The virus can occasionally be identified in semen and may even directly bind to sperm cells, according to the evidence, which also implies that covid-19 infections can reduce sperm levels for months.
According to the UNFPA Report published in July 2021, the number of births decreased by 3.0 percent in October, 5.0 percent in November, and 8.1 percent in December 2020 in 15 European Union member nations, while it decreased by 7.7 percent in the United States.
The same survey also found that although birth rates globally were down as previously reported and also in Spain, Russia, and France, Bangladesh stands out with an increase in births.
The risk of Covid-19’s harmful effects directly affecting the reproductive and sexual health systems of Covid-19-positive persons, however, seems to be overlooked in this particular paper. Examining the psychosocial or societal effects of the pandemic is just as crucial as determining how Covid-19 will affect medical results.
Although Covid-19 is largely a pulmonary infection, it has been postulated that it may also affect the male reproductive system through a number of mechanisms, including effects on spermatogenesis and testicular architecture. There may be a statistically significant change in sperm concentration and motility, according to a few case-controlled studies. Covid-19 may have an impact on female fertility and disrupt female reproductive processes in addition to males. According to the World Economic Forum, there was a considerable rise in stillbirths, maternal deaths, and mother depression during the epidemic, which was supported by international studies on the effects of Covid-19.
Experts in fertility and mental health are now very concerned about how Covid-19 will affect future reproduction.
An investigation was conducted by IIT Bombay and Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai, India to determine how Covid-19 affects male infertility. They looked for proteins in the seminal fluid of Covid-19-infected individuals that are known to be essential for spermatogenesis and the process of sperm and egg fertilisation. Covid-19.
In order to gain insight into the long-term effects of Covid-19 infection on male fertility, a research on males who were recovering from the infection was done.
The study found that men recovering from Covid-19 infection had aberrant expression of 48 proteins important for reproduction. The proteome analysis hinted that there might be a link between Covid-19 and a decline in male fertility soon after the infection with Covid-19.
As a result, it is speculated that males who have had Covid-19 may experience a delay in becoming parents immediately after contracting the infection; however, it is unclear if this effect persists over time.
Dr. Baris Ata, a Senior Consultant at ART Fertility Clinics in Dubai who is a member of the ESHRE (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology) working group on Covid-19 and has co-authored five ESHRE publications on Covid-19 infection in pregnancies or during ART treatments, reviewed the published literature while conducting the review.
Ata said, “Studies have concluded that the outcomes of ART pregnancies are no different from spontaneous conceptions, following Covid-19 infection. Furthermore, these studies suggest that newborns are protected by antibodies from mothers who have had Covid-19 in pregnancy. However, there is also evidence that severe Covid-19 disease during pregnancy may increase the risk of damaging the placenta and consequently increase the risk of smaller and at-risk babies or prematurely born babies.
Further research is needed to understand how the Covid-19 infection affects male and general fertility, which is one of the many medical side effects.
There is general agreement among fertility specialists that a Covid-19 history should be a crucial component of beginning any fertility treatment.
Parvathy Sukumaran 
