The below research article investigated if men have issues with discussing their emotions/feelings while going through an IVF procedure.
It would be no surprise to woman, 50% of the men did not want to discuss their feelings. Men who could not discuss their feelings, had a higher rate of depression.
Depression can cause the body to release stress hormones which result in physical effects such as – poor sleep, weight gain, low sex drive and testosterone. Lowered testosterone will impact sperm quality.
Research articles clearly show a link between stress and sperm quality. If depression and stress result in similar hormonal release, then depression could possibly cause lowered sperm quality.
Fertility treatment should be addressing all the components of a couple undergoing fertility treatments – men as well as women.
Acupuncture is beneficial to decreasing stress hormones, releasing endorphins to elevate mood, which can improve his fertility and sperm.
Guys, if you are reading this and you are depressed…..there is no excuse not to get help. Even if your sperm is “normal” the DNA quality might be impacted (read this article).
Depression can impact a man’s fertility.
Regular sperm testing does not measure the quality of the building blocks (DNA). If your embryos have been tested and found to be poor quality, it may not be your wife’s egg quality. It could be partially your sperm’s DNA.
Male factor infertility and lack of openness about infertility as risk factors for depressive symptoms in males undergoing assisted reproductive technology treatment in Italy
Alessandra Babore, Psy.D. Alessandra Babore, Liborio Stuppia, M.D., Carmen Trumello, Ph.D., Carla Candelori, Psy.D., Ivana Antonucci, Ph.D. Department of Psychological Sciences, Health and Territory, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio”, Chieti, Italy
Objective
To investigate the association between male factor infertility and openness to discussing assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment with levels of depression among men undergoing infertility treatment.
Patient(s)
Three hundred forty participants (170 men and their partners) undergoing ART treatments.
Result(s)
In this study, 51.8% of males chose not to discuss their ART treatments with people other than their partner. In addition, the decision to discuss or not discuss the ART treatments with others was significantly associated with men’s depressive symptoms. Male factor infertility was significantly associated with depression when considered together with the decision not to discuss ART treatments with others. A general disposition characterized by a lack of openness with others seemed to be a significant predictor of depression.
Conclusion(s)
There is a need for routine fertility care to pay greater attention to men’s emotional needs. Before commencing reproductive treatment, male patients may benefit from undergoing routine screening for variables (i.e., male factor infertility and openness to others about ART) that may affect their risk of depression.