Gone are the times when everything fertility or infertility related was considered women’s only business.
Nowadays we understand that fertility is a couple’s matter, where both female and male reproductive health must be equally optimal for conception to occur.
However, all the latest research, systematic review, and meta-regression analysis on all available data is pointing towards a worldwide fertility epidemic: that is a decline in sperm rate counts in men around the globe.
Let’s have a look at the reasons behind these declining sperm counts and what can be done to improve sperm quality and restore higher sperm counts.
Reasons for the worldwide decline in male fertility
It is no secret that humans had much higher sperm count just a few decades ago. Families were usually large and there were very few families with fertility issues. As the world runs at this vertiginous pace there’s an obvious decline in sperm count worldwide.
Fortunately, with all the research and available information about sperm rate concentration and trends in sperm count, we can understand the causes behind these not-very-optimistic temporal trends in sperm counts and the reasons for this abnormal sperm quality.
According to Professor Roger Hart, lead clinician at the Western Australia Public Fertility service, the sperm counts of Australian men have dropped to 50% in the last 50 years. This is an alarming rate for disappearing sperms and, apparently, there’s only one main reason for these low sperm counts.
Professor Hart concludes that while sperm count is rapidly dropping, the rates of testicular and prostate cancer are rising, suggesting the rate of decline cannot be genetic causes.
“It has got to be environmental causes,” he said.
Let me explain a bit of human physiology so you can easily understand what’s going on here and why sperm counts have fallen dramatically since birth became medicalized.
Are medicalized births a cause of sperm rate decrease?
I’ve been a birth rights advocate since before I was aware that this had a name and I’m amazed to check that no matter what the subject I’m studying is, it all comes down to pregnancy, the hormones secreted, and the environment where we develop in our mothers’ wombs before we were born.
I understand this may come as a shock to you. So much we’ve heard about jeans and tight clothes and how those can affect sperm counts, even sperm motility and production.
Apparently, sperm quality is affected by much more than tight pants and a low sperm count starts developing in the womb.
Oxytocin
You may have heard of oxytocin and its relevance during birth. Oxytocin is called the love hormone and, yes, its natural release is extremely important for birth to happen. It not only provokes uterine contractions, but it also creates a thriving atmosphere in those individuals who secrete it in high quantities.
When you feel loved, secure, and happy you release this amazing hormone that at the same will retro feed itself. That means that the more you have, the more you produce.
Pregnancy has been a physiological act for humans since homo sapiens walked on Earth. A physiological act means something that the body is prepared to do and will do perfectly if allowed to do so on its own terms and at its own pace.
Since pre-historical times a pregnant woman would just know she’s pregnant as her period disappears and her belly starts to grow, and her life would change very little apart from a notorious increase in the release of oxytocin during the pregnancy.
This increased oxytocin flow comes as a consequence of the joy and happiness of the personal life circumstances of that woman and the understanding of what a pregnancy means for the near future in that woman’s life.
At the same time, this high concentration of oxytocin will make that woman’s body a beautiful thriving environment where to grow and develop.
The developing baby has everything necessary to grow into a thriving human being.
Seems easy, right?
Stress
However, oxytocin is a very shy hormone and for it to flow, stress hormones need to be kept at bay.
There’s no room for oxytocin and stress hormones to flow at the same time which means only one of them can be present at a given time.
So, what has happened to pregnant women in the past decades for these oxytocin levels to drop so fast?
When birth was moved to the hospital setting a new and very disruptive variable was introduced: tests and screenings that would identify possible pregnancy-related problems.
Stress was added to pregnant women who would, from then, start worrying about their babies’ well beings. This has shifted the natural flow of oxytocin during pregnancy and when oxytocin should be pouring out of our pituitary glands, it’s its antagonistic adrenaline (the villain if oxytocin was the superhero) will show up instead.
Studies published in regard to how sperm counts fell and will carry on falling if Western medicine doesn’t take a step back in its interference with human pregnancy and birth are conclusive. Reports published in other research in different countries agree with a worldwide overall decline in sperm counts. This study concluded that general health is declining fast at a population level.
Loving hormones create loving environments and stress hormones create survival environments where yes, we will develop but quite far from thriving, we’ll survive in a stressful environment.
Male fertility test
Let’s face it, suspecting you may be infertile it’s something you may want to check on your own without the whole reproductive medicine team around you.
If you’re worried about male infertility, you can now have a semen analysis and check your sperm concentration in the comfort of your own home.
Although reproductive health specialists are very well prepared to help you increase your fertility chances if we’re trying for oxytocin to flow and to keep stress hormones at bay, fertility specialists may have the opposite effect of what we’re trying to achieve.
The notorious role women have during reproduction has in some cases shifted the focus of fertility towards women when reproductive health means female and male health equally.
Regardless of where precisely the problem lies, there’s a couple who is struggling to conceive and it should be regarded as a whole.
Reproductive health is not just about semen quality. It’s also about lifestyle factors, environmental factors like environmental toxins and heavy metals that may affect our DNA and cause DNA fragmentation.
A home male fertility test will help you understand if there is a problem with your sperm quality. You may be able to contact a holistic fertility specialist without having to go to the reproductive medicine clinic route.
In many cases, just a few changes in your lifestyles will boost your fertility levels right up. The program Natural Fertility will help you bring your fertility levels right up.
How to increase male fertility
Both female and male infertility rates have been increasing in the recent decades, however, this doesn’t mean female and male reproductive health cannot be improved. There are many factors that affect fertility and are a matter of public health.
When we’re discussing male fertility, most of the times, when there’s difficulty achieving pregnancy and there are no signs of female infertility, poor semen quality and low sperm count are usually the leading cause of infertility.
Other causes of male infertility may need to be discussed with your fertility expert.
There are many things you can do to increase your semen quality so let’s have a look at how to increase your sperm count.
How to increase sperm rate count
Your whole body tends to act as a whole. Human health is all connected. If you regain a healthy atmosphere for your cells, it will have an impact on your whole body. The following advice will help you regain health and will most likely boost your sperm count.
- A healthy diet: ‘We are what we eat’ we’ve heard thousands of times. It does make sense, but we don’t seem to truly listen and tend to be aware of the amount of junk we give our little body temple. All of our cells will feed on the food we provide them. A poor diet will have a great impact in the cells we produce. When there aren’t sufficient nutrients it’s understandable that our body will not be able to produce the regular amount of healthy sperm cells, let alone help them all mature properly. When your body lacks healthy nutrients, it will try to produce less cells in order to make them healthier
– Reduce the amount of refined sugars and flour, including alcohol, and the amount of processed foods.
– Be careful with the amount of soya products you take as an excess in soya intake has been linked with declining sperm counts.
– Increase the amount of healthy fats, so necessary in sperm production. Bluefish, nuts, and avocados are rich sources of healthy fats. Recent research has found a great improvement in sperm concentration and motility in those men who supplemented their diet with Omega 3 fatty acids supplements.
– Ashwagandha, also known as Indian ginseng, is known for its ancient use in ayurvedic medicine as a remedy for infertility and different types of sexual dysfunction. Research backs up the use of Ashwagandha for infertility. Research has shown changing parameters in semen quality. Sperm counts rose to 167% in those men who took this daily supplement of Ashwagandha for 90 days.
- Exercise regularly and sleep plenty: Exercising and resting will help your body make the best use of the healthy nutrients it receives. For our body to function at its optimal it’s of paramount importance to get nutritious fuel, exercise to burn the excess in the most appropriate way, and rest for the best production of healthy cells and tissue.
- Ditch the stress: Stress hormones are not only unhealthy per se, but they block the secretion of love hormones, necessary for our cells to thrive. When stress hormones take over our body, this becomes a survival field and healthy cell production becomes secondary to getting ourselves out of danger. If you don’t listen to these calls and your stress levels don’t decline, your body will stop producing healthy cells. I understand that this is easier said than done and that changing jobs may not be a possibility at present. However, there are many ways to reduce the effect that long-lasting stress has on your body. Daily meditation, yoga, and Thai chi can help greatly at keeping stress at bay.
- Stock up on vitamin D and calcium: A literature review of 18 different studies found that men with higher concentrations of vitamin D in their blood had improved fertility compared with those with lower levels. Calcium plays a very important role in vitamin D absorption, therefore it’s important to keep your calcium levels up.
- Get professional help: Although a change in your lifestyle will definitely improve your health, professional help will give you a higher probability of success. A semen analysis will determine your sperm count and will give you a base to work with. It will help you find exactly what the problem is and will make your way forward towards successful reproduction much easier.
Read more in
Male Fertility – Important Things Men Need To Know About Trying For A Baby
Male Infertility – 8 Unexpected Signs Causing Male Infertility
