SUNDAY, June 23, 2024 (HealthDay News) — When a couple can't get pregnant, the focus is often on the prospective mom, but that needs to change, a Houston urologist says. "Both partners need evaluation," said , a professor of urology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. "With fertility, you can't finger point.
It's not a male or female problem as much as it needs to be considered a couple's problem." Men who are infertile have no way to know unless they've had specific surgeries or an accident involving their testicles. The only sign is being unable to get a woman pregnant.
A fertility test can confirm this. Once a man hits his 50s, his fertility drops. It's not as dramatic a decline as that which a woman experiences during menopause -- rather, it happens little by little.
Guys who are obese or who put on weight may also have trouble producing enough sperm. A doctor might recommend losing weight, to boost production of male hormones. A diet rich in foods containing antioxidants may also be suggested.
"The issue with obesity is that fat metabolizes testosterone to estrogen, which is bad for sperm production," Lipschultz said in a Baylor news release. "Generally, trying to maintain a good bodyweight through exercise and proper diet is going to be helpful." Keep in mind that the testosterone should not come from an outside source.
Men who take outside testosterone in any form are turning off the hormones that promote sperm production. Men who need testosterone should be un.
