Ever wonder what taking our Male Fertility Test is like from both a technical and emotional perspective? Team Ovry dishes on our experiences navigating the MFT–from “having the talk” with our partners, to conducting the test, to finding out the results. Here’s what we have to share:
"While kids aren’t in the near future for my partner and I - they are a ‘one day’ conversation and something I increasingly think about after entering my 30s. My partner had very little knowledge about male fertility and sperm health until we launched our Male Fertility Test (and now he probably knows more than he ever could have imagined!). Asking him to take the test first started out as a joking conversation (Since we aren’t trying to conceive) partly because his nervousness around taking the test for what it might reveal, and partly because it makes the having kids one-day prospect feel even more real.
After watching our instructional video and speaking a bit more about what the results could mean, my partner agreed to take the test. He watched the video a few more times (he’s a details person and wanted to make sure he was doing every step just right) and gussied himself up to take the test. He let me do the testing part with him to make sure he didn’t miss a step, but surprised himself with how easy it was to actually do the test, after all the Covid-19 rapid tests there was a level of familiarity with using a testing device. After a nervous waiting period his results were in and he left the test feeling empowered that he now had knowledge of his sperm health well before we begin the journey of trying to conceive."
- Ovry Team Member
"My partner and I both definitely want kids in the next couple of years, but not right this minute. We’re both in our 30s and understand that the longer we wait, the more difficult it could be. My partner is really into science so he was actually pretty excited to use the test. He told me that fertility isn’t something he really ever thought about and that he always assumed he would be able to get someone pregnant when the time was right, and acknowledged that most guys probably thought the same way. [This kind of infuriated me, as someone who has had the exact OPPOSITE experience, worrying for the last 5 years that I might have PCOS and contemplating whether waiting to get pregnant is the right choice].
Since we’re not actively trying to conceive, he said he wasn’t nervous to take the test or learn the results. After all, if the test revealed any issues he would have time to address them. But I think if we had been trying for a while before taking this test, I definitely think he would have been a bit apprehensive - it’s almost that “ignorance is bliss” thing, like if we don’t test then it couldn’t have anything to do with me so better just not to test. It’s bad to say that, but I do feel that’s how he would feel about it. If we were 6mo-1yr into trying I would probably have to really insist that he take the test, whereas now it was voluntary and he was genuinely curious. So that’s my advice to people with this whole test, if you know you want kids at some point I would suggest taking the test sooner than later, only because the further down the road you get the more pressure there is (at least that’s how my partner said he would feel).
As for actually taking the test…it was kind of fun! I asked if he wanted to do it alone but he didn’t care either way (again, I think if we were actively trying he might have felt differently!) so we did it together. The whole experience was pretty easy if you follow the steps. My favourite part is that it got him involved early on - I have no idea if we’re going to have challenges when we start trying in a couple years, but now that he has taken the test he’s more engaged with the process and understands that he has an important role to play."
- Ovry Team Member
"My partner and I are not having children, so the test was very low stakes for us. It felt (I think for both of us) like the result would be a participation trophy rather than a win or a loss. Additionally, because the results didn’t matter my partner had no qualms or nerves about testing. I’m not sure if we would have felt the same way if we were wanting to have kids.
The test itself was easy and straightforward. He lives for YouTube tutorials on basically every subject so I figured he would have no issues figuring it out. I pulled up the video and left him to it. We had results shortly later and the whole thing was basically “oh, that is interesting”. I am very aware that we do not represent the typical user of this test but it was still good to know that the instructions are easy to follow and the test can be completed easily!"
- Ovry Team Member
"Admittedly, the test sat out on the counter for a few days before we finally made time to do it. Sure, it was a little intimidating at first–what if the results come back negative?–but not knowing was worse than knowing so we forged on. As the female partner who is well-versed in the art of care taking, I was surprised at how stumped I was as to how to support this endeavor. What was my role in this? Feeling uncomfortably idle, I sheepishly asked “Do you want me to leave the apartment while you do it?”, to which he laughed and replied “No, that’s not necessary”. Touché! Turns out producing the sample was not something he was worried about. I definitely overthought that one!
Once the sample was ready, it was smooth sailing from there. Having taken a few Covid tests, the testing procedure–although wildly different–was vaguely familiar (the cassette! the dropper!). Being a visual learner, my partner found the instructional video to be particularly helpful, especially as we were able to pause it and pick back up where we left off between steps as it’s performed over the course of an hour. As a couple not currently trying to conceive, going through the test together was surprisingly intimate and brought up some thoughtful conversation. Having done the test prior to trying to conceive, I feel that it brought us closer together and found the process to be empowering as equals, or rather as two parts of the fertility equation."
- Ovry Team Member