One third of all cases of infertility are caused by male infertility factors and many of those men are seeking ways to increase fertility. Before employing the help of the many recent advances in reproductive medicine, many couples first opt to try some of the known ways to increase fertility.

Male fertility problems are more common that many people realize, and on the rise.  Just like in female infertility, there are many factors that can affect male fertility negatively, such as sperm disorders, testicular injury, varicocele, blockages in sperm-carrying tubes, problems with erection or ejaculation, hormonal problems, some medications, and genetic disorders can all play a role. Additionally, lifestyle issues can also play an important role in the health of  sperm. It makes sense then, that some of the most important ways to increase fertility will include lifestyle changes.

Give Up Cigarettes

Giving up many habits will not only improve your overall health it will also improve the health and motility of your sperm.

Reduce Alcohol Consumption

Alcohol is known to impact the health of sperm and reducing consumption can improve your fertility.

Eat a Healthy Diet

Add lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes and whole grains, which are known to increase fertility, to your diet.

Exercise Regularly

Exercising regularly can help you maintain a healthy weight, which is important in male fertility. It can also help reduce stress, another important factor.

Avoid Excessive Heat

Exposing the body to high temperatures, such as in a hot tub, sauna or hot bath, can diminish sperm production.

Add Vitamins and Herbs to your Diet

There are many vitamins and herbs known to help increase fertility. It is wise however, to consult your doctor before beginning an herb and supplement routine.

• Vitamin C can help increase sperm count by reducing agglutination, the clumping of sperm.
• Vitamin E deficiencies are known to cause a reduction of the enzymes necessary for sperm production.
• Selenium helps prevent oxidation of the sperm cell and maintaining sperm quality.
• Zinc deficiencies can cause a lowering of testosterone and low sperm counts.
• Ginseng increases sexual desire and testosterone levels as well as increasing sperm count and sperm motility.
• Pycnogenol is a natural plant extract made from the bark of the Maritime pine which increases the number of normally functioning sperm.

Improving your overall health can have a positive impact on your reproductive health.

Probably one of the most confusing and difficult things within infertility is understanding infertility success rates. For many people considering infertility treatments, a clinic’s fertility success rates may play a large role in why they choose one clinic over another. This makes understanding the statistics and how the information is gathered and calculated very important.

How Many IVF Cycles Does the Clinic Perform Per Year?
It is important to choose a clinic that is proficient at performing IVF. Two per week, or 120 a year is a good average and reflects that they have developed a trusted reputation within the IV community.

What is the Clinic’s Clinical Pregnancy Rate per Cycle Initiated?
This number is calculated by the number of clinical pregnancies divided by the total number of those who initiated treatment.

What is the Clinical Pregnancy Rate Per Retrieval?
This statistic is calculated by taking the number of clinical pregnancies and divide them by the number of egg retrievals.

What is the Clinical Pregnancy Rate Per Transfer?
This number is arrived at by taking the total number of clinical pregnancies divided by the number of women who had an embryo transfer.

What is the Success Rate per Age Group
The success rate per age group can tell you some significant things about a clinic. The numbers will be highest in the under age 35 population. Higher numbers in groups older than 35 may indicate a more aggressive treatment philosophy.

What is the Average Number of Embryos Transferred?
One technique in assisted reproductive technology is to transfer more than one embryo to increase the likelihood of success. However, it also increases the number of multiple births, which clinically speaking, is not considered successful.

Considerations About Success Rates
When weight the information provided by success rates, it is important to consider the real relevance. All statistics are based on data gained from a collective population. However a patient is not a population and has a unique medical profile.

Another concern is that statistics can be manipulated and there is no way to know what the data truly reflects. For example, one clinic may transfer a high number of embryos at one time, resulting in a higher number of live births. One clinic may treat more women over age 35 while another concentrates on the groups with the highest chances of achieving pregnancy.

The Center for Disease Control  and Society of Assisted reproductive Technology which publish clinic success rates does so with the disclaimer that success rates “may not contain all of the information that a woman or couple needs to decide which ART clinic or procedure is best for their treatment.”

While it is important to know the stats, it is equally important not to base a decision solely on the individual success rates.