There are two concepts: fertility and sterility. The latter means infertility, or the inability to reproduce offspring, due to various reasons. The antonym is human fertility. Translated from Latin, the word frtilis means fertility, or fertility. Fertility in women, what is it and what does it depend on? Let's try to figure it out.
Fertile period in women
By the time of birth, about 400 eggs are formed in a newborn girl, which by the time of puberty are able to reproduce offspring. The only limitation is that during the period of the menstrual cycle, only one mature egg is ready for fertilization. The exit from the ovary into the fallopian tube is called ovulation. Thus, it can be determined that the concepts of ovulation and fertility in women have a common purpose - the ability of the body to conceive a child. Female fertility itself has a very short period. Only 48 hours, or two days, is given to a woman from the moment of ovulation for the possibility of fertilizing an egg. However, with the active life of male spermatozoa, the days of fertility can be extended up to 6-8 days. All this period, the male gamete patiently waits for the wandering egg at the fallopian tubes.
Determining the timing of the fertile period
There are several ways to determine fertility in women. The most common are:
cervical method;
calendar method;
temperature.
Let us consider in more detail each of the methods of determination.
The calendar method for determining fertility is the simplest and most accessible, but not always reliable. The method of determination is to read the duration of the menstrual cycle throughout the year. The beginning of the fertile period is determined by the shortest menstrual cycle minus 18. For example, a short cycle lasts 25 days, then 25-18=7. It is on the seventh day that fertility begins. The end of the fertile period is determined by the longest period of the menstrual cycle minus 11. For example, the duration of the long menstrual period lasted 30 days, then 30-11 = 19. Thus, female fertility in a particular case begins from the 7th to the 19th day of the menstrual cycle. This definition gives accurate results with regular menstrual cycle during the whole year.
The temperature method for determining is based on cyclic fluctuations in basal temperature. The fertile period begins 5-6 days before the preovulatory temperature drop and lasts 3-4 days.
The cervical method of determination is based on a characteristic change in the mucus released from the vagina. After menstruation, mucus is either absent, or in its structure it is opaque, sticky and thick. In the preovulatory period, it changes its properties and becomes more viscous and transparent to the light, outwardly resembling egg white. After ovulation, it becomes thick, sticky and opaque. It is believed that the fertile period can begin 3-4 days before the appearance of abundant mucus. The average duration of the fertile period according to the cervical method of determination lasts an average of about 6-7 days.
fertility test
Unfortunately, more and more couples incapable of reproducing offspring. One or both sexual partners may have problems conceiving. Before starting a family, experts in the field of sexology strongly recommend to be tested for compatibility. This will help young people avoid stressful situations and make it possible to purposefully plan a pregnancy. What is such testing? Evaluation of ejaculate - male sperm, allows you to determine the fertility index. This indicator takes into account the number of active, sedentary and immobile spermatozoa per milliliter of semen. For full fertilization in men, the number of viable sperm must be at least 58%. The prognosis of fertility in women is determined by assessing the quantitative composition of eggs and hormonal levels. For this procedure, various methods of clinical and laboratory research and ultrasound scanning of the reproductive organs are used. Thus, having determined female and male fertility (spermogram), you can look to the future with confidence and enjoy life without limit.
total fertility rate
The TFR, or total fertility rate, is the best indicator of the level of fertility in the world or in a particular region. TFR can also be defined as the female fertility rate.
Such an indicator is determined as follows: the total number of children born for a certain period is divided by the number of women of reproductive age in the region.
Statistical calculations take into account women of childbearing age from 14 to 49 years.
For reference: the lowest TFR was recorded in Singapore - 0.81, and the highest birth rate in the world among Nigerian women. TFR there is 6.76.
Factors affecting female fertility
There are many provoking factors that affect a woman's ability to give birth to a new life. Each case must be considered on a case-by-case basis, but the main criteria affecting female fertility can be defined as follows:
1. Age requirement. The older the woman, the less likely she is to conceive a child.
2. Abnormal deviations from the norm of the genital organs.
3. Acute and chronic diseases of the reproductive system.
4. Violations of the mental and / or nervous system.
Nowadays, the problems of conceiving and bearing a child, as well as the infertility of men and women, are very relevant. Probably, the very way of life and the rhythm of the modern world negatively affects these issues. Many women worry about their inability to easily become pregnant and bear a fetus.
However, it is not worth falling into despair. At the very least, it is necessary to learn as much as possible about such a concept as fertility, which contains all the information about the ability of men and women to bear children. Perhaps this article can shed light on your situation and help you get out of it.
General concept of gender fertility
What is fertility? Wikipedia gives a short answer: "It is the ability of both sexes to conceive." Let's consider the concept in more detail.
Fertility is a term used in the medical community to refer to aspects of a person's ability to reproduce after puberty. This is a biological characteristic., reflecting the ability of either a particular person or a group of people (united territorially, for example) to reproduce.
Translated from Latin, the word means fertile or prolific. This concept is opposite in essence and meaning to the concept of infertility. The term came into the Russian language from the English-language scientific medical literature, but the meaning in it remained the same.
Since two sexually mature people of different sexes are needed to conceive a child, this concept applies to both men and women. This means that there is a distinction between female and male fertility. Feminine means the ability of the body of a particular woman to conceive a child and bear it. Male fertility measures how capable a particular man is of fertilizing his partner.
When a man and a woman get married, we can already talk about the couple's fertility. In this case, it will be a collective indicator that speaks of their general ability to conceive a child, endure and give birth.
The concept of "fertility" is applied to people who are at an age when their physiological properties and characteristics allow them to reproduce offspring. The beginning of the reproductive age in the fairer sex is considered the time of the first menstruation, and the end of the onset of menopause. That is, the reproductive age of a woman is several decades, during which she continuously ovulates and menstruation occurs.
Reproductive age in men usually starts at age 14 or 15. From this age, in young men, the sperm already contains live spermatozoa that are capable of fertilization. If in the life of a man there are no factors that negatively affect sperm, then he is capable of fertilization until his death. But a woman is limited in time. Therefore, in general, the reproductive age is considered the interval from 15 years to 49.
Fertility in men - what is it?
Male fertility, in short, is the ability to produce sexual intercourse and release sperm into the genital tract of a woman, that is, to fertilize her. Of course, the ability to fertilize depends on the quality of the sperm and the "aliveness" of the spermatozoa. To get an assessment of the sperm quality of a particular man, you need to undergo a spermogram procedure.
The results of a spermogram can be such assessments of a man's fertility as:
- normal
- low
- increased.
There is one nuance here. Spermogram, in fact, gives only a general, theoretical assessment of a man's ability to fertilize at the moment. Since the assessment of "low fertility" does not mean that a man cannot fertilize a woman. This should be understood as a decrease in a man's ability to fertilize. Also, high fertility does not mean the possibility of fertilization the first time, since no one guarantees that even healthy spermatozoa will be able to find an egg.
Based on the data obtained from the spermogram, doctors make a prediction of fertilization in one sexual intercourse, for which they use Farris and Kruger indices. Often in this case, the concept of "fertility index" is used, which is understood as the ability of a particular man to conceive a fetus. To obtain the values of the Farris index, the number and percentage of immobile, sedentary and mobile spermatozoa in the entire amount of semen and in one milliliter of it are calculated.
The normal index value is 20.0. If the index value is less than 20, then sperm fertility is reduced. If the Farris index is above 20, then this means that sperm fertility is normal. Increased fertility will be considered if the index shows a value above 25. A man with such a sperm index can fertilize any woman on the first try.
To obtain the values of the Kruger index, the dimensions of spermatozoa are measured: tail, neck, head. The index is written as a percentage. If Kruger index value below 30% the male fertility is low. If more than 30%, then fertility is good and successful conception can be predicted.
What is fertility in women
So, with male fertility, we figured it out. But fertility in women, what is it? A woman's fertility is directly dependent on normal ovulation. That is, the ability to conceive depends on the presence of a mature egg. Under normal processes, the ovaries should release a ready-made egg every menstrual cycle. This process is called ovulation.
If ovulation does not occur in this cycle, then the woman is not able to become pregnant and is said to be not fertile. But if ovulation has occurred, then the probability of conceiving in this menstrual cycle equals 20%. In this case, the woman is said to be fertile. The maximum ability of a woman to conceive is achieved during the period of ovulation, so it is on these days that you need to have sexual intercourse for pregnancy.
If the process of maturation and release of the egg is disturbed, then the woman's ability to conceive is considered reduced. It is known that after 35 years, a woman without ovulation goes through 5-7 cycles per year. Accordingly, the fertility of women of this age is already reduced. At the same time, in women aged 20-35 years, ovulation does not take place only 1 or 2 times a year. Therefore, the ability of women to conceive at this age is much higher.
In the fairer sex, the processes of ovulation and the ability to bear and give birth to a child are regulated by nervous and hormonal mechanisms. Accordingly, their violation leads to a decrease in the ability to conceive in women of any age. It is stress that adversely affects the hormonal background and reduces a woman's fertility. But if the stressors can be removed, fertility can be restored and the woman will be able to become pregnant.
Fertile age of a woman
Fertile age or fertility age (aka reproductive age) is the interval in the age of a lady when she is able to give birth to offspring. It is worth saying that the reproductive period of women is much shorter than that of men. A woman acquires the ability to conceive after the first menstruation and retains it until menopause. And this is from about 15 to 55 years.
But here it must be taken into account that the ability to conceive becomes less with age. The more years, the lower this ability. At 45, the possibility of getting pregnant is much less than at 20. At the same time, until the age of 20, a girl is not ready to be a mother, therefore, in fact reproductive age of a woman 20-49 years.
During this period, all women belong to any one stage:
As you can see, for a woman, the most favorable for conceiving children is age 20-40 years.
Above, we have already touched on the period of maximum fertility of a woman within one menstrual cycle, now we will dwell on this in more detail.
To determine fertility days, a woman's menstrual cycle divided into three phases:
In order to get pregnant try in the middle of the loop when the egg is released from the ovary.
As shown in the article, fertility is an inherent property human body inherent in both men and women. Fertility is influenced by various factors, and as a result, it can decrease and increase. But in general, it completely depends on the health of the person.
What is fertility? Fertility is the ability of sexually mature males and females to reproduce after themselves, in other words, the reproductive function of a person. There are many factors due to which couples cannot successfully conceive. The thing is that young people do not know all the subtleties and laws of the correct conception of a child. First you need to figure out what conditions are most suitable for a successful reproductive process and creating a family, both for men and women.
fertile age
What is the best age for both sexes, and what is the fertile age? After puberty and until the end of the functioning of germ cells, as well as internal processes in the body that contribute to producing offspring, they call it the fertile age.
For the strong and weak sexes, due to their physiological differences, the time of fertility is different.
The fertile age for women is the childbearing period, which begins at the age of 12-15, when the girl has her first menstruation. From a medical point of view, fertility in women begins at the age of 15. Young pregnant woman is still a child herself, so the period of pregnancy can greatly affect her psychological and physical health. Thus, in early period fertility, you need to consult with experts, is it worth making such a choice and getting pregnant at 15?!
Even in the embryonic period in unborn girls, the process of laying a certain number of eggs takes place, which will be used up throughout the reproductive life before the onset of menopause. About aged 49 and after the woman's body becomes undesirable for creating a new life.
Over the years, the level of estrogen production drops dramatically, thereby lowering her fertility. The probability of giving birth to a genetically ill baby with possible both physiological and mental abnormalities increases. The most fertile period for a woman is considered to be between 20 and 35 years of age. The further, the more difficult it is to endure pregnancy, and the risk of giving birth to an unhealthy child increases.
Fertile period in women
The fertile period in women is divided into four stages:
Fertility forecast
Women's reproductive system is a very complex mechanism and is under constant control of hormones responsible for well-coordinated work ovarian menstrual cycle, which takes an average of 28 days. This cycle is divided into phases: menstrual, postmenstrual, and premenstrual.
In addition to the division of stages by years, there is a definition of days of fertility and relative infertility (sterility). The day that is most successful for conceiving a child is called the fertile day.
According to the results of a study in which 20 thousand women took part, scientists at the University of California at San Diego came to a general conclusion and reported that women who give birth to their first child after 30, in most cases, live to old age more often than their peers, who gave birth before 30. At the same time, the German scientist Mikko Myrskylä and his colleague Kiron Barkail, a scientist from London, analyzed the history of 1.5 million Swedish people living there in 1960-1991 and found that the children of 40-year-old parents turned out to be much smarter and physically healthier than their own. peers.
In order to find out the general macroeconomic indicator of a state or a separate region, a register of pregnant women and women of childbearing age, which shows the overall birth rate (states, territories), and find this coefficient using the formula:
K = N/n*1000
N - the number (total) of newborn children, for example, for 1 year or 5, 10 years;
n - means the total number of women aged 15-50 living in the region of the estimated fertility rate;
K is the fertility rate.
The result is given in ppm. If the result of the count gives a number less than 2.0 (‰) then the number of the studied social group falls, if higher, then there is an increase in the studied population.
The fertile age of a man is considered to be the moment of puberty of a boy at the age of 14–16 years. Since then, and almost until the end of his days, the male body produces sperm. It turns out, unlike women, male has no age limits of reproduction. But there are many other factors that affect reproduction with age. One of the key factors is the decrease in testosterone production in the aging body of a man, which significantly increases the chance of conceiving a child with genetic abnormalities.
It is generally accepted that 60 years is the age after which men should not conceive a child. But it is not without exceptions. Not so long ago 85-year-old grandfather became a father who had a healthy baby, but playing such games is dangerous.
In order to successfully create life, women and men need to be aware of their fertility status. Now in order.
A man is able to maintain his reproductive function until the end of his days, if he leads healthy lifestyle life and not succumb to the influence of internal (ecology, physical fatigue, malnutrition, etc..) and psychological (constant stress, emotional overload, lack of proper sleep) life factors. Thus, a man is always ready to conceive a child, his fertile period begins from the start of sperm production.
Very often, young people cannot conceive a child, leading a constant sexual life without contraceptives. In such cases, both sexual partners should undergo a complete examination of their reproductive organs and sex hormones. What examinations should a man undergo?
Fertility index in men?
In order to determine the ability of a woman to fertilize, you need to know the fertility index of a man. Via laboratory research of sperm, the so-called spermogram, you can find out the possibility of fertilizing an egg in just one sexual intercourse. After a spermogram using the Kruger and Farris index, doctors can accurately predict the ability of spermatozoa to fulfill their goal and fertilize an egg.
The Farris index indicates the number, as well as the apparent percentage of sedentary, live, mobile and immobile tadpoles in one milliliter of semen or in its total amount. If a man's sperm count reach the index value 20-25, then the man has normal fertility. When the value exceeds 25, increased fertility is noted, in the case of a decrease to 20 and below, reduced fertility is recorded.
With the help of the Kruger index, parameters such as: the size of the sperm head, its tail and neck are recognized, the finished result is expressed as a percentage of the number of completely healthy and those that have defects in spermatozoa. If index number greater than 30%- this is high fertility, if lower - low poor fertility. In general, in the course of such studies, one can see the overall picture of a man's fertility and his ability to become a father. Even if the indicators are low, this does not mean that such a man will not be able to have children, his reproductive ability to fertilize an egg is reduced, which complicates this process.
Fertility in women
Female fertility consists of three key factors: the ability to conceive, late pregnancy and the birth of a healthy child. It is divided into high, medium and low fertility. Low ability can be considered a case when a woman can conceive a child, but will not be able to give birth to him naturally. IN modern world the above case is not considered a problem, and with the help of a caesarean section, any woman can be helped to give birth to a child born in her womb.
Female fertility test
And now the list of tests for the fertility of a woman and the forecast of her fertility in the future:
- It is necessary to conduct a study of the state of the uterus, as well as the state of the follicles and the egg that has matured in them using ultrasound. This test is carried out after menstruation on the 5-6th day of the new menstrual cycle. During the study, the diameter of the ovaries is measured and active follicles are counted, the proportion of connective and important hormonal tissues is immediately recognized. If the indicator is 20 - 120 mm, this ovarian diameter is the norm. The grown follicles are normal - 5 pieces, no more and no less. Active connective tissue must maintain a 1:1 ratio.
In conclusion, against the background of the results of the studies, the ovulation reserve is assessed on a scale from -2.0 to +2.0 points. If, according to the results of the study, the ovulation reserve is -2, this indicates extremely low fertility i.e. it is very difficult for a woman to conceive and bear a child, and if the result is +2, then this woman is hyper fertile, and her health allows her to become pregnant during two of the three circular cycles and give birth to a healthy child without difficulties. In addition, other studies are needed:
- Another way to determine fertility is to do a blood test for the presence of hormones such as luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone. They have a strong impact on the ability to conceive and carry a baby in the womb. If the concentration of follicle-stimulating hormone exceeds luteinizing hormone, depleted ovaries are observed in the body and the woman's ability to conceive is weakened. This is a stable test prognosis that lasts for 3–5 years. With treatment and the right lifestyle, the result of the conclusion of fertility can be increased.
- It is necessary to examine what kind of patency of the fallopian tubes (in the event that a woman previously had ectopic pregnancy or infertility).
- Nowadays, it is possible to test fertility with a home fertility test for women. In a container with morning urine, you need to lower a test, similar to a pregnancy test, which will indicate whether successful ovulation will occur within two days. The second strip is more saturated than the control, which means that at this stage the woman has increased fertility and she will be able to get pregnant. In the case of a weak color compared to the control strip, ovulation will not take place, and in this menstrual cycle she is not ready for pregnancy.
How to increase fertility?
- Give up such bad habits as smoking and alcohol, stop using drugs, which, if used for a long time, can cause complete infertility of partners.
- Have sex twice a week. It will be better if it is a permanent sexual partner.
- Regular physical exercise.
- Control your psychological state and prevent nervous breakdowns, stressful situations.
- It is important for women to stop taking painkillers during ovulation so as not to disrupt this process.
- Less caffeinated drinks.
- Drink 1.5 - 2 liters of water per day.
- Balance your diet. It should include: meat, fish, seafood and dairy products, fruits and vegetables. The diet does not include: smoked meats, preserves and marinades. Food should be healthy and in the right quantity. No more, no less.
Inna 12/17/2017
I thought it was something like potency, my husband often has problems with it, smartprost has not yet been removed from the bedroom. But it turns out that this generally applies to children, so we no longer need them, at such and such an age.
Add a commentUsually, men begin to think about such terms as "fertility" for the first time when they fail to conceive a child after long attempts. And many at the same time suspect that the reason lies in the woman, but this is a common misconception. share male infertility in marriages, according to statistics, approaches 40%, and therefore the issues of male fertility are no less important than those of women.
What it is?
The concept of "fertility" comes from the Latin word fertilis, which translates as "fertile". If to speak in simple terms, then this term means the ability of a man to fertilize a female germ cell and have children. Fertility in men is determined by the quality of sperm, as well as the state of health of the genital organs, which ensures unhindered transport of sperm to the woman's body, where fertilization and further development embryo.
A fertile representative of the stronger sex begins to be considered from the moment when puberty begins. It is from this period that the boy begins to produce spermatozoa, which causes his transition to the reproductive age. This usually happens at 10-12 years of age. The testicles increase in size, they begin the active production of sex hormones, the maturation of spermatozoa. The penis begins to lengthen a little later. From the age of 13, boys are considered potentially fertile, and from the age of 16 - fully fertile.
Fertility in men is a longer concept than in women, and it depends little on age, and at the age of 70 a man can become a dad, which cannot be said about the fairer sex.
Fertile age for a man is the time at which he is able to fertilize an egg. Fertility is high, medium or low.
With low fertilization naturally appears to be a difficult or impossible task. At a normal level of fertility, a man is capable of fertilization on any day while he is in reproductive age. Increased fertility- a rare phenomenon, therefore it is often called a phenomenon. With it, contraceptive measures do not help partners, and often a woman's pregnancy occurs even while taking contraceptives.
The likelihood of an unplanned pregnancy is higher in couples in which both men and women are highly fertile. In practice, this happens very rarely.
How is it determined?
There is only one way to determine male fertility - having conducted a laboratory quantitative and qualitative study of the composition and properties of his sperm. This analysis is called a spermogram. It can be done in almost any reproductive clinic in any region, the cost of the analysis is low, and therefore such an examination is considered affordable for everyone. An analysis is being prepared from a day to three days, its results are considered highly accurate.
To obtain reliable results, a man should limit his sexual life and masturbation for 5 days before the analysis, 7 days before the examination, it is worth giving up sunbathing, baths and saunas, alcohol, and reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke. They donate sperm by masturbation or coitus interruptus, carried out in a special medical condom. Further, using a microscopic method, specialists determine numerous indicators that ultimately allow us to determine the fertility of a man and highlight his individual fertility index.
Male fertility index - what happens?
The index is currently defined in two ways:
- Kruger method;
- Farris method.
Kruger's method involves the assessment of the morphological features of male germ cells, depending on their structure. All cells with altered shapes, sizes of the tail, head, neck of the spermatozoon are rejected, only reference cells remain that correspond to the reference properties described by Kruger. A man is considered fertile with enhanced capabilities, in whose sperm such reference germ cells not less than 40-45%.
The detection of at least 15% of such cells indicates average fertility, and less than 15% indicates a low ability to reproduce. The Kruger criteria are very strict. They do not pass germ cells, which have even minor defects in the head, neck, tail. An indicator of 30% is taken as the basis - it is he who is considered a criterion for male fertility.
The Farris method is a method for counting different motility groups of spermatozoa. Four types of germ cells can be present in seminal fluid:
- BUT- the most elite, mobile, active, moving straight at high speed;
- IN- mobile and active, but slightly slower than their type A gathering;
- FROM- mobile, but not effective cells that do not move forward, but in a circle, in a zigzag, whatever, but not in the direction of the egg;
- D- immobile cells, which can be both living and dead.
The Farris index implies that a healthy and fertile man has at least 25% of type A cells or at least 50% of type A and B cells in solidarity in the seminal fluid. Most often, the Farris index is denoted by numbers. If a man sees in the results of the analysis:
- less than 20.0- this indicates low fertility;
- 20-25 – it indicates normal fertility;
- above 25.0- this indicates high fertility.
A high fertility index in the spermogram means that a man can easily become a dad even with a single sexual intercourse and he will not need any medical intervention for this. About what is the norm of the test for a fertile man, you can talk about average standards.
Table of normal fertility according to the results of spermogram
Indicator | Norm |
Viscosity | no more than 2 centimeters |
Turbidity | Present or "+" |
red blood cells | Missing or "-" |
Leukocytes | None or no more than 0.3 |
Liquefaction time | 10 to 40 minutes |
Acidity | |
Number of germ cells | Over 40 million |
Of these active | Not less than 25% |
Of them motionless | Not more than 50% |
Of these, morphologically normal according to Kruger | 30% or more |
Aggregation | Missing or "-" |
Presence of antisperm antibodies | Missing or "-" |
Sperm viability | At least 50% live cells in the sample. |
The analysis shows only the state of the sperm at the current time. He does not answer the question why a man's fertility has decreased and what to do about it.
Age features
A very important factor in assessing female fertility is age, because it is with its increase that the reproductive function of women fades away. In men, there is no clear relationship between fertility and age, but a decrease in fertility with aging still occurs, it is associated with a decrease in the amount of sex hormones, in particular, testosterone. Also with age increased risk of gene mutations therefore, spermatozoa can carry DNA with defects, which will increase the likelihood of having a baby with chromosomal abnormalities.
Doctors think that best age for fertilization in men - from 16 to 35 years. After 50 years, a gradual hormonal restructuring occurs, the endocrine system becomes more “lazy”, spermatogenesis slows down.
The number of reference germ cells in the sperm of a man can begin to gradually decrease by the age of 35. But even with low fertility, a man can fertilize an egg. If a man is over 40 years old at the time of conception, then a woman is more likely to have a missed abortion, miscarriage, and fetal chromosomal abnormalities.
But it should be understood that A man can become a dad even at the age of 80, if necessary. And for this it is not at all necessary that he had an erection and he was able to conduct full-fledged sexual intercourse. Modern medicine can take his sperm instrumentally through their vas deferens, and if it is of decent quality, IVF, ICSI and other treatment cycles using assisted reproductive technologies can be carried out.
Reasons for decline and violations
You should learn to distinguish between the concepts of “impaired fertility” and “reduced fertility”. In the first case, we are talking about irreversible changes in the state of health of a man. In the second - about temporary, surmountable.
Male reproductive function is quite vulnerable and can be disturbed under the influence of a variety of factors. The reasons can lie both in congenital features, genetic abnormalities (this is the most unfavorable option), and in acquired work disorders reproductive system. Most common causes decline in male fertility.
- Diseases of the reproductive organs (varicocele, prostatitis, prostate adenoma and others).
- Disorders associated with the transport of sperm along the vas deferens (retrograde ejaculation).
- Infectious diseases - genital infections, venereal diseases, genital herpes, mumps (infectious parotitis) transferred in childhood.
- Injuries or congenital malformations - refers to injuries or defects of the penis, testicles.
- Endocrine diseases and diseases that cause a shift in the balance of hormonal levels - diabetes, obesity, hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism of the thyroid gland. The production of normal spermatozoa and the ability of a man to reproduce is affected by the lack of gonadoliberin, testosterone.
- The presence of antisperm antibodies - this behavior of the immune system is not excluded if an operation was previously performed or there were blunt injuries of the genital organs, in which spermatozoa penetrated where they do not belong - the immune system forever remembered them as "foreign bodies" and now seeks to destroy.
The flu or ARVI transferred by a man can reduce spermogram indicators and show reduced fertility if the disease was a couple of months before the test. Everything that is associated with a high body temperature adversely affects the production of spermatozoa and their mobility.
If the disease has taken place, it is worth starting pregnancy planning no earlier than after 3 months, it is also better to do a spermogram after such a period of time. It takes up to 90 days for spermatozoa to renew.
Features of modern life also leave their mark on the quality of male fertility.
- Ecology- large cities with an abundance of exhaust gases, with dirty air significantly increase the likelihood of a decrease in fertility functions.
- stress- chronic tension leads to excessive production of stress hormones, in connection with which the production of sex hormones decreases and sperm quality suffers.
- Features of work- contact with radioactive substances, varnishes, paints, toxins and poisons, the presence in the vibration zone almost always have their own echo in relation to male reproductive health. Night shift work is also considered a negative factor - night sleep is important for a normal hormonal background.
- Bad habits- Smoking, alcohol, drugs. Such hobbies lead not only to the deterioration general characteristics spermograms, but also to mutations in the DNA of germ cells. Smoking marijuana is considered especially dangerous - cannabinoids have a mutagenic effect on male germ cells.
Even men who try to lead an active lifestyle can be among those who have low fertility. Sexual function can suffer from steroid hormones that athletes use to control body weight, for muscle mass. Decreased fertility is often found in men who often visit the bathhouse, sauna, solarium with pleasure, and also turn on the heated seats in their car - the thermal effect on the scrotum leads to a deterioration in spermogram parameters.
How to raise?
In the overwhelming majority of cases, reduced male fertility is not a sentence, but only the basis for changing lifestyle, eliminating the influence of the very negative factors listed above. But in any case, you can not do without a medical examination. Before planning a pregnancy, it is important to cure all detected infections; a man may not even be aware of many of them, because they are completely asymptomatic.
With varicocele and impaired patency of the seminiferous tract, surgical intervention helps.
Improving fertility is possible only with strict adherence to the doctor's recommendations. These are the basic tips.
- It is recommended to take vitamin preparations and dietary supplements to improve the processes of spermatogenesis and improve the quality of sperm (Viardot, SpermaActive and others). Among them, zinc, selenium, folic acid, B vitamins are the most useful.
- Limitation of thermal effects on the genitals and scrotum- Refusal to visit the bath, sauna, from using car seat heating, from wearing tight, oppressive underwear and tight trousers.
- Correction of nutrition and lifestyle. More protein foods (meat, fish, milk) should be introduced into the diet. Heavy and exhausting physical activity is contraindicated, while moderate physical activity is encouraged. Rejection of bad habits.
The specialist in the video below tells more about the reasons for the decline in fertility in men.