Get Those Doggies Moving, Cowboy
It’s screwed up, but we tend to want to always blame fertility issues on the woman. The fact is, as we’ve pointed out many times on this blog, that men are usually as often responsible for infertility issues. It’s true. About 40 percent of fertility issues are caused by the man, 40 percent by the woman. The other 20 percent of cases it’s both. These percentages, of course, reflect only those cases in which a cause is identifiable. In many cases, it isn’t exactly clear where the problem lies.
Anyways, one of the most common types of problems with male infertility (after a low sperm count, of course) is low sperm motility. Motility is all about how well the sperm swim. Measuring sperm motility involves measuring what percentage of the total sperm are moving at a rate that will let them get up into the fallopian tubes and fertilize an egg.
There isn’t a heck of a lot to be done if your cowboy’s doggies are a bit slow moving. For the most part there aren’t ready and easy medical solutions. You can try some nutritional supplements,and there are a number of herbal remedies that people have experienced success with, such as FertilAid for Men.
One of the most common medical ways around problems with sperm motility is IUI. IUI, or Intrauterine Insemination, is the most basic of the reproductive treatments available. In this procedure, sperm are “washed” and then placed into the uterus directly. This procedure helps a higher number of sperm to make it to the fallopian tubes, where it can fertilize an egg.
That said, IUI is often ineffective for low sperm motility. You often need to consider much more aggressive treatments like IVF (in vitro fertilization). ICSI, or intracytoplasmic sperm injection, can help too. In that procedure, the sperm are inserted right into the center of the egg. That way, the sperm don’t have to travel at all.
Ultimately, male factor fertility problems tend to be a bit more difficult to solve than female factor infertility problems. With many women, something as simple as Clomid will help her get pregnant. There’s no miracle fertility pill that will convince a man’s sperm to move forward. Like men, the sperm tend to have a mind of their own.
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