If you are planning to get pregnant, you know that you need a pre-pregnancy checkup, but what about the father-to-be? It is also important for him to have a pre-conception checkup as well. This is especially true for men who smoke, drink a lot, use drugs or work with hazardous material.
It is a medical fact that smoking and exposure to certain types of chemicals can result in low sperm count, which can prevent or make conception difficult. It is also believed that men who smoke tend to have more abnormal sperm than men who do not smoke.
A pre-conception checkup will alert you early if you need to consider looking for another job or ask for a new assignment if you work with hazardous chemicals. This course of action is especially important if your checkup reveals that your sperm count is low.
Getting tested for any kind of sexual infection is also important before trying to get your partner pregnant. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have been cheating, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry, especially if you have been with your current partner for a short time. After all, a sexually transmitted disease may not exhibit any symptoms or may take a long time to show itself.
The prospect of starting a family can also be the catalyst some men need to get help for destructive habits such as alcoholism or drug addiction. So, if you are addicted to drugs or alcohol, this may be the time to seek treatment.
Because the main problem men encounter with conception is low sperm count, a pre-conception check-up will identify this early on and treatment can be started. A medical condition that may result in low sperm count is varicocele. This little known condition is easily remedied by surgery which can be performed as an outpatient procedure.
In addition to helping to identify any potential deterrents to a successful TTC (trying to conceive) journey, when both partners have a pre-conception check-up there is generally a greater feeling of togetherness. To boost sperm count, it is also a good idea to wear loose fitting underwear and limit the amount of time spent cycling.
Men can decide to have their preconception checkup done before, after, even at the same time as their partners. Once both partners have gotten a clean bill of health or have started to take corrective measures if needed – let the baby-making begin.
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