Although the focus is often on women when fertility issues arise the reality is that men share 50% of the responsibility in the creation of a healthy baby.

Some tips to help increase your chances for creating a healthy baby are:

·                            Refraining from smoking cigarette’s ( both direct  & passive smoking)

·                            Avoiding the consumption of alcohol.

·                            Avoiding caffeine based products

·                            Avoiding pesticides and chemicals where possible, i.e. hair dyes, house hold cleaners, nail polish remover and paint fumes.

·                            Refraining from the use of social drugs.

·                            Try to eat more organically grown, unsprayed and additive free foods, free range eggs, fresh fish fruit and veg.

·                            Men should refrain from wearing tight fitting boxers and trousers.

The recommendations above are for both partners.

The following studies suggest why the above should be tried.

Smoking:

A report prepared by the British Medical Association in 2004 had the following key findings.

·                            Men who smoke have a lower sperm count and a higher proportion of malformed sperm.

·                            Women who smoke take longer to conceive

·                            Women who smoke are twice as likely to be infertile as non smokers

·                            Men & women who smoke have a poorer response to fertility treatment

·                            Women who have stopped smoking take no longer to become pregnant than those who have never smoked

·                            Stopping smoking improves sperm count and quality.

British Medical Association 2004 www.bma.org.uk

Coffee:

·                            A study of 1909 women in America found the risk of not conceiving for 12 months was 55% higher for women drinking 1 cup of coffee per day. It was 100% higher for women drinking 1 & half – 3 cups and 176% higher for women drinking more than 3 cups per day

Yale University School of Medicine. Epidemiologic reviews Vol 14, Pg 83, 1992

Body Weight:

·                            A body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29.9 in women is considered overweight and has been linked to irregular or infrequent menstrual cycles, an increased risk or infertility, an increased risk of miscarriage and decreased success with fertility treatments. The positive news is that small amounts of weight loss (5-10%) may dramatically improve ovulation and pregnancy rates.

American Society for Reproductive Medicine

·                            A study of Danish men found that sperm counts were lower in those men that were overweight by 21.6%  and in those that were underweight by 28.1%

American Society for Reproductive Medicine Meeting October 2004

Alcohol:

A study from the University of California of 221 couples undergoing fertility treatment found:

·                            For women alcohol consumption in the month before an IVF attempt reduced the success nearly 3 times  and with alcohol consumption in the week before egg pick up (1 glass per day ) increasing the chance of miscarriage by 2 times.

·                            For men alcohol consumption the month before IVF reduced success 2.5 times and alcohol (1 glass per day) in the week before sperm collection reduced success more than 8 times.

The recommendation was made that couples abstain from alcohol consumption for at least one month before the IVF attempt to maximise the effectiveness and success of IVF procedure.

Fertility & Sterility 2003; 79:330-339

Lap tops & Male Fertility:

Men sitting with their legs together and working on a laptop computer can raise the temperature by up to 2.8 degrees C. an amount sufficient to affect testicular function and impair spermatogenesis

Human Reproduction Advance Access published online December 9 2004