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Overcome the stigma of male infertility
contents
- Genetic causes
- Focus on the woman
- Biological clock of men
For a man, the news of his own infertility is often a crushing and shameful judgment. Although male infertility is the leading cause of couples in the UK to undergo IDV treatment, when 39-year-old Craig Franklin was bluntly told he had no sperm, he felt alone and miserable.
Male infertility is a social taboo topic. (Image: fizkes / fotolia.com) "The general practitioner said: You do not produce sperm, you will not be able to have children. Now get out with you, "says the 39-year-old. There was no support at all.
The impact struck him hard and almost resulted in him breaking up with his partner Katie.
"I was angry for a long time. He had existential fears, "he tells the BBC program Victoria Derbyshire. "My performance at work has deteriorated so much that I lost my job at the end of last year."
"It broke my heart. I saw a man being broken, "says Katie. "He did not feel like a man anymore, and that's so unfair."
Leading fertility expert Prof. Sheena Lewis - chairwoman of the British Andrology Society, with the aim of improving the promotion of male reproductive health - says the lack of attention to male fertility in the health care system is an urgent issue.
"Men are not properly cared for, not diagnosed and not cared for," the researcher continues. The quality of sperm from men in the Western world is declining. However, little is known about how it can be improved - and there are few treatments that are covered by the statutory health insurance.
This leads to the absurd situation that women routinely have to undergo IVF - although there is nothing wrong with their own fertility.
"The woman actually acts here as a therapy for the problem of the man," she says. "We give an individual who does not need it an invasive procedure to treat another person. This is not the case in any other field of medicine. "
Prof. Lewis adds that it is also a huge cost to the health care system, especially at a time when IVF had to be rationed in many parts of the country.
Genetic causes
A couple who had spoken anonymously to the program of Victoria Derbyshire might never have been able to get their son unless they privately sought other options.
By default, they were prescribed IVF - despite the partner's good fertility, but the treatment failed because of the man's bad sperm.
"It was really uncomfortable. Spraying with needles that do not go in the first time is not a walk in the park, "she explains.
The man then went to a private clinic to treat varicocele, an abnormality in the scrotum that affects up to 40% of men with fertility problems. The surgery was even cheaper than the IVF and his wife could naturally get pregnant.
For Stephen Harbottle, a consulting clinical scientist who helped develop the fertility guidelines for health guard NICE, says, "Because varicocele treatment does not work for every man, the healthcare system needs to make sure that other options are explored before a couple an in vitro fertilization is offered. "
These include simple solutions such as dietary supplements or tests to check genetic sperm damage.
The reason this does not happen at the moment is that "doctors have no other option than to refer patients to IVF. Men are, in a sense, only escaped by the system. "
Focus on the woman
Some men with fertility problems also report that they feel that they are excluded from the treatment of primary care physicians who focus on women.
Mark Harper - from Ilkeston in Derbyshire - has two children due to donor sperm. But when he was diagnosed with missing sperm, it was his wife the doctor called with the message, not him.
"If you talk about male infertility problems, you should talk to the man about it," he says. "I'm here, I'm a person, I was the one sitting in front of you, and I'm the one to talk to."
When it comes to infertility, the man is often left out. (Image: auremar / fotolia.com) The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) said in a statement that its members "are well trained for sensitive, non-judgmental discussions with patients ... including the possible reasons that someone could be infertile and their best options".
Biological clock of men
Prof. Sheena Lewis says the lack of attention to male fertility also means that men are not informed about their reproductive health and mistakenly took it for granted.
"Men have a biological clock. Over time, there are more and more opportunities for mutations in her sperm because of her lifestyle. Men who are over 45 years of age are more likely to have children with childhood cancer or psychiatric disorders such as bipolar disorder or autism, "she says, adding that this is also the case in young men with poor sperm quality.
Katie and Craig say the doctors suspected that Katie was the reason they could not get pregnant - she was tested before Craig's fertility was even called into question.
The couple is now looking privately for donor sperm after being denied IVF health care.
The stigma that surrounds male infertility has meant that Craig has never spoken openly about this topic before - until now even his friends did not know it.
"You're not talking about men," he says. "It is hidden, hushed."
The couple says it took a year and a half to put up with the fact that you can not have children without donor sperm. The worst thing was that they were never offered emotional support. But now they are over it.
"We are stronger than ever," says Katie. "But other couples may not be as strong as we are. Maybe you can not stand it and I can understand why. It's so hard for the man to accept that he can not give birth to his wife. "(Fs)