Medford mail tribune., March 27, 1960, Image 40

Who
Is
to "Blame"
for the
Childless Marriage?
BY W.W. BAUER, M.D.
Director of Health Education, American Medical Association
Here's an age-old question which a leading doctor
says should be changed to "What can the couple do about it?
The cmi.nf.F3S woman has always been held in
low repute; indeed, she has often become the
subject of scorn. Only in recent years has it been
recognized that reasons for childlessness seem to
occur as frequently in the husband as in the wife.
"It's her fault," the husband's relatives have
long .said. "No, it's his fault," the wife's relatives
can now reply.
Yet both are wrong. There is no "fault" in that
sense, just a physical or psychological bar to child
bearing that often can be removed.
In psychological cases, for example, records
show that many a childless couple has conceived
during a vacation period of relief from the stresses
of daily living. Even without a vacation, relief
from too much pressure may help to solve the
psychological problem.
Take the case of Mr. J., an ambitious junior
executive in a large corporation. His life was one
long series of conferences, trips, and business
lunches. During the rare evenings he was home, he
was physically and emotionally exhausted.
After five years of marriage had produced no
children, Mr. J.'s physician gave him the choice
of changing his way of living or remaining child
less. So he switched to another job, slowed his
pace, put his ambitions in lower gear and in
two years was rewarded with a son.
A similar result was achieved in the case of a
young couple making a start in marriage "on a
shoestring." They both worked; he at night, she
in the daytime. What little time they had together
was worried and rushed. After three childless
years, she quit her job and devoted her time to
homemaking. In six months, she was pregnant
As for the physical causes of. infertility, these
relate to the presence of living ova in the woman
and sperm in the man, and the opportunity for
union. Serious organic abnormalities are rare; most
adults produce living cells, so the trouble is more
often found elsewhere.
One of the important tests to determine a man's
fertility is the examination for living, active sperm.
This is determined by microscopic examination
and actual count of sperm cells. If the sperm is
absent or abnormal, a general investigation of
the man's health and living habits must be made.
Sometimes surgery is necessary to correct ab- v
normalities in the uterus. Following such surgery,
pregnancies occur in from 20 to 24 percent of the
cases.
In some instances, it becomes necessary to test
whether the Fallopian tubes, which carry the
egg to the uterus, are open by blowing carbon .
dioxide gas through them. In other cases, a low
ered function of the thyroid gland may have
to be treated.
Many childless couples come to the doctor
stressing the frequency of sex relations in their
effort to start a family. These couples may be
defeating their own purpose, however, if the
sperm are few or relatively inactive.
People sometimes ask whether diet can have
anything to do with lack of fertility. In the ordi
nary sense of "going on a diet" to have a baby,
the answer is "no," but fertility is related to gen
eral nutrition. That is, deficiencies in proteins
and vitamins may lower fertility sufficiently to
- prevent conception. An adequate balanced diet
of normal foods for both husband and wife is vital
to having a child.
The role of alcohol in excess is well established
it injures the germ cells from which the male
sperm or female ova develop.. Also, it may seem
incredible that anyone could drink 26 cups of
coffee a day, yet this fact appeared in the history
of one man who had no children. When his coffee
consumption was reduced to more reasonable pro
portions, and some other conditions remedied, he
eventually became a father.
To get an idea of how effective treatment can be,
consider this series of 100 pregnancies in pre
viously childless families: 26 occurred with no
treatment; 24 after surgery; 18 after inflation of
the Fallopian tubes; and 8 with radiation of the
pituitary and ovaries. In 77 cases, overlapping the
. other treatments, hormone or glandular therapy
was used.
Statistics, of course, are meaningless to any
one couple and, in spite of improved understand
ing of the problems involved, nobody can guar
antee a remedy to the childless husband and wife.
Nevertheless, if a couple ignores the age-old tend
ency to "blame" somebody for childlessness and
seeks out the medical and psychological aids that
today's science provides, they have a reasonable
chance of hearing those wonderful words: "You're
going to have a baby."
COVER:
Aren't teen-agers amazing? Even when
they're in bed rtriih a bad cold, like the young
lady in Mac Conner's painting, they're
still the most active members of the family.
LEONARD S. DAVIDOW President and Publisher
WAITER C DREYFUS Vice President -PATRICK
E. O'ROURKE Advertising Director
Sand all advertising communications to
Family Weekly, 153 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago 1, III.
March 27, 1960
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