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On the Decline of Male Repro Health
Submitted by Matt on Thu, 2013-04-25 02:34
Article here. Excerpt:
'I signed up for a fertility test not because I’m trying to have a kid (please) but as a barometer of my maleness, in its most medieval, distilled sense. ... Every week there’s a new think piece or cover story ripping holes in the trappings of traditional manhood.
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... Around the world, male fertility is sharply declining. Birth defects afflicting the penis and testicles are on the rise. So is testicular cancer. Scientists expect that these problems will plague future generations even more than ours.
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Since the 1990s endocrinologists have issued warnings on the future of male reproductive health—“penis and semen,” in Moore’s words. In 1992, Danish scientists published a meta-analysis of 61 studies on semen quality from around the world, concluding that the average sperm concentration had declined by nearly 50 percent over a 50-year period, from 113 million to 66 million sperm per milliliter. ...
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In 2000, American researchers not only confirmed results from the original Danish semen quality study, they found sperm density in the United States and Europe to be falling at an even faster clip: by 1.5 to 3 percent per year. And last summer, an Israeli study noted a steady decline in semen quality at one local bank over the past 15 years. A full 38 percent of all sperm-donation applicants are now rejected, up from one-third prior to 2004. That year, the bank lowered its minimum sperm count for acceptance to widen its net for donors. Under those more stringent standards, 88 percent of contemporary samples would have been rejected.'
A related article from 2008 discussing the statistically-significant drop in male birth rates in increasingly more parts of the world is here, also discussing man-made chemicals as a possible culprit.
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Comments
We wouldn't let this continue ...
Male sperm counts have dropped 50% in 50 years. There is also a marked increase in the incidence of male genital birth defects over that same period.
If this was happening to baby girls, I'd bet the politicians would be making laws left and right about this. It would be a disaster of gigantic media proportions. But somehow they think that males don't need our support, don't need our concern. The short-sightedness of our feminist-serving political leaders never ceases to amaze me. (Throat clearing) Excuse me politicians -- did you know we are all one species? Did you know we are well on our way to wiping out the entire species? Do you give a damn?
I see a connection to women's health
Male fetuses miscarry more often them female fetuses, males are born or develop more disorders such as ADD, autism, Tourette's, mental retardation, etc. It is known in the science community that males are more susceptible to negative environmental factors.
....and since women are responsible for fetuses during pregnancy and are designed by nature to be infants' source of food and therefore have more contact and influence of young children...
... it has always been my suspicion that most of these defects are caused by mothers and their behavior and diet. As another article at MANN suggests, women's diets are getting worse. We have less mothers breastfeeding (plastic bottles contain BPA, especially before much was known about it), I also see this casual attitude about drinking and drugging early in pregnancy. Woman publicly declare that they quit as soon as they realized they were pregnant, as if that is an acceptable level of responsibility. but is that good enough? I have my doubts. IMO, women should have responsibility to quit that lifestyle as soon as they have a risk of being pregnant.
I am ashamed of what little regard many women have of their reproductive responsibility. I don't know where the line should be, and I understand that it infringes on abortion rights (like I care), but still I think as a society we should ask for more legal responsibility from pregnant women in regards to the unborn children they are carrying.
I personally think there is a connection linking the health of pregnant and new mothers to all this decline of male reproductive health and the increase in male neurological disorders.
PS- I forgot to mention hormonal birth control during breastfeeding. I am not sure it is as safe as doctors think it is (especially for a baby boy) . After a woman has a baby, the first thing a doctor wants to do is put her on birth control, even if she is breasfeeding.
edit/add: I also forgot to mention the age of first time mothers is increasing as well as the use of fertility drugs (age of mother increases the rate of birth defects, and fertility drugs increase twin/multiple births which come with more defects). Also sexually transmitted diseases are increasing in women which may effect the health of babies, they do cause the need for c-sections and early delivery.
I think all these factors should be looked at with a suspicious eye.