Fertility issues are pretty common in modern, western society. For some couples, getting pregnant is a struggle that is sometimes never won.  Various factors are at the cause of fertility issues, but new research has found there is one common gadget that is not helping.

Low Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) from smartphones carried in pant’s pockets lowers sperm motility and viability.

According to Time:

And with male infertility on the rise, Fiona Mathews at the University of Exeter, in England, and her colleagues decided to investigate what role cell phones might play in that trend. In their new research, they analyzed 10 previous studies, seven of which involved the study of sperm motility, concentration and viability in the lab, and three that included male patients at fertility clinics. Overall, among the 1,492 samples, exposure-to-cell-phone EMR lowered sperm motility by 8%, and viability by 9%.

Previous studies suggested several ways that the magnetic fields might be wreaking havoc on sperm — they could be generating DNA damage by promoting more unstable oxygen compounds, or because most men carry their phones in their pants pockets, the fields, which can cause up to a 2.3°C temperature increase on the skin, could be raising the temperature of the testes enough to suppress and interfere with normal sperm production.

The motility of sperm refers to its ability to navigate through the female reproductive system to find the egg.  It is the ability to swim, as we often picture sperm.

Smartphones are common amongst urban dwellers.  They are always nearby in pockets or purses.  The effects on our whole body is not yet understood. It makes sense that when carried near reproductive organs the EMR would effect fertility.

If you are struggling with fertility issues, keep that smartphone away from your body as much as possible.