Contraception, Disability and Illness

Male Contraceptive and Reproductive Issues

Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)

Infertility among men with SCI may occur because of reduced sperm motility and low sperm counts. Cord injuries can also block ejaculation or cause retrograde ejaculation. Men with recent SCI face a number of new psychosocial as well as physical sexual realities. Issues such as the lack of spontaneity in sexual encounters, reliance on others for personal care, recognition that penetrative sex is not the only way of achieving pleasure, and that ejaculation is not synonymous with orgasm, are among the many challenges they may have to their previously held views about sexuality. But with respect to contraception and fertility, not all men with cord injuries are infertile and sorting out each individual's situation is thus necessary.

• www.sexualhealth.com
• www.enablelink.org/include/article.php?pid=&cid=&subid=&aid=674
• www.bccpd/bc.ca/wdi/sex_dis_webliog/Sexuality_Disability_Webliog.pdf

Last Modified: September 5, 2006