preggytips.com

Approximately 10 percent of couples trying to conceive are faced with some facet of infertility. Many environmentalist claim pollution is a major factor in the battle against infertility. However, in a recent study by Dr. Oren Hasson, an evolutionary biologist with Tel Aviv University’s zoology department infertility among humans is considerably higher than it should be and not for the reasons we think.

According to Hasson, despite many environmental issues, the human body should be able to evolve and overcome those that effect fertility. Instead, Hasson suggests that our environment and the process of evolution has inadvertently turned the male and female bodies against one another, making them what he termed “reproductive antagonists.”

In his report, Hasson noted that during the course of thousands of years, the female body has required the male body to create what is known as a “super-sperm.” This sperm is said to be the fastest of all the sperm and its reward for winning the race is penetration of the female’s egg. However, as the body strives to create super-sperm the Law of Unintended Consequences comes into play.

“It’s a delicate balance, and over time women’s and men’s bodies fine tune to each other. Sometimes, during the fine-tuning process, high rates of infertility can be seen. That’s probably the reason for the very high rates of unexplained infertility in the last decades,” Hasson said.

But Hasson doesn’t place all the blame on the evolution of sperm. He also suggests that the female body is equally to blame for evolutionary infertility. Hasson said that the female body, in direct reaction to the development of the super-sperm process (polyspermy), developed a defense mechanism against polyspermy.

In a female’s body, when the sperm is penetrated, the body immediately starts a biochemical reaction that prevents additional sperm from entering the egg. The reaction is designed to protect the egg that, if penetrated after initial penetration, will die.

“To avoid the fatal consequences of polyspermy, female reproductive tracts have evolved to become formidable barriers to sperm,” Hasson said. “They eject, dilute, divert and kill spermatozoa so that only about a single spermatozoon gets into the vicinity of a viable egg at the right time.”

For couples struggling with infertility, Hasson recommends avoiding stressful situations and being open with the flow of communication in the relationship. If necessary, he also suggests seeking the advice of a counselor and specialist to explore other fertility options.