This week is National Fertility Awareness Week and we thought it was important to discuss male factor infertility. MFI is sometimes hidden in plain sight, as far too often (both by medical professionals and the TTC community) the focus is on the impact on us women. Therefore, joining me today on the Fertility Podcast is Frank Fallon a.k.a @betatwindad to talk about male factor and infertility. Frank and I talked about his diagnosis and the lack of answers from doctors, how he learned to advocate for himself, and his drive to seek out his own support. 

Frank shares how low and shell-shocked he felt when he was told that he was infertile. This was compounded sadly by his experience of being an unhelpful doctor. Frank talks about how he was directed straight to IVF with no explanation or answers about the cause of his infertility. 

Eventually, Frank was told that he had low sperm motility and that trying to conceive naturally was unlikely, however, he felt there had to be a reason for his infertility and wanted to find out.

Frank describes how he felt guilty and shameful, but the biggest part of it all was not having anyone to talk to. Frank wasn’t offered any support, so made the decision to seek it out himself.

Frank talks about how fortunate he and his partner were to conceive on their first round of IVF and twins at that! After having the twins in 2022, Frank explains how he found out that there were tests that should have been done at the beginning of their fertility journey but were not done. Frank has now been diagnosed with a varicocele. Had this been diagnosed they may not have needed IVF treatment.

Frank’s advice to listeners is to find out as much as you possibly can about tests and treatments that are available to you and make sure you reach out for the support you need.

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