How is a man's fertility measured?

Men’s fertility can be measured in a number of ways. The ultimate measure of a man’s reproductive potential is obviously his ability to achieve a pregnancy. And while we look at a number of things—we look at hormone levels like testosterone and FSH (follicle stimulating hormone); these are some hormones that can give us insight into the functioning of the testicle—the ultimate measure is the patient’s ability to achieve a pregnancy. I really caution patients not to become overly discouraged when they find that after their therapy they have low sperm counts or low hormone levels because that’s where the role of a person like me comes in, who can offer valuable therapy through hormone therapy or other approaches such as surgical sperm extraction to help them achieve a pregnancy. In addition, there are a number of assisted reproductive techniques including intrauterine insemination and in vitro fertilization that can help men with their partners successfully achieve a pregnancy even if the sperm counts are extremely low or there’s no sperm in the ejaculate.