While women's fertility is known to decline as they get older, fewer people are aware that semen quality also deteriorates with age, a fertility consultant has said.

According to Dr Bart Kuczera of Beacon CARE Fertility, many men may delay starting a family for career and relationship reasons, but like women, ‘they too are impacted by their biological clock which declines with age'.

"We often hear about a women's struggle to conceive but very little about men, which can make men who find themselves in this situation feel very isolated," he pointed out.

Currently in Ireland, around one in six couples has problems conceiving. One-third of these cases can be attributed to the female partner, one-third to the male partner and one-third can be caused by a combination of problems in both partners or there simply may not be an explanation.

Dr Kuczera emphasised however that men who are experiencing fertility problems can boost their fertility by changing their lifestyle. These changes include:

-Getting proper sleep. Research suggests that too much sleep (more than nine hours per night), too little sleep (less than six hours per night), or going to bed after midnight may damage sperm
-Eating a healthy diet
-Not smoking
-Drinking alcohol moderately

Dr Kuczera also noted that sperm is at its healthiest when it is a couple of degrees below normal body temperature. This means that when you are trying to conceive, you may want to avoid anything that can raise the temperature of your groin, such as sitting still for long periods of time, having hot baths, using a laptop on your lap, wearing tight underwear, or working in a hot environment, such as a kitchen or bakery.

"I would always suggest to any man who has concerns in this regard to have a comprehensive semen analysis, which is a simple non-invasive test to help determine whether there is a male fertility issue involved.

"In addition to adopting a healthier lifestyle, there are a range of ground-breaking medical treatments available, namely ICSI, which involves the injection of a single sperm directly into the centre or cytoplasm of an egg. This is used when sperm quality is unsuitable for conventional IVF or where sperm has been surgically recovered. Don't wait or suffer in silence. There is lots of medical expertise and help available," he added.