Monday, 19 AUGUST 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
A good night’s sleep and a healthy, active lifestyle without any addiction is a perfect recipe for nurturing one’s fertility in years preceding the stage when one starts planning about conceiving a baby. Gynaecologist and fertility specialist (IVF), Centre for Infertility & Assisted Reproduction (CIFAR), Dr Puneet Rana Arora states that as young, career oriented and fun-loving adults, both men and women tend to ignore the possible long-term impacts of tobacco or liquor addiction or late night shifts which impact different individuals in different ways, including reduced semen count in men and poor ovarian egg reserve in women. “Fertility is never a concern when you are young and carefree. It is only when you start planning to expand your family and face hiccups that it becomes a matter of concern. In the Indian scenario, unfortunately, infertility has traditionally been seen by people as an issue concerning women. The reality is otherwise. As an advice to potential mothers and fathers, we keep saying that even though you are not thinking of conceiving at a given point of time you must remember that your present lifestyle and late night parties or stressful graveyard shifts may have a bearing five years later – in terms of week semen parameters or low egg reserves – when you try to expand your family,” she said.
In families where there is a history of fertility issues, people should opt for preventive screening. “I came across a case in which a married man was detected with testicular failure. He and his wife opted for donor sperm but when he shared his problem with his younger, unmarried brother the latter got alerted and underwent a precautionary check. The younger sibling’s suspicion turned out to be correct and he was also detected with a similar condition. So, the moral of the story is not to feel guilty about fertility issues but discuss it with other family members,” she added.
