A male infertility cause is frequently overlooked because couples think fertility issues must be attributable to the female, but a male factor infertility cause is present in about ten million men in the U.S. Alone. About 35 p.c of all cases of sterility arise totally from the man's infertility and about twenty p.c of the time, the man and woman both have fertility problems. That implies over 50% of all cases of infertility involve a male element. Understanding the principles behind a male factor infertility cause can help a couple seek out appropriate treatment.

For couples with male factor infertility, possibilities are the man has an infertility cause listed below:

1. Low sperm count - the most typical male infertility cause is a low sperm count. A typical fertile male has about 20 million sperm in each milliliter of semen. Most tests will identify a low sperm count as less than 10,000,000 per milliliter. If you get tested, ask about the number rather than for an easy "normal or abnormal" answer, as a borderline result could be a contributing infertility cause worth addressing even if you don't meet the official criterion for having a clinical low sperm density.

2. Poor Sperm motility - A sperm's mobility is the rate and course with which it moves toward an egg. Poor motility can be an infertility cause even if sperm density is standard. Frequently mobility is negatively affected by poorly shaped sperm. The proportion of the dimensions of the head of a sperm to its tail affects its swimming capability, as does the form of the head itself. Both motility and quality (shape) can be evaluated in a sperm sample. It's often best to get 2 separate sperm tests to confirm results, in case external circumstances caused one sample to appear unnatural even if there aren't any underlying issues.

3. Structural Abnormality - If a man's reproductive organs experience scarring or are poorly formed, leading to an obstruction of the vas deferens or the epididymis, then the capability of sperm to travel from the testicles to the uterus could be blocked, which is yet another possible infertility cause.

The following are categorical conditions that can affect sperm count or quality or the structural integrity of a male's reproductive organs:

1. Varicocele - When veins in the scrotum are swollen or enlarged (think about the more well known varicose veins in older women's legs), it can be an infertility cause. It appears the varicocele condition affects the sperm in a bunch of ways , including sperm count, sperm mobility and sperm quality.

2. Under-developed testes - this condition is usually a consequence of a mumps infection, a hernia surgery, an injury or a birth problem. If some cases the testicles are undescended -- that is. They remain within the body cavity instead of moving down into the scrotum.

3. Sexually spread illnesses (STDs) - STDs and some other illnesses (mumps and tuberculosis most ordinarily) could cause scarring in the male reproductive organs. There are numerous STDs that can go unnoticed in men until they're revealed as an infertility cause.

4. Age - Many are amazed to find out that age has an impact on a man's fertility. While the job of age in a woman's reproductive process is more aggressive and has been studied a great deal, age of the person shouldn't be rejected as an infertility cause, as men also show a gentle decline in fertility after the age of approximately forty.

5. Cancer - Males that undergo treatment for cancer regularly have sperm production briefly or permanently influenced as a consequence of chemical treatment or radiation.

6. Vasectomy reversals - After a vasectomy, men develop an autoimmune reply. Sperm actually are produced after a vasectomy, but may leak out into the body where immune cells target them as attackers. When a vasectomy is reversed through surgery, this autoimmunity may continue and be an infertility cause.

7. XX Male Syndrome - A man's chromosomes generally include one X and one Y chromosome. Because of an a rare sex chromosomal disorder, some men are born with 2 X chromosomes and one Y chromosome, a condition known as XX male syndrome. XX male syndrome occurs in roughly one in twenty thousand to one in 25,000 individuals. People with the disorder sometimes have normal male physical features including standard male body, penises, and testicles. Nonetheless all males with XX male syndrome are sterile because they lack the genes on the Y chromosome concerned in making sperm. Because most males XX male syndrome look like and identify as males, many do not know they have XX male syndrome till they try and have their own children and can not do so. It is then the syndrome is revealed as an infertility cause.

If a couple faces difficulty conceiving as a consequence of a male infertility cause, there are paths that will improve their possibilities in the great majority of cases by isolating and making use of the best quality sperm from a sample or by using procedures that assist the sperm in reaching the ovaries. Further, a person can prepare for an infertility cause that's a result of age, cancer treatments or vasectomy reversal by protecting healthy sperm samples beforehand. In the very rare case of a person who produces no workable sperm (as in the xx male syndrome), then donor material can be considered.