It seems that more often than not when the subjects of fertility and IVF pregnancy come up the focus is on women more than men. While it can be held true that the female plays a larger role in reproduction, the importance of the male partner cannot be marginalized.

The woman’s age and her fertility

Until recently the primary focus on fertility has been on the female’s ovarian reserve and the viability. This is the number of eggs a woman has in her ovaries and how healthy these eggs are.

It has always been a given that at 30 years of age a woman’s fertility starts to lesson and her chances of conceiving lower. It has been said that a man can father a child at any age. While generally this is true, this isn’t exactly the whole story as several contributing elements can come into play.

The real deal

So, what is the real deal with men’s fertility? It is true that men continually produce sperm cells and do not become infertile with age as women tend to. However, as men age they can produce fewer sperm. Several factors can attribute to this, but it all boils down to lower testosterone levels.

How to maintain healthy sperm

It is important for a man to maintain good overall physical health if he wants to maintain good reproductive health. By maintaining a healthy body weight through proper diet and exercise, he can keep his sperm production and viability at about the same at age 50 as it was at age 25.

Some men tend to become couch potatoes as they get older, and this type of sedentary lifestyle can have a negative effect on not only his general health, but his reproductive health as well. Sperm counts can lower, and the sperm can become less viable. getting up and exercising at least 30 minutes a day can help reverse the couch potato effect.