When people think about fertility treatment, they almost always picture women. The tests, the drugs, the procedures, the conversations — they’re framed around her. But the truth is that infertility is not just a women’s issue. Up to 50% of all infertility cases involve a male factor, yet the resources, conversations, and even the cultural awareness around male infertility remain alarmingly thin.
This imbalance leaves men not only underdiagnosed but also unsupported — and often completely invisible in the fertility journey. As someone who has lived through infertility, I know how damaging that invisibility can be. For men, fertility challenges are often tied up with questions of masculinity, identity, and worth. When there’s no place to talk about those feelings, silence quickly becomes stigma.
The good news? Things are changing. Slowly but surely, men’s fertility is stepping into the light. And if we want reproductive healthcare to be truly patient-centred and inclusive, the sector must now prioritise support for men in three key areas: access, information, and emotional care.
Access: Normalising Male Testing and Diagnosis
The pathway into fertility care still skews heavily towards women. Typically, it’s a female partner who first visits her GP after months of unsuccessful trying. Male testing often comes later — sometimes years later. This delay can waste precious time.
We need to normalise semen analysis as a first-line investigation, not an afterthought. Advances in home sperm testing have made initial screening more convenient, but accessibility is not just about logistics — it’s also about culture. Men must feel that walking into a clinic, or ordering a home test, is no different from getting their blood pressure checked.
Healthcare providers and policymakers have a role to play here. Proactive screening, public health campaigns, and workplace education can all help bring male fertility into everyday conversation.
Information: Cutting Through the Noise
One of the biggest challenges men face is the scarcity of tailored, trustworthy information. Fertility websites, forums, and social media spaces are overwhelmingly written for women. Men searching online for answers about azoospermia, varicocele, or sperm DNA fragmentation often fall into two traps: technical jargon they can’t decode, or forums filled with unverified, sometimes frightening anecdotes.
What men need are clear, evidence-based resources written in plain language, supported by clinicians but accessible to non-specialists. Importantly, these resources must also acknowledge men’s lived experiences — the guilt, the grief, the questions about identity — not just the clinical data.
Some progress is being made. Podcasts, short-form video explainers, and patient-led blogs are beginning to fill this gap. Embedding such resources into clinic websites and national fertility organisations could make a tangible difference in how informed and empowered men feel as patients.
Emotional Care: Beyond Biology
For men, infertility is rarely just a medical problem. It’s an emotional crisis too. Research has shown that 90% of patients navigating fertility struggles will experience depression, and 42% will have suicidal thoughts. These statistics apply to men as much as women — but men are far less likely to seek formal mental health support.
This is where peer connection becomes transformative. Men’s support groups, whether online or in person, create safe, judgement-free spaces to share experiences. Hearing another man say “me too” can lift a weight that has been carried in silence for years. These groups don’t replace clinical care, but they complement it by tackling isolation — one of the most corrosive aspects of infertility.
Healthcare providers who signpost men to such resources are not just being compassionate; they are actively supporting better treatment outcomes. Emotional resilience helps patients stay the course with often gruelling IVF cycles, improving overall engagement with care.
A More Inclusive Future
Reproductive healthcare is at a crossroads. On one side, advanced technologies such as micro-TESE surgery, DNA fragmentation testing, and home sperm analysis are reshaping diagnosis and treatment options for men. On the other, societal attitudes are beginning to shift, with more public figures opening up about male fertility.
But technology and visibility alone are not enough. What’s required is a culture of inclusivity — where fertility care recognises men not as secondary partners, but as patients in their own right.
That means:
- Clinics embedding male support into patient pathways.
- Employers including fertility within workplace wellbeing packages, for men as well as women.
- Charities and policymakers funding men’s support programmes alongside female-focused initiatives.
Ultimately, building a fertility ecosystem that works for everyone requires us to stop treating men as an afterthought.
Why This Matters
Every day, I speak to men who tell me they feel invisible in their fertility journey. They say things like: “I was completely overlooked in the clinic”. Or, “I felt like less of a man when I got my diagnosis”. These are not isolated sentiments. They’re a reflection of systemic blind spots that the healthcare sector must urgently address.
Infertility is not just about biology; it’s about identity, relationships, and mental health. If we continue to ignore the male half of the equation, we are failing patients, partners, and families.
The future of fertility care must be patient-centred, evidence-based, and inclusive of men. When we get that right, we don’t just improve outcomes in the clinic. We change lives far beyond it.