What men can do to reduce the risk of infertility?
Infertility is defined clinically in men and women who cannot achieve pregnancy after 1 year of having intercourse without using birth control.
Studies suggest that after 1 year of having unprotected sex, 15% of couples are unable to conceive, and after 2 years, 10% of couples still have not had a successful pregnancy.
1,2 In couples younger than age 30 who are generally healthy, 20% to 37% are able to conceive in the first 3 months.
The most common issues that lead to infertility in men are problems that affect how the testicles work. Other problems are hormone imbalances or blockages in the male reproductive organs. In about 50% of cases, the cause of male infertility cannot be determined.
A complete lack of sperm occurs in about 10% to 15% of men who are infertile. A hormone imbalance or blockage of sperm movement can cause a lack of sperm.
In some cases of infertility, a man produces less sperm than normal. The most common cause of this condition is varicocele, an enlarged vein in the testicle. Varicocele is present in about 40% of men with infertility problems.
Varicoceles are generally formed during puberty and are more commonly found on the left side of your scrotum. The anatomy of the right and left sides of your scrotum isn’t the same. Varicoceles can exist on both sides, but they're extremely rare.
What causes a varicocele to develop?
A spermatic cord holds up each testicle. The cords also contain the veins, arteries, and nerves that support these glands. In healthy veins inside the scrotum, one-way valves move the blood from the testicles to the scrotum, which sends it back to the heart.
Sometimes the blood doesn’t move through the veins like it should and begins to pool in the vein, causing it to enlarge.
A varicocele develops slowly over time.
Varicocele is present in 35 to 44 percent of men with primary infertility and 45 to 81 percent of men with secondary infertility.
Primary infertility is generally used to refer to a couple that hasn’t conceived a child after at least 1 year of trying. Secondary infertility describes couples that have conceived at least once but aren’t able to again.