Does Male Fertility Decline Over Time?

When it comes to fertility, the women get the bulk of the blame. However, many older men worry about fertility too as studies suggest that male fertility does change with age. What this means is that when everyone is concerned about the woman’s biological clock, the men are on the timeline too.

What Are the Key Differences Between Female and Male Fertility?

A woman’s fertility declines as she gets older due to her ovaries stopping the production of new eggs after birth. This means that she starts running out of eggs as she ages. When a woman’s body stops producing eggs, she becomes menopausal.

The testes, on the other hand, are designed very differently. The seminiferous tubules in the testes continuously produce sperm daily no matter what the man’s age is. This is why the freshly produced sperm will be healthy and capable of fertilizing an egg. This is why men do not need to worry about the effect of their age on their fertility. However recent research suggests that once the age of male partner is above 40 the chances of chromosomal abnormalities are more and hence the female partner is at increased risk of miscarriage.

While some research studies do state that older men have an increased risk of being infertile, this is just a statistical increase, and it does not indicate a problem with sperm quality. It is usually because of the pedestrian reason that as a man ages, he ends up having sex less frequently, which causes his fertility to decline.

What is Male Infertility?

Studies find that male fertility decline is a factor in 30–40% of infertility cases. Therefore, to put it simply, male infertility is any health issue in a man that decreases the chances of his female partner conceiving a child.

When it comes to fertility, the focus usually remains mostly on women rather than men.  Also, due to menstruation and contraception, women tend to go to doctors much earlier. Over the past 40 years, men’s sperm count has dropped by about 60%

How Common is Male Infertility?

Male infertility accounts for in excess of 50% of the couples who are trying to conceive but have not been successful. About 40% of the time, the issue is female-related. About 40% of the time, it is due to the male factor. In another 20% or so, it is a combination of issues with both partners. 

What Are the Symptoms of Male Infertility?

Usually male subfertility is diagnosed by a semen analysis. However there are some symptoms that you could look out for in order to identify whether your partner has male infertility.

  • Swelling or pain in or around the genitalia
  • Low sex drive
  • Trouble getting an erection
  • Retrograde ejaculation, a medical condition where the semen enters the bladder instead of coming out during ejaculation.