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In his latest book, Notes on Being a Man, Scott Galloway discusses his personal fertility journey in the larger social context of what it means to be a man in modern America. Galloway’s infertility challenges shared with his wife inform his views on men’s health across all dimensions — physical, mental health, social health, financial well-being — and how, of course, men’s overall health is also a women’s and children’s issue.

Men can feel “left out” of infertility discussions, based on results from the first and largest multi-national study into men’s feelings about their infertility revealed. “How men feel about their infertility is surprisingly under-explored,” the researchers in this study asserted.

To bolster our understanding of men’s points of view, Progyny fielded market research In June 2025 among men between 18 and 55 years of age in the U.S. to learn more and lean into men’s mindsets on fertility. To further understand stigma and awareness, questions were asked of men who have conceived or who have tried to conceive, as well as those who noted they have not, but see that in their future plans.

I collaborated on this research from its initial brainstorming to the analysis of insights shared by men who participated in the study. This is the first of three posts I’m writing to discuss the new research from Progyny exploring men’s experiences with and views on fertility. The study was conducted among 1,003 men in the U.S., ages 18 to 55, in June 2025. These posts focus on perspectives shared by 601 of these men who have conceived or tried to conceive.

The birth of the study. When it comes to fertility services in health care, men’s perspectives have been largely overlooked even after decades of clinical advancements. “A popular listicle entitled ‘15 Celeb Men You Didn’t Know Struggled with Infertility’ foregrounds female factor infertility, idiopathic infertility and pregnancy loss … with little to say about male factor infertility in general, or the feelings experienced by those men who are diagnosed.”

This article was featured in a pop culture publication whose editor titled the piece about celebrity men who faced fertility challenges – but who were largely overlooked in the article which highlighted women’s fertility issues.

The status of men on the fertility care journey. Fertility is an equal opportunity challenge in the perceptions of most American men who have tried to conceive a child.

Most men (75%) disagreed with the concept that infertility is primarily a women’s health issue. Furthermore, most men believe that ignoring male infertility propagates false and outdated stereotypes and places unfair responsibility on female partners.

Most men also recognize that early detection of male factor infertility enables proactive interventions to improve not only fertility itself but also lifelong health outcomes – appreciating the many links between infertility and other health risk factors. And further demonstrating men’s fertility literacy, most guys (2 in 3) also realize that low sperm count is not the only factor that identifies male infertility.

The gap between reported awareness and action.  Even with these broad understandings of nuances contributing to male infertility, there is a gap between men’s awareness of reproductive and sexual health conditions and their willingness to talk about it with a doctor. In our study, we found that two-thirds of men who have conceived or tried to conceive have or had a condition affecting their fertility, and less than one-half of these men have had an appointment with a doctor to address their condition. We also know from peer-reviewed clinical studies that up to 50% of fertility challenge are due to male factor fertility.

That’s an important gap in care and patient engagement especially considering that 80% of men in this group had a primary care provider prior to starting trying to conceive.

Of those men who had an appointment to follow up their sexual health condition, most were comfortable seeing a urologist or fertility specialist, finding the visit straightforward and easy.

A growing opportunity for self-care and empowerment. On the upside, there is an opportunity to grow men’s engagement in self-care, given that two-thirds of American men correctly recognize that diet and lifestyle choices affect male fertility. For example, sperm quality can be compromised by conditions such as diabetes and hormonal imbalances  that can often be corrected – say, by patient with unrecognized diabetes beginning to manage blood sugar level. Another issue might be a man with abnormal perm count who consumes alcohol regularly but may be able to reduce alcohol consumption and normalize sperm count, Dr. Joseph Alukal, MD, Director of Men’s Health at Columbia/New York-Presbyterian and a Progyny medical advisory board member.

“Men’s well-being is undergoing a profound transformation,” the Global Wellness Institute called out in its analysis of 2025 men’s health trends. “Once defined by stoicism and self-reliance, masculinity is now being reexamined through the lens of mental health, emotional resilience, and self-care….Social media fosters both toxic influences, like hyper-masculinity, and positive support networks that encourage men to seek help and embrace vulnerability….As men navigate modern masculinity, the focus is shifting from survival to thriving.”

Men who have been diagnosed with a condition affecting their sexual health have taken on a variety of self-care actions: most common among these, for 56% of these men, actions have been making life changes such as diet, exercise, heat avoidance, and smoking or alcohol use cessation.

Another 45% of men who have conceived or tried to conceive have used supplements, with 23% of the men also using a prescription medication (such as testosterone supplementation).

We can expect the self-care approach for men addressing sexual health to grow, with one-third of men in our study saying they would try an alternative therapy such as acupuncture, as well as supplements. Furthermore, 2 in 5 of these men also plan to adopt a prescription medication to address sexual health issues.

Stay tuned to Health Populi next week for my second of three posts discussing Progyny’s men’s sexual and reproductive health research – with a lens on fertility and family finances.

The post Feeling Under-Served and Overlooked: Men’s Views on Their Fertility Journeys (My Progyny Post #1) appeared first on HealthPopuli.com.