Male Sexual Health and How It Affects Fertility

You might be thinking that male sexual health and fertility are separate concerns. For instance, you could be enjoying a fulfilling sex life, but your female partner hasn’t conceived. Or you could be aware of a sexual issue — such as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) or impotence — but unaware that it might have negative effects on your fertility.

Sexual health and fertility are connected in more ways than one. We’ll break down the connections and explore how and why good male sexual health is important to your family-planning goals.

Sexual dysfunction and fertility

Male sexual dysfunction may take one of several forms, such as:

• Erectile dysfunction (impotence)

• Premature ejaculation

• Penile bend (Peyronie’s disease)

• Delayed or absent orgasm

The relationship these conditions have to your fertility lies in your body’s ability to produce and ejaculate sperm. While it takes only one sperm and one egg to make a baby, a man typically ejaculates about 100 million sperm during intercourse. Why so many? The journey from the woman’s vagina to the fallopian tubes is not a short or easy one for most individual sperm. Ergo, good sperm production and successful ejaculation are essential to your fertility.

The good news is that male sexual health difficulties are common and can usually be resolved through medicine. To derive maximum satisfaction from sex or to optimize functionality for the purposes of growing your family, you need an accurate sexual health diagnosis and experienced professional treatment.

Urology disorders and fertility

Another seemingly distinct functionality from fertility is your body’s ability to urinate effectively. Disorders of the prostate, kidneys, bladder or urinary tract can pose a threat to your fertility.

It’s crucial to visit a qualified urologist right away if you experience any of the symptoms related to urinary tract dysfunction. Check with your doctor if your urine is cloudy, bloody or unusually stinky, or if urination becomes more frequent, painful or more difficult than usual.

STDs and fertility

The relationship between STDs and fertility might be a little more obvious than some of these other conditions. Some STDs — such as gonorrhea, chlamydia and mycoplasma genitalium (MG) — can reduce your sperm count, making conception difficult.

The bad news is that many STDs are asymptomatic, so you might not be aware that your fertility could be compromised when you’re trying to conceive. If you think you might have an STD, request STD screening through your primary care physician or local health clinic. It’s also important to your sexual health and fertility that you practice safe sex, using contraception during sex with partners of unknown sexual health or history.

Good sexual health is essential when you want to start or grow your family. If you have questions about yours, set up a consultation today.