My husband insists upon going to daily yoga classes, where the room is heated to 110 degrees F. for about an hour. He says that this amount of heat is necessary for sweating out toxins. I have told him that this heat is extremely detrimental to his sperm count, motility and morphology. How much does this reduce our chances of conceiving? Might it be impossible to conceive under such circumstances? Does the heat immediately kill sperm that have already developed, or does it just slow down the process of sperm production? How long does it take for normal sperm production to resume once the heat has been discontinued?

Kimberly

If his semen analysis is okay, then it is not likely causing problems, at least not yet. But I would guess that ultimately this sort of exposure to heat, in addition to "sweating out toxins," will sweat out his fertility. I am not sure exactly when the damage occurs, but even relatively short heat exposure can have detrimental effects that can take up to three months to correct.

You must ask yourself an important question. Why is your husband unwilling to change his behavior to achieve conception? Are his priorities appropriate if you are truly into this as a team? Does he really want children? These seem like important questions to answer before proceeding.