Synonyms
Impotence, sterility, infertility
Definition
Sterility is usually defined as the inability of a couple to conceive children if, despite the desire to have children, conception does not occur after at least one year of sexual intercourse without contraception. The reason for the unfulfilled desire to have children can lie with both the woman and the man. Infertility occurs equally frequently in both sexes. Thus, every sixth married couple in Western European countries is childless and seeks causes and medical advice.
Frequency
It is assumed that about 10 to 15 percent of all marriages are unintentionally childless. Since the reasons for this can lie equally with the woman or with the man, both spouses should undergo an examination. It is estimated that about 40 percent of men suffer from reduced infertility.
According to this, 40 percent of women also have the reasons. For the remaining 20 per cent, the problems are shared by the husband and wife. General causes: Of particular importance in the conception of a child is the sperm capacity of the man and its quality.
Shortly after the birth of a boy, the capacity of the semen is already determined. Therefore, a mother’s lifestyle during pregnancy also influences the fertility of her son. The consumption of alcohol and nicotine can have a considerable negative influence on the later sperm production of the child.
The consumption of beef during pregnancy is also said to have a fertility reducing effect. Toxins can impair or even damage the cells that are there to produce sperm. These so-called Sertoli cells produce the sperm and are also responsible for the nutrition of the maturing sperm.
The fewer of them there are, the fewer sperm cells are produced in the end. Reduced sperm and semen quality is the most common cause of male infertility. This is called oligo- astheno- teratozoospermia.
This term describes the sperm as not normally mobile, not normal looking and occurring in too small numbers. The sperm quality can also be reduced by medication, stress, alcohol and other toxic substances. A further impairment is caused by the contamination of water and meat with oestrogens.
