Failure to conceive can be just as devastating for men

IN the past, if a married couple failed to produce a child, there was often an assumption that the woman was “barren”, and no one ever thought there was anything wrong with the male, says Helen Browne, chairwoman of the National Infertility Support and Information Group (NISIG).

This assumption has waned, largely through publication in the media of statistics which show that about a third of couples affected by infertility are grappling with male factor problems linked to quality or quantity of sperm. Statistics from Irish fertility clinics show the ratio of male/female infertility is fairly evenly split.

However, men and women can react very differently to a diagnosis.