Thinking About Being A Father?

Main Category: Fertility
Article Date: 11 Jun 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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The National Center for Health Statistics data indicate that Georgia had 149,919 new babies born in 2005, the latest year statistics are available. That means, obviously, not only were there many thousands of new mothers, there also were thousands of new fathers as well.

"If you're thinking about becoming a father for the first time," said fertility expert Dr. Mark Perloe of Georgia Reproductive Specialists, "there are three primary considerations you need to make. Think of these broadly as mind, body and sprit. All need to be positive and healthy.

"First, your mind needs to focus on whether this is a good time for you and your partner, whether you are ready to accept the responsibility of parenthood. By this I mean commitments of your personal time and your finances. And your personal time commitment extends for many years," Dr. Perloe noted.

Next, according to Dr. Perloe, the potential father should think about his body, his physical readiness. Infertility affects 1 in 8 couples of child-bearing age. Of those 7.4 million cases of infertility, 30 percent are attributed to the male. One way a man can be sure he is physically ready to start a family is to know his sperm count. "After one simple test that involves just a single visit to your doctor's office, you'll be able to share the good news with your partner that 'all systems are go' as it relates to your body. This can remove some of the anxiety from a couple's efforts to begin becoming a family," he said.

Lastly, is the man's spirit. "As a potential father, you should realize what a joyous time in your life this can be and enjoy the journey you and your partner will take as you seek to begin having children," Dr. Perloe said.

GRS holds monthly seminars for couples seeking to have children about available options. For information about the seminars and GRS, visit http://www.ivf.com.

About Georgia Reproductive Specialists

Atlanta-based Georgia Reproductive Specialists (GRS) applies medical science's most advanced fertility technologies to provide the highest standards of patient-centered, reproductive healthcare. The GRS staff focuses on providing individualized, innovative solutions for reproductive challenges and infertility, specializing in in vitro fertilization, intracytoplasmic sperm injection and other assisted reproductive technologies. For information, visit http://www.ivf.com.

Georgia Reproductive Specialists
http://www.ivf.com

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