What we miss when we ignore male infertility

Clinicians say the picture is starting to change, but slowly. “Things are moving in the right direction, but we are still quite a bit behind,” says Prof Hussain Alnajjar, consultant urological surgeon at University College London Hospitals and Cleveland Clinic London.

For example, it is becoming more common for a man to consult a specialist before his female partner – if an initial semen analysis indicates a potential problem. “That’s what I mean when I say things are changing, but it’s happening slowly,” he adds. “Overall, women are still much more likely to be the first to be evaluated when it comes to infertility.”

For men like James, 34, from North Yorkshire, this slow pace of change has shaped their experiences.

After James and his wife had difficulty conceiving, they had what he called an “ostrich moment”; He buried his head in the sand for months while his partner went through all the checks and tests. “I think about that moment and the wasted time every day,” he says.

James went to work on a construction site when the results of his semen analysis finally came out. She was told that her sperm was “weak, slow and defective” and it was later learned that she would have difficulty getting pregnant naturally. The nearly three-hour drive home that day “was like a blur, it was so painful.”

There were delays in diagnosis. It took another two years and a private consultation with a urologist before she underwent a full physical examination and more advanced hormonal testing. After years of trying and multiple in vitro fertilization treatments, the couple’s fertility treatment was ultimately unsuccessful.

“You are the partner of someone you love unconditionally, but you see yourself as the cause of their pain,” he says. “You think you’re the reason they can’t have children.”

Male infertility can often be confused with ideas of masculinity and masculinity, making it difficult for some men to accept or discuss the problem. Prof Pacey remembers hearing about a barbecue where “on one side all the women were talking about IVF and on the other side all the men were talking about football”.

James did not view his fertility issues as a challenge to his masculinity, but the stigma surrounding the issue meant he struggled to find support during this time. “It’s just you and your partner dealing with this, so it feels like you’re an island and there’s no one else there but you,” she says. “You don’t know where to go, who to contact, or what to say.”

Under UK law fertility clinics must offer counseling before treatment, but this does not have to be free or ongoing. Fertility regulator HFEA says there are far fewer support groups for men online or in the real world than for women. But there are some signs that may be starting to change.

Shaun Greenaway, 43, was diagnosed with azoospermia, a condition in which there is no sperm in the semen, in 2018. Although he suffered from severe mumps in his youth, the cause is unclear; A virus known to be linked to male infertility.