Male Infertility and IVF

What do you comprehend by the term male infertility and IVF, and how can you treat your infertility? Infertility is defined as a problem when a couple struggles to have a baby despite of having unprotected sex for a lengthy timeframe.

Nowadays, infertility is quite a common issue as almost every couple tends to deals with infertility. About 10% -15% of couples are facing the problem of infertility. Infertility is caused as a result of you or your accomplice or the mix of male and female factors that forestall pregnancy. 

Further, infertility is divided into two categories such as male infertility and female infertility. The major symptom of infertility is when women are unable to get pregnant and faces irregular menstrual cycles. 

However, there are some therapies and treatments that will cure the problem and expand the chances of getting pregnant in females. In this article, I will talk about what male infertility is and how you can cure your male infertility?

Male Infertility and IVF

It discusses men’s inability to make fertile women pregnant. Women cannot have a child despite having frequent unprotected sex with their partner due to male infertility. Approximately 7% of men are affected with male infertility, which significantly impacts the fertilization process.

Male infertility is mostly caused by a lack of sperm production in the male body. During sexual contact, sperm is ejected from the penis and transfers directly into the female body, where it reaches the vagina of the female. The sperm travels from the uterus to her fallopian tube, where it meets the eggs, and fertilizations occurs.

The quality of the sperm generated by the males is critical to the entire fertilizations process. For a healthy pregnancy, there must be enough sperm and the sperm must be useful that it can easily fertilize the mature eggs of the female partner.

Causes of Male Infertility

Male infertility is caused by a variety of conditions that impact male sperm production throughout the fertilizations process. I’m going to provide you with a list of male infertility causes:

• Addiction of taking drugs to boost growth and muscle strength causes the testicles to shrink, resulting in decreased sperm production.
• Low number of sperms leads to infertility in males. Infertility in males occurs when the quantity and quality of sperm produced is insufficient due to which women is not able to get pregnant.
• Male fertility is affected by hormonal disorders such as diabetes and hormone-producing organs such as the thyroid.
• Excessive use of alcohol makes fertilizations more difficult and lowers testosterone levels, which reduces sperm production.
• Adorning tight fitted clothes while working on laptop or computer due to prolonged sitting rises the temperature in scrotum affecting the fertility problems in males.
• Infertility in males is caused by painful sex or a lack of sperm in the semen that discharge in the bladder instead on the tip of the penis during the process of fertilizations.

Treatment for Male Infertility and IVF

If the couple is coping with infertility issues that prevent them from having a child, they must see a doctor clinic to cure or treat their infertility problems. Male infertility can now be treated in number of ways focusing on the main problem of the infertility. One such way to treat infertility of males is through the treatment of IVF.

What is the IVF Treatment?

In Vitro Fertilization, or IVF, is a treatment for infertility, which is a major barrier for women trying to conceive. In the procedure of In Vitro Fertilization, mature eggs are extracted from women’s uterus, and sperms are fertilized in labs before being directly implanted into their uterus.

How is IVF successful in treating Infertility of Males?

In this section of my article, I will tell you about IVF success for male infertility. About 15%-20% of women are unable to get pregnant due to males. However, one-third of women get pregnant because of the replacement of embryos. 

The lower chances of fertilization with poor quality of semen are somehow get stabilized with higher chances of pregnancy in women due to In Vitro Fertilization.

Oligospermia, asthenospermia, teratospermia and various other forms of male infertility can successfully treat through the procedure of IVF. About 50% of the male with low quality of active spermatozoa expanded the chances of pregnancy in females due to the treatment of IVF.

The low sperm count is one of the factors due to which infertility is caused in males. However, if the low sperm count is based on hormones which is caused due to infection, in that case, basic treatment can be used but in severe cases of male infertility, In Vitro Fertilization is one of the best treatments to cure it.

The sperm count is the total number of sperm present inside the male body. Low sperm count affects the fertilization process, due to which women may not be able to get pregnant. The normal range of sperm count is from 15 million sperms to 200 million sperms per millilitre of semen. The sperms ranging below 15 million sperms are considered to have low sperm count, which causes male infertility.

As per the reports of WHO, 3%-5% per cent of males are completely infertile, thereby giving rise to no sperms, whereas 20% per cent of males deals with the issue of low sperm count, making them inefficient to make their female partner pregnant. Healthy sperm is required during the process of fertilization because one sperm implant into an egg if there are more sperm in the semen.

To know about the number, quality, shape and movement of sperms in semen, males can visit the doctor clinic to go through the semen test as having a good concentration of semen in males is necessary to achieve good pregnancy.

IVF Treatment is recommended by the doctor when there is a low level of semen, low sperm count, blocked fallopian tubes, ovulation and age issues. Low sperm motility IVF success is possible, and fertilized eggs can be used in the treatment to increase the chances of pregnancy in women.

The Minimum sperm count For IVF treatment to cure the infertility problem of males should be one sperm per egg. Still, due to various male factors affecting the infertility in males, in that case, the specialist conducts the surgery by removing sperm from the testicles.

However, IVF treatment is also ideal in the case of azoospermia, in which patients are not able to produce single sperm during the process of fertilization.

Is IVF Treatment successful with low sperm count and Male Infertility?

Yes, IVF success with low sperm count is possible to cure the infertility issues of males. The treatment of IVF expands the chances of pregnancy in females. The treatment of IVF is a good option in case of multiple factors affecting the fertility of males and females, such as low sperm count in a mixture with blocked fallopian tubes, difficulties in ovulation, etc. 

The treatment of male infertility and IVF enhances the chances of fertilization and achieving good results of pregnancy. Firstly, even if sperms have poor motility, they can be used to fertilized eggs through IVF treatment. 

This can achieve by placing sperm and egg in a separate plate, where sperm doesn’t need to travel far to reach the egg, and the process of fertilization can be controlled in the lab itself. Secondly, if there is a problem of low sperm count, it can be achieved through the process of IVF treatment.

How is the process of IVF treatment conducted to cure Male Infertility?

If you are thinking about male infertility and IVF and how is the Ivf process for male infertility is carried out, no worries!! This part of my article will detail out the step-by-step process by which IVF treatment is conducted for male infertility and ivf:

Step-1: Visit the doctor’s clinic for a thorough check-up of hormone levels, fallopian tubes check-up, examining the cervical area, analysis of sperms in semen, etc.

Step-2: The natural procedure of ovulation is stopped due to medicines prescribed by the doctor. The doctor would even suggest some injections or nasal spray, and this would continue for some days.

Step-3: To strengthen the process of ovulation and to enhance the fertilization of eggs is the major focus as more and more eggs are fertilized, then it will lead to positive pregnancy. Therefore, the doctors give proper monitoring and proper care. The IVF treatment keeps track of follicles through a blood test and various other tests in the process of ovarian stimulation. In addition, several injections are given to females to make eggs ready for the process of ovulation.

Step-4: After this comes the stage of egg retrieval in which the team of specialists will collect the eggs from ovaries and the doctors before beginning this process, but the patients on general anaesthesia. The IVF specialist needs to insert the needle into your ovaries, and 8-10 eggs are collected during this process.

Step-5: The next step is to prepare sperms for successful fertilization. If males are unable to produce good quality sperms and deal with the issue of low sperm count, in that case, IVF specialists will use frozen sperms. The doctors will wash the sperm to remove dirt and impurities as healthy sperm is needed to meet the egg.

Step-6: The sperms and eggs will meet each other, usually inside the human body, but the doctor will perform this task through advanced technology. The sperm will fertilize eggs that will turn into an embryo in the next 4-6 days. 

Step-7: After inspecting the transfer of the embryo, the doctor will inspect the vagina of the females and pick up the embryos through the tube and place it in the cervix of the female’s uterus with the help of a catheter.

Step-8: After two weeks, patients need to visit the doctor for a check-up of HCG through a blood test. If blood tests detect the presence of HCG, it means the process of In Vitro fertilization is successful.

ICSI Treatment to cure Male Infertility

Apart from male infertility and IVF treatment as it’s means to cure, we have ICSI treatment to cure infertility problems in males. ICSI refers to Intracytoplasmic sperm injection, which is an advanced process of In Vitro Fertilization. In Intracytoplasmic sperm injection treatment, single sperm is directly implanted into the cytoplasm of human eggs.

Through the treatment of ICSI, maximum amounts of eggs are retrieved. About 75%-80% per cent of eggs are matured and injected with sperms in the female body. The treatment of ICSI is recommended to cure the infertility of males.

Low sperm motility and ICSI success are possible because ICSI treatment will help you cure infertility problems. However, the ICSI Treatment is not recommended by the doctor only for the case of low sperm counts but also for the poor quality of sperm movement and abnormally shaped sperms. Poor quality of sperm when sperm cannot penetrate the egg or when men are unable to ejaculate but produce sperm.

The ICSI success rate of male factor infertility is about 80-85% when all the eggs are injected during fertilization, which is equal to the fertilization process with normal sperms. Therefore, ICSI, as compared to IVF, is more successful and help male to cure their infertility.

Conclusion

The blog mentioned above about male infertility and IVF, must have given you proper insight into male infertility and how IVF treatment can cure male infertility. In addition to this, this blog will explain to you in-depth about ICSI Treatment and how you can fulfill your dreams of parenthood by curing your infertility problems.

FAQs

How is IVF treatment used to cure infertility in males?

The IVF Treatment is used to treat infertility problems in males. In the IVF process, a single sperm is injected into the egg, and then fertilized egg is transferred into the female partner’s uterus to achieve positive results of pregnancy.

What are the major factors that contribute to the low level of sperm count in a male’s body?

Various factors contribute to the low level of sperm count in the male’s body, such as swollen veins in testicles, poor sperm quality, lower sperm generation, which affect the quality of sperm during the fertilization process.

Why ICSI is combined with IVF to cure male infertility?

According to studies, when ICSI is combined with IVF, it produces a higher success rate in curing male infertility problems. IVF treatment alone is less successful as compared to ICSI treatment. IVF-ICSI treatment helps you to cure the problems of low sperm count or poor quantity of sperm.

References

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3735146/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010782405001617

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0015028216484438