Why We Really Need Better Options for Treating Male Infertility

Have you noticed how few options and natural treatments there are for male infertility?

Early on in my husband’s and my infertility journey, we did what many couples do who are having trouble conceiving: We did a semen analysis to determine if any of our issues with conceiving had to do with male-factor infertility. While women are often the main targets for infertility treatment, it is estimated that at least 20-30% of infertility cases are solely due to male factor infertility, and that combined with female factor infertility, male factor infertility contributes another 30-50% of all infertility cases globally.

According to an article in The Guardian, “a landmark study by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, published in July, showed that among men from Europe, North America, and Australia, sperm counts have declined by almost 60% in less than 40 years.” Given these alarming statistics, and because it takes two to tango, it made good sense for our doctor to order the semen analysis for my husband, and we anxiously awaited the results.

Fortunately, from that analysis (and after our doctor’s physical examination of my husband), we were quickly able to rule out any male reproductive issues contributing to our difficulties in getting pregnant. Unfortunately, my own exams and tests were not so promising, and so we began the long, arduous process of infertility treatment, solely focused on me. My husband of course focused on eating right, exercising, and overall leading a healthy lifestyle to keep up his good reproductive health, but I was the one who was poked, prodded, and tested for the many months thereafter, until we were fortunate enough to finally conceive our son.

At the end of the day, we are one of the lucky couples who beat primary infertility (and without resorting to artificial means like IVF, although at least one doctor suggested that course of action to us). Addressing the source of our infertility was fairly straightforward, especially because we were fortunate enough to work with some excellent doctors trained in Natural Procreative Technology.

As a result of my experience, I always assumed that like infertility treatment for women, there must be natural, respectful, and effective options for men to heal male infertility. But what I since found was this troubling fact: despite my initial frustrations at being the one to bear the physical brunt of our infertility treatment, we were very lucky indeed that our own infertility issues were due to my faulty reproductive system, and not due to my husband’s. Because not only are there very few options available for treating male infertility, but those that are available are not really “treatments” at all. Instead, they amount to attempting through various methods to extract the precious sperm from the man’s body—treating infertile men as if they were the out-of-order snack machine in the break room that needs to be rocked, banged on, and reached up into to get the prize.

The sad reality is that despite the alarming statistics of a veritable crisis in male infertility—and despite the fact that men experience the emotional trauma of infertility every bit as much as women do, albeit in different ways—modern medicine is behind when it comes to addressing male factor infertility. In addition, I think our medical community’s insufficient attempts to address male infertility creates a dehumanizing ethos for men struggling with this health problem.

Part of the issue is this: Despite the erroneous belief that male fertility is “simple,” and that female fertility is “complicated,” male infertility, as it turns out, is actually incredibly complex. Issues can stem from causes that are structural or anatomical, immunological or hormonal. One of the very first steps toward identifying the causes of male infertility begins with a semen collection and analysis, and it is there that the embarrassment and debased feelings often begin. The most common method of collecting a semen sample is to send men into a room or bathroom, typically stocked with pornographic material, to masturbate into a collecting cup. The collection is then analyzed in a lab to determine sperm count and quality. Unfortunately, very few people are aware that there is a much more respectful, much less embarrassing, yet equally effective way of collecting semen for an analysis that respects both the husband and wife, which can be done by using the Seminal Fluid Collection Kit from the Pope Paul VI Institute.

Depending on the results of the semen analysis, some men may then need to see a urologist or infertility specialist in order to determine the next steps for treatment. Sometimes, a procedure to surgically correct certain anatomical issues impacting sperm and semen production or ejaculation is needed. If a man is infertile due to a blockage or because of a prior vasectomy, surgical correction may be possible. Perhaps a physical examination reveals the presence of a varicocele, which, similar to a varicose vein in the leg, is an enlarged vein within the scrotum. According to the Mayo Clinic, “varicoceles are a common cause of low sperm production and decreased sperm quality, which can cause infertility,” and a varicocelectomy might help a couple who is having trouble getting pregnant to eventually conceive. As it turns out, a varicocelectomy is one of the few, highly effective infertility treatments for men that is truly therapeutic, but of course not all male infertility can be traced to the presence of a varicocele.

If corrective anatomical surgery is not an option for addressing a man’s infertility, the arduous, invasive process continues as various options for sperm extraction are discussed (assuming the man has healthy sperm to extract)—or that particular man is excluded from the picture altogether, and a sperm donor is suggested. Either option ensures that once sperm is procured by some means, the man’s partner will be undergoing an intrauterine insemination (IUI) or a round of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in an attempt to conceive a child, which will mean even more pricey and invasive medical procedures for the couple, none of which guarantees the longed-for child that the couple desires.

Infertility is a true cross to bear. As individuals who once carried this burden, my husband and I can well understand the tortured decisions that couples feel pressured to make when suffering the emotional and physical pains of infertility. This is why I feel there is such a need for respectful, effective infertility treatments that actually address the root causes of infertility. While NaPro Technology, in particular, has come a long way in doing that for women suffering from infertility (and I myself am an example of that), I think there is still a long way to go before medicine can claim that it does the same for men.