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McGowan family The McGowan's struggled with infertility for years before their triplets were born with the help of a clinic.
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Factsheet: Male Infertility

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The Disappearing Male

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43:43 min

 

  • There are more than 20 heavily industrialized nations where the birth of baby boys has declined every year for the past 30 years - amounting to 3 million fewer baby boys.
  • The number of boys born with penis abnormalities and genital defects has increased by 200% in the past two decades.
  • Boys have a higher incidence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, Tourett's syndrome, cerebral palsy and dyslexia.
  • Boys are four times as likely to be autistic.
  • The average sperm count of a North American college student today is less than half of what it was 50 years ago.
  • The quality of sperm is declining. Eighty-five per cent of the sperm produced by a healthy male is DNA-damaged.
  • Damaged sperm have been linked to a 300% increase in testicular cancer - a form of cancer that affects young men in their 20s and 30s.
  • The chemical industry has developed more than 90,000 man-made chemicals in the last sixty years. Eighty-five percent of them have never undergone testing for their impact on the human body.

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Facts about Male Infertility

  • Sperm counts have been cut in half in the last fifty years - and 85% of that is abnormal.
  • In the last few decades there has been a 200% increase in male genital birth defects.
  • Male birth rates have declined. Since 1970 there have been nearly 3 million fewer baby boys.

Read more facts about male infertility.

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