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Male fertility is plunging andfatherhood is in crisis as more couplesthan ever fail to conceive - can The Artof Baby Making author Gerad Kitetackle the problem?By GERAD KITE FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAYPUBLISHED: 17:19 EDT, 16 June 2018 | UPDATED: 20:34 EDT, 16 June 2018

Anxious, stressed out, stretched to breaking point… and riven with worries abouthow they look and perform in an image-obsessed world. 

Terri�ied that they’re in danger of fading into the background or being replaced by a‘younger model’ at work or, more worryingly, at home.

Too tired for sex with their partner yet desperate for a baby – and seemingly unableto conceive.

These concerns may have once been the preserve of women, but I’m taking aboutthe problems blighting my typical middle-aged male patient.

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Chris Evans is among the celebrities who has sought help from fertility expert and authorGerad Kite 

Why do they come to me? Well, I am an acupuncturist with a busy practice inLondon.

I’ve become known for my unique approach and successes in helping couples facinginfertility.

I practice Five-Element acupuncture, which is different from the type you might befamiliar with. We don’t focus on directly tackling a symptom, such as asthma or skincomplaints, but on bringing the whole person into balance.

Fertility isn’t all I do, but it is something I do well – two-thirds of my patients getpregnant, compared to about 35 per cent of all those having IVF.

I’ll see a man because I’ve been treating his wife. And now, more often, of his ownvolition.

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'I’ve become known for my unique approach and successes in helping couples facinginfertility,' writes the fertility expert.

And while the lack of a baby, despite months or even years of trying, will be theprimary complaint, when I scratch the surface a more troubling picture emerges.

In my experience, it’s modern life and all the stresses and strains it creates forcouples, and in particular men, that is preventing so many becoming fathers.

My waiting room used to be lined with women. When I opened up shop two decadesago, they made up 95 per cent of my clientele. Today, close to half of my newreferrals are men, and that number is rising.

That is because we are in the midst of a male fertility crisis…

HOW INFERTILITY BECAME A MAN’S PROBLEM

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Take John (not his real name), a 41-year-old banking executive who is a currentpatient. He told me he felt ‘on top of the world’ when he married his wife, who is sixyears his junior, and landed a promotion.

On the surface, they’re the epitome of success: the good looks, the cars, theholidays, the lovely house in a desirable part of town. But – and this is somethingJohn is unable to admit to even his friends – he and his wife cannot conceive. ‘It’s myswimmers,’ he told me forlornly after tests revealed his low sperm count.

But there was seemingly no explanation for the problem. He had no other healthissues. But I wasn’t sure things were quite as rosy as John believed. So I start toquestion a little deeper, to look for a cause, and sure enough…

Could it be his crushing 50-hour working week and that nagging fear that he’ll soonbe stepped over by the junior executive snapping at his heels? The late nights, earlystarts, the weight gain and the furious gym sessions he hopes will counteract that?

Maybe it was the fact he’d given up alcohol – as many men who are trying for a babydo – only to end up having one too many with friends at the weekend?

According to the Five-Element approach, people stop caring for themselves like thisbecause something fundamental is off kilter.

Once we’ve discovered this ‘cause’ we can take steps to bring the body, mind andspirit back into balance. The �igures are well known: the average sperm count hasnosedived by 52 per cent in the past 40 years. Scientists seem to be in the dark as towhy.

Men are also leaving fatherhood later than ever. Four decades ago, the average ageof a �irst-time dad was 27. Now he’s 31. One in ten are older than 40, and one in 100are over 50. The result? Well, one in six couples – about 3.5 million people – are nowaffected by infertility.

Very often, after medical tests fail to �ind anything physically wrong, the cause issimply given as ‘unexplained’. But I believe that it is a symptom of a wider problemfacing men: mental health issues, stress and burn-out. They are always measuringthemselves against the perfect lives they see on social media.

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Fearne Cotton has recommended the author to her male friends and family members 

Some have anger management problems. Others fall into addiction. I treat men whohave turned to porn, alcohol or hard drugs.

Some are simply addicted to work. These life problems might seem like side issuesto fertility but they are not. Natural selection is there for a reason – to ensure that wedo not procreate in times of danger and stress.

If modern life is costing men their physical, mental and spiritual health, MotherNature will ensure all their energy is focused on their own survival, not procreation.

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In my clinic I see patients who are wealthy, successful and ambitious but who cannotget their wife or girlfriend pregnant.

They are men who thrive on adrenaline at work and push through the tiredness of acouple of hours snatched sleep with a cocktail of coffee, pastries and chocolatebars, and a drink at the end of the day to relax.

In your 20s, or even early 30s, you can get away with it.

But the cost is low-quality sperm. For optimal fertility the body needs balance. Andthat is where acupuncture comes in.

Radio 1 DJ Greg James, who is just about to take over the station’s Breakfast Show, isa long-term fan of treatment with me. He is not trying to become a father but hewants to be the best man he can be.

Another of my clients is Ed O’Brien of Radiohead who has acupuncture as a way ofmaintaining his body’s balance as he navigates life at the very top of the musicindustry and life at home with his wife and two children. Chris Evans is anotherclient, and Fearne Cotton has recommended me to her male friends and familymembers.

They understand it is not girly to want to look after yourself.

Rather than focus on the tangible problem such as tiredness, which gives a manpermission to come through our door, or address symptoms like eczema or irritablebowel syndrome, we look at the bigger picture. Our approach is to ask men whothey are and what they really want. And then we use acupuncture to stimulate theirbody’s own powers of healing.

JUST DON’T CALL IT THE MANOPAUSE

‘Not tonight dear, I’ve got a headache’ was a woman’s excuse for turning down sex,according to stereotype. But it’s not true. In fact, a recent major study suggestedmen were just as likely to go off sex as women.

This midlife male crisis has been nicknamed the ‘manopause’ but that makes mecringe – not just because it undermines the very real menopause that womenexperience but because most of what happens to middle-aged men is self-sabotage.

It can be a very lonely time. But it is not a male menopause – it is about lifestylechoices and belief systems.

And I will step over a line here and say that with acupuncture and lifestyle changes, Iwould put money on most men being able to get their partner pregnant. Eventually.

Today is Father’s Day and we are looking at a generation of men of whom many – toomany – are struggling to become fathers.

That’s the tragedy of our time. But it does not have to be.

geradkite.com

 

My top ten tips for rejuvenating your libido 1 HAVE MORE SEX

It may seem obvious but one of the main reasons people struggle to conceive isbecause they’re not having enough sex. Conception is a numbers game and youneed to be doing it every other day. Talk together about how to make that work.

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2 GO TO BED early

If you are exhausted, you’re not going to be up for much. Go to bed at 10.30pm atthe latest and observe good ‘sleep hygiene’ – no books, TV and computers. Thebedroom is for sex and sleep only.

3 A PINT IS OK

Contrary to popular belief, the odd drink is not a fertility sin. A glass of wine or a pintof beer a day is within recommended limits. Avoid the sperm-destroying pattern oftotal abstinence and occasional binges. And make sure you stay hydrated bydrinking two litres of water a day.

4 EAT BETTER

Googling the subject of male fertility may throw up endless recommendations forsupplements, pills and potions, but I simply suggest a healthy balanced diet – anddon’t skip meals, especially breakfast. Avoid too many re�ined carbs such as bread,pasta, rice, pastries, pies and chocolate bars.

5 LOSE WEIGHT

Men who are overweight have lower sperm counts and poorer quality sperm thanthose who are a healthy weight, according to studies. And obese fathers may alsopass on unhealthy genes to their offspring. So if you need to, lose weight.

6 WEAR BOXERS

Wear boxer shorts rather than briefs – and sleep nude. Doing so means 25 per centlower levels of damaged DNA in sperm compared with those who wear tight pants atnight and during the day, according to a trial. Cooler underpants preservesreproductive cells.

7 STOP SMOKING

Analysis of smokers’ semen reveals trace elements from tobacco that lowered spermcount and movement, and damaged their DNA.

8 DITCH THE PILLS

Studies have shown that regularly taking ibuprofen has a direct impact on spermquality. Other medications can also have a detrimental effect. Speak to your GPabout this.

9 BAG YOUR PHONE

Some studies suggest sperm levels of men who kept their phones in their pocketduring the day were seriously affected – the electromagnetic heat that phonesgenerate was to blame. Stick your mobile in your bag.

10 BIN THE BIKE

Half an hour of jogging three times a week can boost sperm count, according to onestudy. More intense and longer sessions did not have the same positive effect.Cycling can lower sperm quality, due to the position on the saddle in relation to thesemen-producing prostate.

The Art Of Baby-Making and Everything You Need You Have, both by Gerad Kite,are published by Short Books, and are available now from leading bookshops

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