To understand the causes of infertility, it helps to understand how normal pregnancies happen. There are many steps that need to happen correctly, from the time the sperm is released until the point when a baby is growing inside the womb. A problem can happen at any part along this path.
Can laptop computers and WiFi damage male fertility?
This is a good question. Sperm counts have been dropping worldwide for the last 100 years and scientists remain baffled as to all the reasons. In a recent study from Argentina scientists have shown that ejaculated sperm from 15 men showed damage to both the swimming ability and genetic integrity after exposure to a laptop computer connected to WiFi. The study was small and experts have warned that other factors could explain the damage seen in the sperm. At present we advise men to avoid having laptop computers on their lap. Apart from potential damage to sperm the heat generated underneath the laptops caused significant heating in testicles which is thought to reduce sperm quality.
Although fertility is often the last thing you think about when diagnosed with cancer, radiation therapy and chemotherapy can cause long-term problems with sperm production. Often sperm can be stored before starting treatments. With low doses of radiation and some types of chemotherapy, sperm production can return to normal after a period of time. Ask your doctor about sperm storage before having these treatments, and find out when it is safe to try to become pregnant naturally after the treatments have stopped.
Fertility or sexual performance problems can also happen with other prescribed drugs such as some drugs used to treat inflammatory conditions, depression, epilepsy, high blood pressure and diabetes. Well known to cause low sperm counts are the drugs Proviron and testosterone injections, which are sometimes mistakenly given to increase sperm counts.
Taking anabolic steroids for body building or competitive sports damages your body. Besides causing acne, weight gain and changes in mood, your testicles shrink in size and sperm production stops. In other words, “steroids = sterile”. Once the drugs are stopped, sperm production may take one to two years to return to normal.
Fertility can also be affected by using other illegal drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine and heroin because they lower testosterone levels and sex drive. Not having regular sex can make it more difficult to become pregnant. There are many other illegal drugs that affect sexual performance and may reduce sperm production or even damage the sperm themselves. We simply don’t know all the risks – so don’t take the chance!
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as Gonorrhoea, chlamydia, syphilis, warts… these little nasty’s can not only be painful, but some of them can affect your fertility. STIs, especially untreated gonorrhoea and chlamydia, can cause blockages in the sperm tubes so that sperm can’t move on from the testicles (where they are produced) and into the semen and ejaculated. Surgery to fix the blocked tubes isn’t always possible. STIs can cause fertility problems in women so getting treatment can also stop the spread of disease to a female sexual partner.
The prostate sits underneath the bladder and adds fluid to protect sperm on their journey through the reproductive system. Infections of the prostate, known as prostatitis, can cause pain in the abdomen and fever. As the sperm move through the prostate into the urethra, swelling of the prostate may stop sperm from passing through the reproductive system.
Mumps is a viral infection that can be caught by anyone at any age, but it’s much more dangerous for adult men. The mumps virus can totally destroy the tubes that make sperm and permanently stop sperm production.
For women one of the most important factors is age. In normal conditions, when a woman and man are healthy and younger than 35 years the chance of a pregnancy occurring each month is between 5-25%. As a woman gets older the chance of a pregnancy each month becomes lower because she has less eggs and these eggs are not such good quality.
By the age of 40 years pregnancy is becoming less common and it is almost impossible to achieve a pregnancy from the age of 45 years without using someone else’s eggs (donor egg IVF).
A woman is born with all the eggs she will ever have and as she goes through life, these eggs naturally reduce in numbers. By forty a woman has only 1-2% of the eggs she was born with. Also the good eggs tend to be used first and as she gets older the eggs being released are not such good quality. This causes higher rates of both miscarriage and abnormal babies in women 40 and over.
This reducing fertility as a woman ages is illustrated in a study that looked at pregnancy rates in women receiving sperm donation. In these cases the infertility problem was due to the male partner (male factor) and the women were all without infertility problems, so there was a need for sperm donation. The study showed that among healthy women who are 25 years old, 40 per cent (40/100) will not be pregnant after six months of trying, and 15 per cent (15/100) will not be pregnant after one year. For women who are 35 years old, 65 per cent (65/100) will not be pregnant after six months of trying and 40 per cent (40/100) will not be pregnant after one year. The study also showed that 15 per cent (15/100) of women over 35 will still not be pregnant after two years. The fertility rate of these women has been halved because of age alone.
By the age of 40 years pregnancy is becoming less common and it is almost impossible to achieve a pregnancy from the age of 45 years without using someone else’s eggs (donor egg IVF).
Women have two ovaries, which are located in the pelvis on each side of the womb. The main function of the ovary is to grow and release eggs and produce hormones.
For a pregnancy to happen an egg needs to be fertilised by a sperm. The fertilised egg (embryo) then needs to implant itself into the lining of the womb so that it can obtain nutrients to aid its growth.
A number of steps need to take place for this process to occur successfully:
The causes of infertility can be due to something that affects the man or the woman, or both. If the problems are related to the woman this is called female factor infertility.
In our clinics in Trinidad, in over half the couples we see both the man and the woman have a fertility problem.
Things that might be a problem causing infertility for women are
For women one of the most important factors is age. In normal conditions, when a woman and man are healthy and younger than 35 years the chance of a pregnancy occurring each month is between 5-25%. As a woman gets older the chance of a pregnancy each month becomes lower because she has less eggs and these eggs are not such good quality.
By the age of 40 years pregnancy is becoming less common and it is almost impossible to achieve a pregnancy from the age of 45 years without using someone else’s eggs (donor egg IVF).
A woman is born with all the eggs she will ever have and as she goes through life, these eggs naturally reduce in numbers. By forty a woman has only 1-2% of the eggs she was born with. Also the good eggs tend to be used first and as she gets older the eggs being released are not such good quality. This causes higher rates of both miscarriage and abnormal babies in women 40 and over.
This reducing fertility as a woman ages is illustrated in a study that looked at pregnancy rates in women receiving sperm donation. In these cases the infertility problem was due to the male partner (male factor) and the women were all without infertility problems, so there was a need for sperm donation. The study showed that among healthy women who are 25 years old, 40 per cent (40/100) will not be pregnant after six months of trying, and 15 per cent (15/100) will not be pregnant after one year. For women who are 35 years old, 65 per cent (65/100) will not be pregnant after six months of trying and 40 per cent (40/100) will not be pregnant after one year. The study also showed that 15 per cent (15/100) of women over 35 will still not be pregnant after two years. The fertility rate of these women has been halved because of age alone.
By the age of 40 years pregnancy is becoming less common and it is almost impossible to achieve a pregnancy from the age of 45 years without using someone else’s eggs (donor egg IVF).
The cause of a couple’s infertility can be due to problems that affect the man or the woman, or both. If the problems are related to the man they are called male factor infertility.
Male factor infertility is related to problems that affect a man’s ability to achieve a pregnancy with his partner. These problems might be a problem with sperm, a problem with sexual intercourse, or a general health problem for the man that reduces fertility.
The most common cause of infertility in men is relating to sperm. Fertility problems occur when either not enough sperm is being produced, or the sperm is of poor quality. Often the sperm’s swimming ability is low and a lack of swimming means that the sperm will be unable to reach the egg. Sperms that are abnormally shaped will also be a lot less likely to make a baby.
A simple sperm test performed in a fertility clinic will often show up a sperm problem. Problems with sperm will require some tests to see whether any underlying cause might be found. Both medications and illnesses can cause sperm problems and these will be evaluated when you attend for a sperm test. For many men, the cause cannot be found with the tests currently available worldwide. In these situations medications and drugs will rarely achieve a pregnancy. Treatments often used are IUI and IVF with sperm injection (ICSI).
For men with very low sperm counts (less than 5 million sperm per ml) or no sperms at all (azoospermia) a genetic blood test might reveal the problem. The latest figures suggest that one of every 20 men with these severe problems will have a genetic reason causing the sperm problem.
Sometimes the cause of sperm problems is due to a blockage or absence of the tubes which carry sperm from where they are produced in the testicles. If tests show that hormone levels are normal then a simple surgical procedure can be used to find sperm that are being made in the testicles, but cannot get out naturally. A range of surgical sperm retrieval procedures are available (MESA, TESA TESE).
Most men do not think much about fertility or the health of their sperm until it comes time to start a family. For the best chances of starting a healthy pregnancy you need to make large numbers of sperm that are good swimmers, and that ‘know’ how to fertilise the egg when they arrive. Sperm also has to contain genetic information (DNA) in good condition.
Whether young or old, with a current partner or not, you should be looking to protect your fertility so that natural conception can happen when you’re ready to have children. In about half of couples having trouble getting pregnant naturally, the problem lies with men.
Sperm problems can be many things and are often more than one thing. Sperm can be:
In many cases, there are no treatments to correct poor sperm problems, which means that assisted reproductive technologies such as insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments may be needed.
The Sperm’s Journey
Testicles are important for fertility because this is where sperm and the male sex hormone testosterone are made. After sperm are made in the testicles, they travel with a few drops of fluid through the male reproductive system. As they move through the system, the sperm mix with more fluid made by the prostate and seminal vesicles, until the sperm are released (ejaculated) at the time of sexual climax (orgasm).
How to help yourself
There are certain things that you can do to protect your fertility, Your chances of fathering a child may be better if you pay attention to your overall health, which means:
Other things that can affect your fertility are:
Can laptop computers and WiFi damage male fertility?
This is a good question. Sperm counts have been dropping worldwide for the last 100 years and scientists remain baffled as to all the reasons. In a recent study from Argentina scientists have shown that ejaculated sperm from 15 men showed damage to both the swimming ability and genetic integrity after exposure to a laptop computer connected to WiFi. The study was small and experts have warned that other factors could explain the damage seen in the sperm. At present we advise men to avoid having laptop computers on their lap. Apart from potential damage to sperm the heat generated underneath the laptops caused significant heating in testicles which is thought to reduce sperm quality.
Although fertility is often the last thing you think about when diagnosed with cancer, radiation therapy and chemotherapy can cause long-term problems with sperm production. Often sperm can be stored before starting treatments. With low doses of radiation and some types of chemotherapy, sperm production can return to normal after a period of time. Ask your doctor about sperm storage before having these treatments, and find out when it is safe to try to become pregnant naturally after the treatments have stopped.
Fertility or sexual performance problems can also happen with other prescribed drugs such as some drugs used to treat inflammatory conditions, depression, epilepsy, high blood pressure and diabetes. Well known to cause low sperm counts are the drugs Proviron and testosterone injections, which are sometimes mistakenly given to increase sperm counts.
Taking anabolic steroids for body building or competitive sports damages your body. Besides causing acne, weight gain and changes in mood, your testicles shrink in size and sperm production stops. In other words, “steroids = sterile”. Once the drugs are stopped, sperm production may take one to two years to return to normal.
Fertility can also be affected by using other illegal drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine and heroin because they lower testosterone levels and sex drive. Not having regular sex can make it more difficult to become pregnant. There are many other illegal drugs that affect sexual performance and may reduce sperm production or even damage the sperm themselves. We simply don’t know all the risks – so don’t take the chance!
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as Gonorrhoea, chlamydia, syphilis, warts… these little nasty’s can not only be painful, but some of them can affect your fertility. STIs, especially untreated gonorrhoea and chlamydia, can cause blockages in the sperm tubes so that sperm can’t move on from the testicles (where they are produced) and into the semen and ejaculated. Surgery to fix the blocked tubes isn’t always possible. STIs can cause fertility problems in women so getting treatment can also stop the spread of disease to a female sexual partner.
The prostate sits underneath the bladder and adds fluid to protect sperm on their journey through the reproductive system. Infections of the prostate, known as prostatitis, can cause pain in the abdomen and fever. As the sperm move through the prostate into the urethra, swelling of the prostate may stop sperm from passing through the reproductive system.
Mumps is a viral infection that can be caught by anyone at any age, but it’s much more dangerous for adult men. The mumps virus can totally destroy the tubes that make sperm and permanently stop sperm production.
The causes of infertility can be due to problems that affect the man or the woman, or both. Sometimes no cause is found, despite thorough and up-to-date testing of both partners and this is known as unexplained infertility.
In unexplained infertility abnormalities are likely to be present but not detected by current test available world wide.
By understanding the many steps that go into making a baby it is easy to see that there are many possible problem areas that will not show up on currently available tests.
Possible problems could be that the egg is poor quality, that the egg is not getting into the fallopian tube, sperm may not be able to bind to the egg or get inside correctly (in which case fertilization will not occur), transport of the fertilized egg from the tube to the womb lining may not occur normally or at the right speed, or implantation of a healthy embryo might fail for a variety of reasons.
The quality of the egg quality is critically important and this is the main problem for women as they get older, especially from 40 years and over. These women have eggs a reduced ability to undergo normal and successful fertilization.
Other theories accounting for unexplained infertility are genetic defects in both the man and woman, pelvic abnormalities such as endometriosis that are invisible to the naked eye during surgery, variations in folate pathway genes, dysfunctional immune systems and abnormalities of fallopian tube function.
Treatments for unexplained fertility are recommended based on the length of time a couple have been trying along with the woman’s age. For young couples that have not been trying for over four years, drugs for ovulation are often tried first followed by IUI treatment. Older couples or those who have been trying for over four years will often move to IVF as their first treatment option.
Can laptop computers and WiFi damage male fertility?
This is a good question. Sperm counts have been dropping worldwide for the last 100 years and scientists remain baffled as to all the reasons. In a recent study from Argentina scientists have shown that ejaculated sperm from 15 men showed damage to both the swimming ability and genetic integrity after exposure to a laptop computer connected to WiFi. The study was small and experts have warned that other factors could explain the damage seen in the sperm. At present we advise men to avoid having laptop computers on their lap. Apart from potential damage to sperm the heat generated underneath the laptops caused significant heating in testicles which is thought to reduce sperm quality.