Infertility Is a Couples’ Journey: Why We’re Partnering with SWMR
When we talk about infertility, the conversation has historically centered around women. The appointments. The bloodwork. The injections. The procedures. The waiting. And while women often carry an enormous physical burden during fertility treatment, there’s another part of the story that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough: male fertility.
For many couples, infertility isn’t a “her” issue or a “him” issue. It’s something they are navigating together. And yet, when a couple begins trying to understand why getting pregnant isn’t happening, the experience can look very different for each partner.
Women may undergo extensive testing, ultrasounds, bloodwork, medications, procedures and lifestyle changes. Meanwhile, the male side of the equation can sometimes begin and end with a semen analysis.
But male fertility deserves a much bigger place in the conversation.
Infertility Isn't Just a Women's Health Issue
Male-factor infertility is estimated to contribute to approximately 40–50% of infertility cases, either on its own or alongside female factors. Yet for many couples, the female partner still carries a disproportionate amount of the physical — and often mental — load of fertility treatment. That doesn't mean fertility care should become about determining whose "fault" infertility is.
Actually, we think it should be the opposite.
The more we understand fertility as something that involves both partners, the more we can move away from blame and toward shared responsibility.
A semen analysis is one of the primary ways male fertility is evaluated. Among other things, it can provide information about sperm concentration, motility and morphology. Depending on someone's results and medical history, a fertility specialist or reproductive urologist may recommend additional evaluation.
And sperm health isn't necessarily static.
Sperm development takes roughly 74–90 days, which is why you may hear fertility providers talk about male preconception health in roughly three-month windows. Factors such as overall health, nutrition, sleep, exercise, smoking, alcohol and heat exposure may influence sperm health, and a physician may recommend additional interventions or supplementation based on an individual's needs.
For couples already thinking about prenatal vitamins, supplements, diet changes and everything else a woman is "supposed" to do before pregnancy, we think there's an important question worth asking: What does preconception care look like for him?
The Other Person in the Waiting Room
But this partnership isn't only about sperm. It's also about the person attached to it.
One thing we've seen again and again in the infertility community is how easily partners can become the designated "support person."
They're giving the injections. Driving home after the retrieval. Sitting beside the bed after surgery. Waiting for the phone call with the fertilization report. Trying to stay optimistic when their partner can't. And because they aren't always the person physically undergoing treatment, there's an unspoken expectation that they should be okay.
But they aren't always okay. They can be grieving, scared and exhausted too. And when male-factor infertility is part of a couple's diagnosis, there can be another layer entirely — including feelings of guilt, shame or helplessness that many men aren't particularly comfortable talking about.
That's something we want to make more room for.
The Waiting Room was created because there is enormous power in finding someone who can say, I get it. As our community has grown, we've realized that conversation shouldn't end with women. Infertility may happen differently to each person in a relationship, but both people are living through it.
Why SWMR
That's a big part of what drew us to SWMR Fertility.
SWMR focuses specifically on male reproductive health and helping men take a more proactive role in understanding and supporting their fertility. Their approach resonated with us because it addresses something we believe strongly at The Waiting Room:
Being involved in the fertility journey can mean more than being supportive of your partner's treatment. It can also mean taking ownership of your own reproductive health.
That might mean:
Getting tested
Learning what the numbers on a semen analysis actually mean
Talking with a fertility specialist or reproductive urologist when appropriate
Making changes recommended by your care team.
Or simply becoming more informed about a part of fertility that hasn't historically received nearly enough attention.
SWMR also offers a doctor-formulated male fertility supplement designed to support key measures of sperm health, including count, motility and morphology.
We want to be very clear about something here: no supplement can guarantee a pregnancy or "fix" infertility, and supplementation isn't a substitute for appropriate fertility testing or individualized medical care.
What we love is the larger conversation SWMR is helping create around male preconception health — because women have been told for decades to prepare their bodies for pregnancy. Men deserve a plan, too.
What This Partnership Means for Our Community
We're incredibly excited to officially welcome SWMR Fertility as a partner of The Waiting Room.
Through this partnership, we'll be bringing more male-fertility education and resources into our community, while also finding new ways to include partners in the conversations and experiences we've created around infertility.
You'll also begin seeing SWMR involved in some of our couples-focused events and community initiatives. Because while The Waiting Room began by creating a place for women to find each other, we also know that infertility is rarely something one person goes through alone.
It happens inside marriages and relationships. It changes conversations at the dinner table. It affects intimacy. It changes finances, schedules, vacations and plans for the future.
And sometimes, while one person is carrying the physical weight of treatment, the other is desperately searching for something they can actually do.
We want to give both of them more resources.
For The Waiting Room Community
As part of our partnership, members of The Waiting Room community can receive 25% off SWMR products with code: THEWAITINGROOM25
As with any supplement or change to your fertility care, we encourage you to talk with your physician about what's appropriate for you or your partner. But whether SWMR becomes part of your fertility journey or not, we hope this partnership encourages one thing:
Bring him into the conversation.
Ask about sperm health. Get the semen analysis. Ask questions about the results. Talk about what both partners can be doing before treatment.
Because infertility may affect two people very differently.
But neither one should have to navigate it alone.
