It’s Men’s Health Week and we’re talking about sperm with Professor Sheena Lewis the CEO of Examen and a professor in Reproductive Medicine who has been working on male fertility tests for the last 25 years.
Here are some facts you should know about Male infertility:
- It’s on the rise
- Sperm counts are declining
- Sperm quality is also reducing and the DNA of sperm, in particular, is becoming worse, in part due to 20th century living such as environmental factors and having children later in life – the things we can’t do anything about.
- Men need to get a sperm test. This looks at the count (how many there are), motility (are they swimming) and morphology (the shape of the sperm).
- What you don’t find out from a sperm test, is what’s inside the sperm – the DNA.
- Fertility clinics are ‘female focused’, so sperm DNA fragmentation tests are rarely offered.
- Urologists are specialists in male reproductive health and we into the picture to also focus on men and have better joined-up working.
- Many men have a calorie-rich and nutrient-poor diet.
Did you know:
- 25% of couples are given the frustrating diagnosis of unexplained infertility, but the reality is we’ve not actually searched hard enough for the answer because men are left out of the picture.
- 40% of men given a diagnosis of unexplained infertility have DNA fragmentation.
- 40% of men with fertility problems have varicoceles but as men are not generally examined this is not diagnosed or treated. As a result of male infertility, women have to go through ICSI treatment
- Sheena says, why can we not have equality in reproductive health where men are examined, tested, diagnosed and treated in the same way women are? This would put the man right back in control and be empowered to make the right lifestyle changes to improve sperm.
Natalie asks Sheena about DNA fragmentation and miscarriage. Research in 2012 and 2020 showed the association between DNA quality and miscarriage. The need for DNA fragmentation testing following miscarriage is now in international guidelines but is sadly rarely done. Sheena recommends that men should be empowered to be proactive and ask for this test to be done.
You can find out more about Sheena, Examen and DNA Fragmentation testing below:
We also spoke with Shaun who you can follow on Instagram here @knacked_knackers
It was just Natalie chatting with Shaun and the pair didn’t discuss his story in detail as Shaun has set it out brilliantly on his Instagram account, talking about how he had mumps which always made him think there might be a problem. He then had to have a number of operations including a varicocele and a microtese and in the end, Shaun and his wife Jenna had successful treatment using donor sperm and Jenn gave birth to their twins Ray and Evelyn in February 2021.
Shaun set up his account to share his experience and offer support for other men dealing with male factor infertility and as well as getting a great reaction on Instagram, he has also found it has helped him, more than he expected it to.
When Natalie and Shaun spoke, he was about to hold his first support group and talks about the importance of being able (if you want to) to talk with people who really do get what you are going through.
Shaun is an awesome example of the power of community in this still misrepresented issue. Men are still feeling left on the sidelines, not included in the conversations with consultants and often have nobody to talk to and here at The Fertility Podcast, we are always keen to champion male fertility conversations and advocates such as Shaun.
Have a listen to some of our previous male fertility conversations here.
Socials:
Shaun
Instagram
