FERTILITY WRECKERS

Male fertility rates are declining. We look at the causes. This week: Stress MEN can harm their chances of starting a family simply by stressing over it. Evidence was first uncovered in 2007 in the journal Fertility And Sterility, where a US study warned stress was causing high levels of ‘performance anxiety’.

Allan Pacey, a professor of andrology, says: ‘The stress of trying to conceive makes intercourse a chore, causes disagreements in relationships and [can] make both partners drink too much. Arguing and drinking can stop couples having sex.’

‘Ejaculation can also be sent awry,’ Professor Pacey explains. ‘Stress creates a muscular “pinch point” in the penis which stops sperm from being ejaculated. The quality of the sperm itself can be lowered, too. Stress hormones such as cortisol may interfere with production.’