Medical Reports: Fertile Ground
 
Air Date: 02/17/2004
Reported By: Marilyn Mitzel
Producer: Ana Gibbs
Contact: agibbs@wsvn.com
 
 
 
 
When couples have trouble getting pregnant - it can be embarrassing but they need to find out why. Now - men can do that in the privacy of their own home. Health Specialist Marilyn Mitzel takes a look at this option in a special assignment report - Fertile Ground.
 

(WSVN) -- In the romantic comedy A Smile Like Yours, Greg Kinnear and Lauren Holly played a couple trying to have a baby.

Greg Kinnear: "I am potent."

Lauren Holly: "Very potent."

Greg Kinnear: "Extremely potent."

Male virility - can be a touchy subject - on and off screen.

Carmine: "We're men. We're ego based, so... you know... you don't even want to think it's you."

Andrew: "It's not something you bring to the water cooler. That's for sure."

When Melissa and Andrew Laplant couldn't conceive - they had to be checked out.

But getting Andrew to a fertility clinic for a semen analysis wasn't easy.

Melissa: "It was a big step, when you walk through this door."

Andrew: "I had to do it because she told me to do it (laughs). I really didn't want to do it."

Plus - accepting they have got a fertility problem is tough for a lot of guys.

Greg Kinnear, in A Smile Like Yours: "There must be a mistake down at your lab or a contamination."

They certainly don't want to talk about it.

Andrew: "You never want to mention it because it's like the "F" word: fertility."

But the truth is...

Maxson: "In reality, half the time, we find a problem with sperm."

Melissa: "For the woman, there's emotional issues involved. For the man, it involves their manlihood."

But men can keep their manlihood intact - thanks to a home test kit called "FertilMARQ."

You can buy it over the counter at most drug stores for about 40 dollars.

Andrew: "The home thing is nice because it's private. You don't think anybody's looking at you or talking about you or anything like that."

Carmine: "It's simple; it's very simple."

The results are color-coded.

Dark blue indicates a normal sperm count.

Light blue means it's low.

Carmine: "I tested significantly low."

Unfortunately, it doesn't get men off the hook.

Dr. Wayne Maxson, IVF Florida Reproductive Associates: "It's only a screening test - This isn't as good as a complex semen analysis."

You still must see a fertility specialist.

Dr. Kenneth Gelman, Infertility and Reproductive Medicine of South Broward: "There are many other abnormality of sperm function which this home fertility test cannot detect."

Still, it's a place to start.

It convinced Carmine to seek help immediately.

Carmine: "It's been the hardest two years of my life."

But he's not giving up.

Carmine: "I think you have to have hope. Why, why, why do this if you don't believe you're going to get pregnant?"

Turns out Andrew doesn't have a fertility problem - his wife does.

But invitro - gave them Sara Elizabeth.

Melissa: "We look at her on a daily basis in amazement because we realize the incredible process that it takes to actually make a child."

Young couples who don't conceive after a year of trying should seek out a fertility specialist.

Even sooner if the woman is older than 35.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Contact: mmitzel@wsvn.com

Dr. Kenneth Gelman

Infertility And Reproductive Medicine of South Broward

9900 Stirling Road

Suite 300

Cooper City, FL 33024

(954) 432-2228

Dr. Wayne Maxson

IVF Florida Reproductive Associates

2825 N State Road 7 # 302

Margate, FL 33063

(954) 247-6200

http://www.ivfflorida.com/

http://www.embryotech.com/pages/fertilmarq.htm