A gyneacologist with the Federal Medical Centre, Abuja, Dr Toochukwu Nwoye, said on Wednesday that infertility among couples could be due to excessive exposure to heat or infections.
Nwoye said in Abuja that undue exposure of testis to heat could lead to sperm count abnormalities or absence of sperm production in extreme cause.
An extract from dailymail.co.uk’s reports on male infertility also says, If a man’s genitals are exposed to excessive heat, this can result in many problems with the sperm; sources of this heat may include constricting undergarments and clothing, saunas, hot tubs, and laptops.
Other factors Nwonye mentioned included chromosomal abnormalities, abnormalities of the genital tract such as imperforated hymen and testicular feminisation syndrome, among others.
According to an online dictionary, chromosome is a structure in all living cells that consists of a single molecule of DNA bonded to various proteins and that carries the genes determining heredity.
These factors could be either congenital or acquired, he added.
He also stressed that the congenital factor stems from abnormalities of sex inherent at birth and malfunctions of the male genital tract.
Nwoye said these conditions could also occur in female leading to the problem of menstrual cycle such as ovulation.
According to him, acquired condition of the ovaries and tubes inflammation could be due to previous sexually transmitted infection, pelvic inflaming disease or polycystic ovaring syndrome, among others.
He, however, said that women with goitre or thyroid in the body were also at risk of infertility.
Another expert, Dr Frank Ifeoma, a family physician of the same hospital, said infections of the genital track such as gonorrhoea and syphilis could damage the genital tract and testis resulting in male infertility.
-Punch