Henry the 8th was famous for blaming his wives for not bearing him a son, yet the world came to discover that it was actually the sperm that determined the sex of a child, and thus the blame, and the beheadings, were misplaced. You would think we would have learned a lesson, but unfortunately, women continue to be blamed for the infertility couples may face. It is a sad reality that most couples and most doctors assume that infertility is likely the woman’s condition when in reality one third of all infertile couples are unable to conceive strictly due to a male infertility condition and half of all infertile couples are unable to conceive due to both a male and a female condition. In spite of this reality, only 10 percent of men in infertile couples are ever evaluated by a male fertility specialist. Male fertility can often be corrected allowing for successful natural conception. In other cases it may be improved enough to decrease the intensity of female fertility treatments required to conceive. For example, intrauterine insemination (turkey baster) may be possible rather than in-vitro fertility (test tube) if a man’s abnormal sperm characteristics are improved even if they are not made entirely normal. Furthermore, in severe cases, in vitro fertility may be a necessity, but without proper treatment of the male partner, even in vitro fertility may not be possible

Male infertility may be the result of an underlying medical condition. Occasionally the underlying cause can be serious and occasionally can be life threatening. Making sure the man gets properly evaluated is not only a good strategy towards getting pregnant; it is also an important part of ensuring good health for the man. A larger than normal percentage of infertile men suffer from low or borderline low testosterone which causes chronic health deterioration, including decreased bone strength and even osteoporosis. Other effects include decreased libido, difficulty with sexual performance, and loss of muscle mass or weight gain. Decreased energy and ability to focus at work are also common. Sometimes male infertility and low testosterone is due to a tumor in the brain. In many cases this is a benign tumor and if small enough can be treated with medication, but in other cases surgery is required. Male infertility and low testosterone is increased with diabetes and other chronic diseases. Occasionally male infertility is due to cancer of the testicle that the man may not yet know he has. Sometimes a smoldering infection of the male reproductive organs is to blame. A properly performed male infertility evaluation can uncover or rule out all of these possible harmful conditions. A simple semen analysis cannot. Unfortunately, the full extent of most men’s evaluations begins and ends with a simple semen analysis