We need to break the taboo around male fertility, says Leslie Schrock

INFERTILITY AFFECTS one in six couples, and for half of those, the problem lies with the male partner. Sperm is on the decline. Its concentration and count—the number of sperm per millilitre of semen and the total number of sperm in an ejaculate—has dropped by more than 50% on average in Western countries since the 1970s. No one knows why for sure, but increased rates of obesity, lifestyle factors such as smoking and physical inactivity, and exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, such as BPAs and phthalates, are the leading theories. “Spermpocalypse”—a scenario in which future men have little or no sperm—is unlikely. For now, sperm meet the basic requirements for human reproduction. But poor-quality sperm is not only linked to the deterioration of men’s overall health, it negatively affects women and children too.