City-based Genome Foundation (GF) said the problem of childlessness is rising in the country owing to infertility. At a press conference here on Friday, GF MD K.P.C. Gandhi, director G.V.S.S. Kanaka Bhushanam, Suma (Prasad Hospitals), V. Sandhya (Osmania University), Krishna Chaitanya (Oasis Infertility Centre) and Vasundhara, gynaecologist (KIMS hospitals), stated that if fertility issues were more common among women in the past, in the last decade or so, infertility issues are becoming equal in both women and men.
If rapid lifestyle change could be having a devastating effect on men’s reproductive health, environmental pollution is weakening the function of sperm and sperm motility, they said. Chemicals such as phthalates, farabins, bisphenol, endocrine present in personal care products, pharmaceuticals, etc., are also harmful to men’s reproductive activity. Lifestyle habits such as excessive smoking and drinking also have a negative effect on it, they said.
Healthy lifestyle changes play a vital role in increasing the chances of pregnancy. These include a balanced diet, proper sleep, weight control and regular exercise. It is always better to consult doctors if there are genetic or reproductive problems as the city has excellent medicare facilities. Genome Foundation, too, has taken up an integrated approach through which many couples have succeeded in having healthy babies, they added.
