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Fertility and Disabilities

A Profile of Dr. Mitchell S. Tepper

By Jennifer M. Paquette

When counseling couples, Tepper tells them "to take a break if it's causing them lots of stress ... If your focus is all on 'let's have this insemination done' and it doesn't happen, it can become an emotional roller coaster."

Tepper also recommends starting the adoption process while you're trying to make a baby. "It's not one or the other," he says. In his case, though, the Teppers had just started exploring adoption when their son, Jeremy, was conceived.

Now, he enthuses about the added dimensions parenting brings to his life and to his relationship with Cheryl: "It's about learning a new type of love, learning more about myself." And despite Jeremy's at-home conception, Tepper stresses that these bonds form "regardless of how you get a baby."

Too many would-be parents, he says, resist adoption. They're "tied to genetics and wanting a genetic legacy, and they value that higher than anything else ... It's often very difficult ... to let go ... and accept other ways of being a parent." Most eventually realize they have more to offer a child than just genetics.

Tepper also believes that the stress of trying to conceive "naturally" may itself be a deterrent. "There's a growing literature on stress ... people who try and try toconceive, and when they stop trying, they conceive," he explains. "There's some indication that the stress of the process impedes the process itself."

Want to see more?

• Male Factor Infertility: Infertility from His Perspective
• Infertility Insurance Coverage: Basics Tips When You're Trying to Conceive
• Self-insemination: Using Self-insemination as a Private Conception Alternative
• Join the discussion on our Family.com community!