What we miss when we ignore male infertility

Clinicians say the picture is beginning to shift, but only gradually. "Things are moving in the right direction, but we are still well behind," says Prof Hussain Alnajjar, a consultant urological surgeon at University College London Hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic London. For example, it is starting to become more common for a man to see a specialist before his female partner - if an initial semen analysis suggests a potential problem. "That's what I mean by things are changing but it's happening slowly," he adds. "Overall, women are still far more likely to be assessed first when it comes to infertility." For men like James, 34, from North Yorkshire, that slow pace of change has shaped their experience. After James and his wife had difficulty conceiving, he had what he describes as an "ostrich moment"; months of burying his head in the sand while his partner went through all the checks and tests. "Every day, I think about that moment and the time wasted," he says. James was away for work on a construction site when the results of his semen analysis eventually came through. He was told his sperm were "weak, slow and malformed" and later found out he would struggle to conceive naturally. The near three-hour drive home that day was "like a blur, very painful". There were delays with his diagnosis. It took another two years - and a private consultation with a urologist - before he was given a full physical examination and more advanced hormonal tests. …