‘Male factor 50 p.c.’ in infertility problems

Press, 28 July 1989, Page 18

‘Male factor 50 p.c.’ in infertility problems

By

DEBORAH McPHERSON

Infertility is as much a problem for men as for women, says a British expert on the subject, Dr Anne Jequier. Responsibility for infertility had traditionally been placed on women, but up to 50 per cent of all infertility problems had a “male factor,” said Dr Jequier yesterday. “Up to 10 per cent of all couples are infertile. Of those, about a third of the women are infertile, a third are men, and a third is a mixture of men and women, so about 50 per cent of infertility can be said to have a male factor.” Male infertility could be helped through the use of a procedure first established to help infertile women conceive babies outside the womb — invitro fertilisation. “When you fertilise a male egg in the lab, you need only 50,000 sperm as opposed to millions for natural concep-

tion.” Women could more easily tell if they were infertile, because if they produced no eggs, they did not menstruate, but there were no easily recognisable symptoms in men. Dr Jequier is a British-born obstetrician and gynaecologist with an expertise in andrology (male fertility and infertility). She has written several medical books on the topic and was in Christchurch this week to speak at a seminar for urologists and gynaecologists. Dr Jequier works at the Private Invitro Fertilisation and Embryo Transfer (P.1.V.E.T.) Medical Centre in Perth. She is also involved in male infertility research at the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. Before moving to Perth, she worked at the department of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Nottingham.