Midwest Fertility Specialists
Request an Appointment

Male Infertility Risk Factors

Understanding male infertility risk factors can help you protect your reproductive potential

Infertility is a common and often treatable medical condition that affects both men and women. While some fertility issues are unavoidable, you can often make certain lifestyle changes to prevent male infertility. The first step is understanding male infertility risk factors, with help from our Indiana fertility clinic team. With this knowledge, you can move forward to protect your current and future reproductive potential.

What are some unavoidable causes?

While you can take steps to protect your fertility, it’s important to know that you can’t control all the causes of male infertility. For example, hormonal imbalances, ejaculation issues and structural abnormalities are conditions that often require treatment beyond lifestyle changes.

In these cases, you will likely need to turn to our Indiana fertility clinic or a urologist (a doctor specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions affecting the male reproductive tract) for medical assistance. At your first appointment, your doctor will review your medical history and order diagnostic testing to determine what’s causing your fertility issues. After receiving the test results, you and your doctor will work together to create the best treatment plan for you.

What are some male infertility risk factors?

For the other causes of fertility issues, you can take steps to prevent male infertility. The following male infertility risk factors are among the most common ones that we see at our Indiana fertility clinic.

  • Smoking can reduce sperm production in men, while excessive alcohol consumption can alter sperm count, shape, movement and quality.
  • Being overweight doesn’t just affect a woman’s fertility, it can also decrease a man’s sperm quality.
  • Certain prescription drugs that range from blood pressure medications to Propecia for hair loss can negatively affect male fertility.
  • It’s wise to minimize your exposure to workplace toxins, including lead, mercury and radioactivity, due to their harmful effects on the male reproductive system.
  • The elevated temperatures in saunas and hot tubs can also damage male fertility with too much exposure.

Age can also affect male fertility. Starting around age 40, the DNA in a man’s sperm cells begins to deteriorate. This can lead to genetic changes that can make it more difficult for a couple to conceive a healthy baby.

Contact our team to learn more about how to prevent male infertility

If you would like more information about male infertility risk factors or how to overcome male infertility, contact us to schedule an appointment. Our compassionate fertility doctors will provide you with the information and guidance you need.

function createCookie(name, value, days) { var expires = ""; if (days) { var date = new Date(); date.setTime(date.getTime() + (days * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000)); expires = "; expires=" + date.toUTCString(); } document.cookie = name + "=" + value + expires + "; path=/"; } function readCookie(name) { var nameEQ = name + "="; var ca = document.cookie.split(';'); for (var i = 0; i 0) { var utm = pageUrl.substring(pageUrl.indexOf('utm')); createCookie("utm_cookie",utm,14); } if (readCookie('utm_cookie') != null) { var edcLinks = document.querySelectorAll("a[href^='https://midwest.eggdonorconnect.com/donorprescreen']"); for(x = 0; x < edcLinks.length; x++) { edcLinks[x].href = 'https://midwest.eggdonorconnect.com/donorprescreen?' + readCookie('utm_cookie'); } }