Chesapeake Urology Associates :: Why aren't we getting pregnant: Male Fertility

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Why aren't we getting pregnant: Male Fertility

What is infertility?
Infertility is defined as the inability to conceive a child after one year of unprotected intercourse. For women who are older than 35, this time period drops to six months.

Isn't it just about the woman?
For some many couples, the planning and dreaming about having a family comes to a grinding, frustrating halt as month after month they do not conceive. While there seems to be a huge amount of information available for women who are experiencing infertility, the general population is not as educated about male factor infertility.

The real truth about male factor infertility
Approximately 15 percent of all couples are infertile. Up to 50 percent of these infertile couples will have a male factor component and 30 percent of couples will not be able to conceive solely because of a male factor.

My husband's sperm was tested and they said he was fine. They can't find anything wrong with me. Now what?
Our physicians recommend a complete evaluation for male patients, including a semen analysis, to identify the cause of a couples' infertility. The evaluation is a critical component of solving the cause of the infertility and needs to be performed and managed by experienced physicians and a competent reproductive laboratory. While your doctor may have tested your husband's sperm, a complete evaluation, including laboratory tests, as well as an expert in male fertility reading the results, may change the findings. Male hormone levels may influence sperm counts and should be evaluated by a male fertility specialist.

My gyn/ob recommended we see a reproductive endocrinologist because my husband's sperm count is low. Is that the next step?
Many physicians, on finding a man has low sperm count, will send couples to a reproductive endocrinologist to begin the process of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). In vitro fertilization (IVF) is one of these types of procedures. However, at the Male Fertility and Sexuality Group at Chesapeake Urology Associates, our physician's philosophy is that each and every couple should have the opportunity to try and conceive a child naturally. There can be many underlying causes why a man's sperm count is low, and there are several methods of treatment that may allow a couple to skip ART.

Things you want to consider if you are having trouble getting pregnant:

Age of both partners
Reproductive history of both partners
Male factor infertility
Female infertility
What methods you are willing to use to try and have a baby naturally

I had a vasectomy 10 years ago, is it possible to reverse it so that we can conceive naturally?
Yes, the chance of a successful reversal regardless of the number of years since the vasectomy is high. Our success rate is more than 90 percent for vasectomy reversals. Our physicians have reversed patients up to 36 years following a vasectomy.