Ep19 - Male Infertility, Dr. Tolulope Bakare

01/14/22 • 72 min

As we start 2022 we are honored to begin the second year of the Pursuit of Health Podcast with a very special guest - Dr.Tolu Bakare. She is an American Board Certified urologist with a special focus on Male Infertility. Currently she is an Assistant Professor at UT Southwestern where she cares for patients, teaches students and does clinical research. She is a graduate of the medical school at Penn State College of Medicine, after which she completed her General Surgery and Urology training at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and finally a Fellowship in Male Infertility at the University of Illinois College of Medicine.
It is also notable that she is a woman of color in a male-dominated field of medicine who is intent on improving the diversity of physicians entering Reproductive Urology. She believes we need to open up her field to other female physicians of color in order to establish a more balanced representation of the community of patients she serves.
Dr. Bakare begins the discussion with an introduction to the field of Male Infertility also referred to as Reproductive Urology. She outlines the statistics regarding the prevalence of Male Infertility which are strikingly similar to that of Female Infertility. Most importantly, she emphasizes that Male Fertility needs to be viewed by professionals and lay people alike as a legitimate disease worthy of the American health care system’s full attention.
Dr. Bakare reviews the numerous social and medical misconceptions around Infertility in general and Male Fertility specifically. This includes the inappropriate, harmful and overused application of testosterone treatments. She stresses that the best way to address Male Infertility is to approach it as a Family or Couple’s problem, not the fault of the individual man. Dr. Bakare wants everyone to know that “When we treat Male Infertility appropriately as a serious illness, we also are treating men’s overall health”.
Dr. Bakare finishes our eye-opening discussion with her efforts to ensure that state-of-the-art training and medical care becomes the standard for all physicians treating Male Infertility. She reinforces the need to expand the number of female and colored physicians in her field. Only in this way does she believe that both high quality and equitable access to such quality care can be assured for everyone regardless of gender or race. Ever the optimist, Dr. Bakare sees a bright future for those treating people with Male Infertility.
We at the Pursuit of Health Podcast wish Everyone a Happy New Year. We look forward to a full line up of exciting guests with very provocative and stimulating discussions. We can be reached through Facebook and Instagram @drfethkemd and soon on our website at drfethkemd.com.

References:

Fainberg J, Kashanian JA. Recent advances in understanding and managing male infertility. F1000Res. 2019;8:F1000 Faculty Rev-670. Published 2019 May 16. doi:10.12688/f1000research.17076.1
Roozbeh N, Amirian A, Abdi F, Haghdoost S. A Systematic Review on Use of Medicinal Plants for Male Infertility Treatment. J Family Reprod Health. 2021 Jun;15(2):74-81. doi: 10.18502/jfrh.v15i2.6447. PMID: 34721595; PMCID: PMC8520662.
Krausz C, Riera-Escamilla A. Genetics of male infertility. Nat Rev Urol. 2018 Jun;15(6):369-384. doi: 10.1038/s41585-018-0003-3. PMID: 29622783.

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References:

Fainberg J, Kashanian JA. Recent advances in understanding and managing male infertility. F1000Res. 2019;8:F1000 Faculty Rev-670. Published 2019 May 16. doi:10.12688/f1000research.17076.1
Roozbeh N, Amirian A, Abdi F, Haghdoost S. A Systematic Review on Use of Medicinal Plants for Male Infertility Treatment. J Family Reprod Health. 2021 Jun;15(2):74-81. doi: 10.18502/jfrh.v15i2.6447. PMID: 34721595; PMCID: PMC8520662.
Krausz C, Riera-Escamilla A. Genetics of male infertility. Nat Rev Urol. 2018 Jun;15(6):369-384. doi: 10.1038/s41585-018-0003-3. PMID: 29622783.

Previous Episode

Ep18 (part 2) - Finding Hope with Domestic Violence, MacKenzie Bachar from Fearless!

On Episode 18 Part 2 we present the final episode of our first year at The Pursuit of Health Podcast, while looking forward to much more content as we begin 2022. We continue our important discussion on Domestic Violence with our guest, MacKenzie Bachar, the Advocacy & Education Director of Fearless! in New York's Hudson Valley.
Ms. Bachar works on the frontlines with survivors of Domestic Violence in all its forms and in collaboration with other community agencies such as the YWCA, legal professionals, and local law enforcement. She also focuses a significant portion of her efforts on educating our youth about the dynamics of Domestic Violence in schools, homes and the community at large.
Ms. Bachar opens our minds and hearts to the dynamics of Power and Empowerment in the context of Domestic Violence. She thoroughly reviews the terminology and elements of Domestic Violence, encompassing its emotional, spiritual and physical impacts. The discussion takes an honest look at the disproportionate impact on women and marginalized members of society, including some astonishing statistics regarding murder and Domestic Violence.
As an educator and advocate, Ms. Bachar gives us a look into the future. She addresses the deep rooted, systemic causes of Domestic Violence, and highlights the need for public advocacy at all levels of society. She stresses that a focus on prevention is the only true means of eradicating Domestic Violence once and for all.
The discussion takes a more optimistic turn as Ms. Bachar explains that there have been both negative and positive impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the work in Domestic Violence, including improved access to services through technology.
This immensely powerful session finishes by noting the issue of the Criminalized Survivors of Domestic Violence. This includes a fortunate and well-timed announcement for our audience who are invited to attend the recorded virtual Fearless Hudson Valley 2021 Gala where the honorees include Kim Dadou Brown, a Criminalized Survivor and Advocate whose work has culminated in the 2019 passage of the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act in New York State.
We enter the New Year and embark on our second year of The Pursuit of Health Podcast optimistic and energized because of our wonderful audience, guests and a growing production team. We extend a heartfelt Thank You for your support and wish you all well this holiday season.
Upcoming topics will include the experiences of other countries with Gender Violence, the role of other Allied Medical Professionals, the impact of Infertility Medicine, and much more.
Our team at The Pursuit of Health Podcast can be reached through Facebook and Instagram @drfethkemd and soon on our website at drfethkemd.com
Resources:
Fearless, Hudson Valley
280 Broadway, Newburgh, NY

fearlessHV.org
facebook.com/fearlesshv
24-7 Hotline: (845) 562-5340

References:

Next Episode

Ep20 - Addressing Infertility: Perspectives From A Female Physician, Dr. Chrissy Guidry

During this episode of the Pursuit of Health Podcast we pick up on our topic of Infertility as a Health Concern with a remarkably accomplished guest physician, Dr. Chrissy Guidry. After years of medical and surgical training in Louisiana, Ohio and California, she is now the Medical Director of the Emergency General Surgery & Advanced Trauma Life Support Service at Tulane Medical Center and the Associate Program Director of General Surgery at Tulane University. As an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Tulane School of Medicine she serves as a mentor and advocate for many young student physicians. Amongst her many accomplishments and innumerable services on professional committees, she has recently added a focus on addressing Female Infertility Amongst Physicians. She explains that she has been carrying out this effort in collaboration with the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) who has recently made a concerted effort to bring this issue out to the public and the medical profession. This began with an AMWA-sponsored Physician Fertility Summit at which Dr. Guidry was amongst the many guest physician leaders and speakers shedding light on this little discussed topic.

During our visit with Dr. Guidry, she bravely shared with our audience her own personal issues regarding infertility so that others may know that they are not alone. She explains that Female Infertility amongst physicians is 3-4 times higher than the general population and that much research is needed to understand both the causes of this medical condition and how to best prevent and treat it. Dr. Guidry reveals many of the obstacles, biases and misconceptions regarding infertility and family planning amongst physicians. She stressed that this is an issue that can seriously affect women physicians and their families. She advocates for early awareness of this issue amongst those she mentors and her colleagues. Together, Dr. Fethke and Dr, Guidry agree that physicians wishing to have children are more well-rounded and healthy people when they are able to do so, thus improving their professional and personal lives.
Through organizations like AMWA and RESOLVE, Dr Guidry is optimistic that the issue of Physician Infertility is now out in the open. She strongly believes that physicians have a unique platform to address this issue for themselves and the public at large in order to improve awareness and access to infertility-related medical care. She looks forward to a day when physicians can study and practice in environments that are supportive and proactive for all physicians who are in need of evaluating their fertility as a significant component of their physical and psychosocial health. Dr. Guidry poinantly finishes our fascinating and emotional discussion by emphasizing, “ It is time for this discussion to be out in the open so people know they are not alone.”

Finally, Dr. Guidry wants everyone to be aware of the upcoming AMWA and RESOLVE sponsored three seminars occurring in February through April 2022 entitled Moving the Fertility Conversation Forward.

We at the Pursuit of Health Podcast can be reached for audience feedback on this episode as well as past and future episodes. We can be reached at drfethkemd on Facebook and Instagram, as well as our website at drfethkemd.com.

Refernces:

1. Marshall AL, Arora VM, Salles A. Acad Med, 2020;95(5):679.
2. Stentz NC et al. J Womens Health. 2016;25:1059.J Womens Health (Larchmt)2016 Oct;25(10):1059-1065. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2015.5638.
3. Chandra A et al. www.cdc.gov/nchs/ data/series/sr_23/sr23_025.pdf.
4. Kemkes-Grottenthaler A. J Biosoc Sci. 2003;35:213
5. https://www.nytimes.co