A little birds and bees....

Let’s hear it from the boys… on taking a sperm analysis

Shared from IVF Babble

by Jennifer (Jay) Palumbo

Male fertility . . . In the past couple of years, we’ve been hearing about it more and more.

This is a good thing as for far too long, when there were issues with trying to conceive, the woman was always looked at (and sometimes, blamed) first. Anyone remember King Henry? Poor Catherine, his first wife, not only didn’t give him a healthy baby boy, but she had issues conceiving again. Off with her head! Yikes!

If I may share a fun story on this topic for just a moment.

Every year, here in the United States, I travel to Washington D.C. to advocate to increase access to fertility care. This is something I know the amazing people at IVF Babble do in their neck of the woods as well.

Well, one year, I met with a representative for a certain Republican’s office. The actual Senator couldn’t meet with me so I got a sidekick (the Robin to the Representative Batman if you will). He was in his twenties (bless his young heart), had the most glaringly festive socks I may have ever seen and I’m certain thought menopause was a button on a remote control.

As I talked about infertility and how, when you do the breakdown, 40% are due to the woman, 40% are due to the man and the remaining is usually considered “unexplained”.

He looked at me shocked. I assumed it was because I was talking sperm and eggs before 10am!

But as it turns out, his horror was that men could have a fertility concern. He asked incredulously, “Wait… men can have infertility issues?”

I’ll spare you all the details but in short, I had a “birds and the bees” conversation with a twenty-year-old. When I was done, even his socks looked sad.

Which brings me to the joy of getting a sperm analysis. I can say “joy” because while I’ve had many an infertility test (one that typically involves needle), my husband has taken a few in his time. He also (bless HIS heart) had the nerve to complain about it on one occasion. After my murderous glare, he only ever did that on one occasion for fear he wouldn’t have the parts to give a sperm analysis in the future.

While I did enjoy my husband’s animated “porn review” (note: National Geographic is just not inspirational), I was always curious about the male perspective around getting your boys reviewed. So, I reached out to a few and get their insight!

Alex, who asked not to share his last name or information.

Tobias Böcker, who started a company called Mojo Fertility to make sperm analysis more reliable and convenient for labs and thus, ultimately, more reliable for male infertility treatment and ART success rates.

Marc Sherman, after going through his personal struggle in trying to conceive for close to a decade, he founded Organic Conceptions which uses both qualitative and quantitative research practices to help support those on their fertility journey.

If you have infertility issues, getting the sperm tested is an easy process.