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Dr. Promise Sefogah, an Obstetrician Gynaecologist and consultant at Shape Healthcare Specialist Medical & Fertility Centre has called on men to join their wives in seeking healthcare together in their quest to bear a child after marriage.<\/p>\n
According to him, men are equally responsible for the inability to conceive as women, and so it is important that couples work together in seeking medical attention.<\/p>\n
Speaking about fertility as part of the 2022 Effective Living Series, Dr. Sefogah said, \u201cIf you categorize the cause of infertility, 30% is exclusively men-related and another 30% is exclusively women-related and 30% is from both parties. 10% is inexplicable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this part of the world, about half of the [fertility] cases are mainly from the man\u2019s side. It [Diagnoses and treatment] works better when men join forces with their wives to seek care together. Sometimes you issue the request to be given to the husband and the man won\u2019t do it because of the mentality that they are okay, and it is the woman\u2019s fault,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He explained that in most cases where the inability to conceive is found to be with women, the challenge is related to their fallopian tubes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our environment, about 60% of women who are not able to conceive in the presence of everything being okay, is related to tubal factor.\u201d<\/p>\n
On treatment, he said, if a diagnosis shows that the fertility challenge has to do with ovulation, there are medications that can help.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it has to do with the tubes being blocked, some of it we are able to flush them open, some may require surgery, some are beyond repairs, so we have to perform the fertilization process in a laboratory; In vitro fertilization.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said in cases where a couple is unable to conceive due to a fibroid in the woman, further assessments are done and if confirmed that removing it will be a better option, such a process is undertaken.<\/p>\n
On some of the common causes of infertility amongst men, Dr. Sefogah mentioned overexposure to heat.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf for some reason you work in a hot environment, sitting on a car engine [in the case of the driver\u2019s mate], or long-distance drivers [you could be affected]. That is a common problem for people in that group of profession.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven when you wear a lot of tight underwear or black underwear [it can be a problem],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said having abnormal blood vessels around the testes \u201cor if, for some reason, someone is exposed constantly to radiation, it can affect sperm production.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said in cases where the cause of infertility is found to be behavioural, patients are assisted to change their lifestyles.<\/p>\n
Dr. Sefogah said due to age, fertility declines, especially in women.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are having a lot of our women now in pursuit of career and are delaying childbearing which is legitimate. So if for some reason they think they\u2019ve crossed 35 and don\u2019t see themselves getting pregnant soon, we can simulate them, and freeze their eggs and if you finish everything and at age 49 you want to start having babies, you have eggs that are 35-year-old that we can use. That is fertility preservation,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n
He said the same process is applied when a man or woman is due for cancer treatment (chemotherapy).<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce you are systematic, you find the problem and solve it,\u201d Dr. Sefogah noted while talking about the success rate of the process.<\/p>\n
Listen to the podcast below:<\/strong><\/p>\n