What we miss when we ignore male infertility
Male infertility is often overlooked within the fertility care system, which traditionally focuses on women. Although about half of infertility cases involve male factors, men frequently encounter delays and exclusion from diagnosis and treatment. Experts call for more balanced policies and practices to involve men earlier and reduce the burden on couples.
- ▪Infertility affects roughly one in six couples, with male factors contributing to about half of cases.
- ▪NICE guidelines recommend that both partners be assessed together after 12 months of unprotected sex, yet men are often sidelined in practice.
- ▪A 2019 study found many men feel their voices are not heard in fertility services, creating a cycle of disengagement.
- ▪Policy documents show a disparity, with the women's health strategy mentioning fertility many more times than the men's strategy.
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What we miss when we ignore male infertilityPublished37 minutes agoByJim ReedHealth reporter In mid-2020, while Covid lockdowns gripped the country, Luke and his wife decided to start a family."All through my teens the message was clear: don't have sex without a condom or you might get someone pregnant," he says. "So, when you're older, you expect everything to just happen normally. When it doesn't, you don't know what to do or where to go."After 18 months without success, the couple saw their GP and were referred for further tests in hospital and at a fertility clinic.Over the next year or so, Luke says the focus was entirely on his wife. Appointments were all in her name.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at BBC News — UK.
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