Did you know that some of those gifts could affect male fertility? If you want to get pregnant and your boyfriend received gorgeous and tight underwear, a spa gift card, a laptop computer or if he bought an brand new heated seat kit, be worried! Those products that are harmless in appearance may affect sperm production in its development, quality and quantity.
Maybe you found out how it affects male fertility. The problem is not the object itself; it is the fact that it produces heat. To live, sperm must be in an environment where the temperature is a few degrees under the body temperature. That is why men have a scrotum that keeps testicles outside of the body and creates a system of temperature exchange. If a man wears tight underwear that compresses his testicles everyday, takes hot baths, goes in saunas, puts his laptop on his knees and heats his car seat often, he exposes his sperm to what it fears the most, heat.
Of course, we should not ask anyone to stop going to his favorite spa or to avoid heating his seats but, like we heard around Christmas… moderation in all things.
What should I do?
- About underwear, it is important to remember that some support is good but the testicles should never be squeezed. Compression could affect the quality of sperm. Also, if your testicles are too close to the body, it will increase heat and, again, sperm quality will be affected. It is best to use cotton underwear to allow better air circulation.1
- Visit a spa now and again but not every day. Take showers rather than baths.1
- A laptop on your knees can produce a lot of heat. Try to use an insulator between the laptop and your knees or to work on a table or a desk. Is addition, a study conducted in Argentina showed that laptops connected to Wi-Fi can affect the quality of sperm. That is another good reason to avoid putting your laptop on your knees. 2
- Avoid heating your car seat as much as possible. A German study showed that prolonged heat, even mild, can have an impact on the production of sperm.3
Conclusion
It is important to remember that along with alcohol, tobacco, drugs and junk food, heat blocks the scrotal thermoregulation and reduces male fertility. When you are trying to conceive, you must pay attention to those factors. It is never too late to add a workshop to your Christmas gifts. Seréna offers a workshop on symptothermal methods that will allow you to understand the fertility cycle of women to optimize your chances to conceive and compensate for your fertility-reducing Christmas gifts.
By Élisabeth Brodeur for Seréna
References
- Huyghe, E. et al (2007). Contraceptions masculines non déférentielles : revue de la littérature. Progrès en Urologie, 17, 156-164.
- Avendaño, C., Mata, A., Sanchez Sarmiento, C. A., & Doncel, G. F. (2012). Use of laptop computers connected to internet through Wi-Fi decreases human sperm motility and increases sperm DNA fragmentation. Fertility and Sterility, In Press.
- Pačnik, T. (2010). Comment maintenir le sperme de qualité et sain? Online : consulted December 12, 2011
