Men and women’s fertility is, in many ways, very different. This only makes sense; what happens physiologically in pregnancy is vastly different, and their parts in making the baby are different, too.

What many couples don’t realize, at least when they’re first trying to conceive, is that there are very often reasons for fertility problems that reside in the male partner, rather than the female partner.

Accordingly, if you’re trying to conceive, there are some things that the man should be doing to boost his fertility and increase the odds that you’ll reach your goal of becoming parents:

• Watch the heat. There is some evidence to suggest that long-term exposure to heat on the testicles can affect a man’s sperm count. While the idea that changing from briefs to boxers will help out with that process isn’t exactly proven, there are some specific types of situations a man should avoid if he’s trying to conceive. For example, staying out of hot tubs on a regular basis can help. Research in Brazil shows that repeated exposure to high water temperatures can affect sperm quality. The same goes to long-term exposure to heat from the use of a laptop computer.
• Keep your cell phone in your shirt pocket. While there is a need to do more research, some data collected by the Cleveland Clinic suggests that sperm samples subjected to electromagnetic waves from cell phones for an hour or more were affected negatively. Keep your cell phone in your shirt pocket, to reduce this risk.
• Stop smoking. Smoking cigarettes is one of those things that has been shown to impair both male and female fertility. For men, smoking reduces the production of sperm and it may even damage DNA.
• Don’t worry about saving up. Research shows that delayed lovemaking doesn’t impact the quality or quantity of sperm. In fact, not having sex for five days may negatively affect the quality of sperm, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. If you’re trying to conceive, the best bet it to have intercourse several time in the days leading up to ovulation.

So, what do you think? Are there things you’ve tried to help with his fertility? How did they work?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 25th, 2012 and is filed under Male Fertility.