Human sex drive is a complex function. It is affected by many factors, viz., diet, exercise, sunlight and emotions. So, just because someone has a low sex drive does not mean that they have infertility issues. There are people, who have babies, but do not have sex drive or the desire to have sex.
Low levels of female and male sex hormones, i.e., estrogen and testosterone, respectively, leads to lowered sex drive. Low estrogen levels can cause a woman to lose interest in sex. Likewise, reduced levels of testosterone can bring the same effect to men. This means, there exists a strong connection between sex hormones and sex drive.
Sex hormones play a key role in fertility. Low estrogen levels can lead to irregular periods or periods may stop altogether. Low estrogen is responsible for causing anovulatory cycles. It can lead to a short follicular phase, which hampers the production of a mature egg, so that the fertilized egg does not develop into an embryo.
When couples are attempt to conceive, they are advised by their doctors to have planned and well-timed sex. Many couples feel that once they have made the decision of having a baby, they can be carefree while having sex. However, when they these couples are not able to reproduce, it puts much more pressure on them. Sex may start seeming like a chore to such couples.
Sex can be frustrating when trying for a baby. It is a reminder of the fact that things are not working out. When infertile couples have sex with the aim of having a baby, it is a completely impossible thing. With timed sex, couples lose the connection between them. Sometimes, couples, who are dealing with infertility feel ashamed and feel that they are not attractive to their partner. Women generally feel less womanly and men start feeling as if they are less manly.
Anxiety and depression are common in people, who are dealing with infertility. These feelings further lead to decrease in sexual desire. While men experience erectile dysfunction, performance anxiety and premature ejaculation, women, on the other hand, may have issues with lubrication as they do not get sufficiently aroused.
It is a common misnomer that if sperm count is low, it may lead to less sex drive, which can further cause infertility. However, if the experts are to be believed, there is no connection between sex drive and fertility. A lot of men, these days, suffer from low sperm count and not sub-standard quality of sperm. If the testosterone levels in men are low, then the sex drive may diminish. It can lead to ED, but there might be other causes of ED as well. Testosterone replacement therapy can bring the testosterone levels back to normal and restore sex drive in an affected person.
Women generally wait till their 30s to bear children. But, even during years that are thought to be the less fertile years, women engage in adventurous sexual behavior. According to a research conducted by researchers at University of Texas at Austin, women in the age bracket of 27-45 years have a very high sex drive in response to their decreasing fertility. During this study, around 800 women were examined. They were divided in three groups – high fertility (18-26) years, low fertility (27-45) and menopause (46 and above). As compared to other groups, women belonging to low fertility group had greater likelihood of experiencing:
- Intense sexual fantasies
- Greater frequency of sexual fantasies
- Wanting to have casual sex
- Active sex life and engaging in one-night stands
- Thinking about sex
Thus, it cannot be said that if a person is having low sex drive, he/she may be facing fertility issues or are not fertile at all.
