x-rays
• Overheating of the testicles

Health Causes

The major cause of male infertility regarding health issues is weight and diet. Obesity can impair fertility in several ways, including directly impacting sperm and causing hormone changes that may reduce male fertility. Making changes in your diet and getting into active habits including exercise can help you reverse some issues weight gain may have caused.

Lifestyle Causes

There may be lifestyle factors affecting your fertility. Some common lifestyle factors include drug use, alcohol use, and tobacco use. Alcohol and tobacco may both cause lower sperm count. Alcohol also causes lower testosterone levels and erectile dysfunction. It can also create liver disease when used excessively, affecting your fertility. Another lifestyle cause of male infertility is age. It’s something we unfortunately cannot change, but it’s important to be aware of. Most men aged 40 and over have declining quality in their sperm.

Risk Factors:

• Use of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs
• Being overweight
• Having certain past or present infections
• Being exposed to toxins
• Overheating the testicles
• Having experienced trauma to the testicles
• Having a prior vasectomy or major abdominal or pelvic surgery
• History of undescended testicles
• Born with a fertility disorder or having a blood relative with a fertility disorder
• Having medical conditions including tumors, chronic illnesses
• Taking certain medication or treatments including surgery or radiation for treating cancer

Understand Your Options

There are a number of ways you, your doctor and your partner may want to go about a treatment plan for male infertility. Treatment options are not for everyone, depending on your needs and wants when it comes to family building. Going through male infertility treatments can cause stress on relationships. They can also be expensive with a risk of not working. Due to these issues, some couples choose to pursue other options including surrogacy.

Surrogacy allows you to take more control over your situation with more promise of successfully having a child. Working with a qualified gestational carrier means you have a higher chance of achieving parenthood. When you work with surrogacy agencies who value your time, you can be matched with a surrogate as early as 30 days.

If you and your partner are considering other options on your journey to parenthood, contacting a surrogacy professional can help. Whether you want to pursue surrogacy or just learn more about your options, a surrogacy professional will help guide you to the best option for you. Learn more about male infertility today.