“Male Infertility: Beyond Sperm Quality and the Risks of Sexual Dysfunction”

38-year-old Xiao Lin and his wife have been married for more than a year and have always wanted to have a child. During the pregnancy preparation period, even though hormone adjustment drugs were used to treat her husband’s low sperm motility, he was always unable to conceive due to erectile dysfunction. After finally seeking help from a doctor, the wife also conceived successfully after a few months by giving oral erection-boosting drugs and low-energy extracorporeal shock wave therapy.

Six couples and one infertile “erectile dysfunction” make pregnancy difficult

Xie Kunlin, a urologist at Chi Mei Hospital, Chi Mei Medical Foundation, explained that if a man and a woman have regular and non-contraceptive sex for a year, but still not pregnant, it can be called infertility. The issue of infertility has always been one of the most important topics domestically and even globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) published a global survey report in April 2023 and found that 17.5% of adults are infertile, that is, about every 6 couples One of the couples suffers from infertility.

The factors that cause infertility in couples are equal between men and women, each accounting for 1/3, and the remaining 1/3 is caused by both parties’ problems or no key problems can be found. Male infertility has been paid more and more attention in recent years, and many studies have found that the quality of sperm has declined significantly in recent decades. In addition to sperm quality, clinically some patients have obstacles in the first step, unable to smoothly send sperm into the female body, that is, sexual dysfunction, including erectile dysfunction (not firm enough or the process is easy to soften), and ejaculation disorders (premature ejaculation) , delayed ejaculation, retrograde ejaculation, etc.).

Erection problems can be improved with medication or extracorporeal shock wave therapy

For infertile men with sexual dysfunction, Xie Kunlin has the following reminders and suggestions:

1. Compared with the general population, infertile men have higher sexual dysfunction, and this is also the first problem that hinders successful conception.

2. There are many diseases that may affect sperm quality and sexual dysfunction, such as insufficient testosterone concentration, chronic inflammation of the prostate and other related diseases. Therefore, if infertile men have sexual dysfunction, it is recommended to consult a urologist as soon as possible.

3. Appropriate drugs or physical low-energy extracorporeal shock wave therapy can improve male sexual dysfunction in such infertile couples, and this type of treatment will not hinder fertilization or affect subsequent embryonic development.

4. During the period of pregnancy preparation, there is no need to concentrate firepower, deliberately reduce the frequency of sexual intercourse, and the appropriate frequency of sexual behavior will not only help maintain the quality of sperm, but also reduce the anxiety and tension of intercourse on key days.

5. Both husband and wife can chat at the right time to reduce the impact of pregnancy preparation due to emotional anxiety. Appropriate changes in mood and environment are also helpful for conception.

Early medical attention for signs of infertility or sexual dysfunction improves pregnancy rates

Xie Kunlin said that in order to win a war, in addition to having well-trained soldiers, what is more important is how to project soldiers onto the battlefield. Men who are preparing for pregnancy are urged to seek the assistance of a urologist when they have signs of infertility or sexual dysfunction, to find out whether there are potential diseases and solve them, so as to increase the chance of successful conception.