Western men are 52% less fertile than men 40 years ago, reports the 25th edition of the journal Human Reproduction Update. The study was conducted between 1973 and 2011 and included men from Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. Sperm concentration decreased by 52% and total sperm count was 59% lower. These are the two indicators for evaluating sperm. The results were obtained after conducting 185 separate studies, in which a total of 43,000 men participated. The indicators are extremely alarming, according to experts, as they confirm the negative trend of a drastic decrease in the reproductive abilities of men from Western nations. For the first time, such a decline of 50% reduction in fertility was recorded 25 years ago – when in 1992 the data from the first such comparison over a period of 50 years was reported. It is not clear whether there are changes in the fertility abilities of men from the rest of the world, experts elaborate. The data are alarming not only in terms of whether Western civilization is threatened with sterility, but also because low male fertility is associated with other bad indicators for him such as lower life expectancy, the presence of many diseases and, in particular, cardiovascular and oncological. In the medical scientific community, it is not only whether the Western man can make babies that is discussed, but questions related to the survival and health status of the population are raised. The reasons for this trend are still unclear. The hypotheses are that this is still due to the modern lifestyle, in which the male organism is exposed to harmful substances, high level of stress, overweight, diet poor in useful nutrients, lack of physical activity and smoking. These are factors that have been confirmed to harm sperm quality… However, scientists are looking elsewhere for an answer. According to them, the damage affecting a man’s fertility begins even before he is born. NEWS_MORE_BOX Lower sperm count has been documented in men whose mothers smoked during their pregnancy. The influences to which the future male organism is subjected in the mother’s womb contribute to changes that may prove fatal much later in life. The modern man is still fertile, experts confirm. In a milliliter of his semen, 66.4 million spermatozoa are found. 40 years ago, however, this number amounted to 92.8 million per milliliter! Change in such a short period of time is stressful! And that’s just the quantitative dimension. Things really get serious when qualitative sperm analysis is done. We know that it only takes one sperm to fertilize an egg, right? But the truth is that the sperm – one of millions in a single act of fertilization – is not just the fastest, but also the best quality and most promising to give a healthy child.With a low sperm count, it is very likely that their capacity to fertilize the egg and produce a healthy embryo is low. With a low sperm count, their low motility and structural abnormalities are usually found.