Pregnancy & Male InfertilityDr Maheshwari

With infertility on a rise, it is no surprise that many couples are facing issues when it comes to bearing children. If we talk about the last five years, infertility has gone up by 20 to 30 per cent in our country! The responsible causes are a range of lifestyle factors, such as a routine that involves drinking and smoking, no exercise, sitting jobs, overuse of radiation technology and getting married and conceiving at a late age. But, here the question is not about whys but about how, so let’s assume that you are a couple wanting to conceive but the male partner is infertile. So, what all options do you have in that case? Quite a few, it seems.

Firstly, you need to understand the difference between these three terms. Subfertile is the least severe condition of these three and can be dealt with easily. In this case, a pregnancy can be easily achieved but it may get hampered due to one reason or another. In infertility, the pregnancy, again, maybe achieved but there are more difficulties than in subfertility. However, sterility is the most severe condition in which the fusion of the egg with the sperm never occurs. Now, you need to understand where your partner falls concerning these three categories. The solution that you need will be based on the condition of your partner is.

Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) is one of the very common ways of achieving a pregnancy in which the male partner’s sperms are at least 10 million. The man’s semen is taken and washed by some special procedures in a laboratory. Of the sperms, a few are selected which are deemed to be of the best quality. Then, they are placed inside the female partner’s womb using a thin tube.

Now, many people don’t know this but In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) and Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) are two very similar procedures. The only difference is that that in IVF, the egg and the sperm are left to unite in a petri dish. But in ICSI, a procedure that is followed if the sperm count is very low, the sperm is given an extra boost to merge with the egg. Both the processes happen outside the womb and in a laboratory. Once the embryo is formed, it is put inside the womb.

This method is followed when the male partner has gone through a complete testicular failure, has abnormal or no sperms. Donor sperm can then be obtained from semen banks, which have lately gained popularity. The sperm is then injected into the egg.