Oh ladies, doesn't it seem like we always get the blame for our fertility problems? We're eating the wrong foods, we're waiting too long, we're too fat, we're too skinny. We're not sleeping upside-down in bat caves and slurping açai smoothies like we should be if we really, really want to have babies. But what about the guys? Can't we spread some of the blame to men -- you know, just as an equal opportunity measure?
Well thank you, Science, because yes we can! Guess what? Wi-Fi be killing sperm. An Argentine scientist found that when drops of sperm were placed under a laptop that was wirelessly connected to the Internet, a full quarter of the little spermy dudes stopped moving and 9 percent showed DNA damage! So ... that's nice. Now how can we make this still women's fault?
I'm kidding. But seriously, if you're having trouble getting pregnant, you may want to look into this. What this suggests to the scientists -- and they're not yet saying they know this for sure, keep in mind -- is that "the use of a laptop computer wirelessly connected to the Internet and positioned near the male reproductive organs may decrease human sperm quality." They did the same test on a laptop not connected to Wi-Fi, and did not get the same sperm-killing effect. The sperm they tested came from 29 healthy men.
Apparently the heat from a laptop can also kill or damage sperm, so that's two reasons now why maybe-baby guys might want to get the laptops off their laps and onto a desk. And perhaps they should don those lead aprons you wear at the dentist for x-rays, too. Oooh, I wonder if watching porn on a laptop kills even more sperm? Can you see how much anxiety-producing potential there is in this sperm-killing discovery? A gold mine!
Okay, I'll calm down. For the record, according to the American Urological Association, half of the time when a couple has trouble conceiving, it's related to a problem with the man. Infertility is so anxiety-producing for both partners in a couple, we don't need to heap on more. But it is somewhat comforting to see that there are lifestyle choices that affect men's fertility, too.
For those of you trying to get pregnant, does your husband or boyfriend use a laptop on his lap? Do you think he'd want to change after hearing about this study?
Image via Grace Hebert/Flickr