In an exclusive interview airing this Monday on “Good Morning America,” the possible father said Suleman brought him to the clinic at which she received in vitro fertilization to donate sperm, and that he made donations on two other occasions. He now believes Suleman was married at the time.

Tune in to ABC News’ “Good Morning America” Monday, Feb. 23 to learn the identity of the man who possibly fathered the Suleman octuplets.

Suleman has denied that the man is the father, but he said his multiple sperm donations are cause for a paternity test.

The donor said he was “shocked [and] surprised” when he first learned that Suleman, who he said he dated from 1997 to 1999, had delivered octuplets on Jan. 23.

“[I] just really want to know if these are [or] these are not my kids,” said the man, who was in his early twenties when he started dating Suleman.

Regardless of the children’s paternity, the man said he is willing to help Suleman raise the children because he does not believe she can handle it on her own.

“Either which way, you know, know that if she needs it I’ll lend a helping hand,” he said.

The man said that at the time she first approached him about donating sperm, Suleman told him that she had cancer and was unable to conceive without the help of a doctor.

The man said he twice made donations at home. In at least one instance, he said, Suleman kept the sperm sample warm by placing the cup containing the sample between her breasts.

“I just remember her saying when I donated that the doctor told her that she had to keep it warm by putting it between her — between her breasts — just to keep it warm, keep it room temperature until she took it in,” he said.

Though he said they dated for three years, the man now believes Suleman was married at the time.

ABC News has learned through San Bernardino Superior Court Records that Suleman, 33, divorced her husband, Marcos Gutierrez, in January 2008.

The divorce document indicates “no children of the marriage,” suggesting that Gutierrez was not the father of Suleman’s previous six children.

When asked if Suleman, who lives with her parents and collects food stamps, could handle raising another eight children, the possible biological father said, “No.”

Suleman made headlines in late January when news that she delivered eight viable babies was heralded as a medical marvel.

In the days that followed the Jan. 23 delivery, critics raised a host of questions about the single mother who had previously given birth to six other children, all of whom had been conceived through artificial insemination, and about her ability to financially support 14 children.

Suleman is unemployed and lives in a three-bedroom home with her parents, who have publicly criticized their daughter’s decision to have so many children.

Property records show Suleman’s mother, Angela, owns the home and is $23,225 behind in her mortgage payments. The house could be sold at auction beginning May 5.

Suleman told NBC that she does not intend to go on welfare. Earlier this month, her then-publicist said Suleman already receives $490 a month in food stamps and child disability payments to help feed and care for her six other children.

At least one of those children is believed to have autism.

Critics also have attacked a fertility doctor for implanting eight embryos in Suleman’s womb during her attempts to get pregnant.

“I’m really angry about that,” Angela Suleman told RadarOnline. “She already has six beautiful children. Why would she do this? I’m struggling to look after her six. We had to put in bunk beds, feed them in shifts and there’s children’s clothing piled all over the house.”

Suleman and her parents have not publicly named the sperm donor or the fertility doctor who implanted her with the embryos.

Earlier this month, Suleman told NBC’s “Today” that a single doctor helped her conceive all 14 children.

While she did not reveal the identity of the doctor, a 2006 report by television station KTLA shows a grateful Suleman praising the work of Beverly Hills physician Michael Kamrava, who runs a fertility practice. In the report, he says that he used a controversial procedure that he claims makes it much easier to implant women with embryos.

Since the birth of the octuplets — who were born nine weeks premature at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Bellflower, Calif. — a number of fertility experts and bioethicists have criticized Suleman and her physician for dangerously implanting so many embryos.

“Anyone who transfers eight embryos should be arrested for malpractice,” said University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Arthur Caplan.

Studies have shown that the tendency toward premature delivery and low birth weight in multiple-birth babies puts them at greater risk for a variety of complications, including respiratory problems at birth, cerebral palsy, birth defects, sensory disorders and even death. These risks increase as the number of babies in the multiple birth increases.

A California-based nonprofit called Angels in Waiting has offered Suleman round-the-clock care and a place to stay with her 14 children. It would cost about $135,000 a month to provide the 12 caretakers necessary for the children, money that would have to come from public donations.

Man Gave Sperm 3 Times, Believes He May Be Octuplets’ Dad

She was in her late 40s and wanted just one baby.

Now she’s five months pregnant with quadruplets and hospitalized at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, according to several sources familiar with the situation.

The new case could add to concerns about Kamrava’s practice and about whether the fertility industry needs more regulation.

In fertility medicine, any pregnancy greater than twins is considered a poor outcome because of the danger it poses to the mother and the babies. Quadruplet births are rare, with an average of 14 sets born in California each year, according to state records.

“Historically, we have been very hesitant to regulate anything close to procreation from parents making judgments about how many children they will have and when,” said Kirk O. Hanson, ethics professor and executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.

“However, that worked under a natural process of fertilization and incubation. There are serious questions about whether it works in an era of scientifically enhanced procreation.”

The woman in the latest case arrived recently at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles for unspecified treatment but was transferred last week to County-USC Medical Center because she lacks insurance. Doctors placed her on bed rest until the birth of the babies, which could be two or three months from now.

The California Medical Board has said it is looking into the octuplets’ case to determine whether a doctor may have violated any standards of care.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine, which has guidelines limiting the number of embryos that can be transferred depending on the woman’s age and other circumstances, said it is also examining the doctor’s practice. No laws govern this issue.

The guidelines allow for the transfer of more embryos in older women. But in this case, the woman was using embryos made from eggs donated by a woman in her late 20s — which fertility specialists said increased the possibility of a multiple birth.

“I do think it is concerning, and dangerous, especially to the mother. She is close to 50. When women get to be that age, our fear is the cardiovascular complications, such as stroke or heart attack. That’s how serious this is,” said Dr. John Jain, a fertility specialist with knowledge of the case.

Reached by telephone, the woman did not confirm that Kamrava is her doctor. However, The Times has verified the information through several independent sources.

She said her doctors urged her not to talk to the media because she is already dealing with a high-risk pregnancy and doesn’t need more stress.

“Please respect my privacy,” she said, adding that her circumstances are much different from Suleman’s.

The woman has three grown children from a previous marriage but wanted another child with her second husband, who is in his early 30s and doesn’t have any children, sources said. She works as an apartment manager; her husband is a contractor.

She started fertility treatments seeking one baby, but after becoming pregnant with quadruplets, declined medical advice to reduce the number of fetuses, the sources said.

Kamrava could not be reached for comment and has declined previous interview requests. A woman who answered the phone at his West Coast IVF Clinic said: “If [a] mother wants to bring four kids, so what?”

Doctors at County-USC and Good Samaritan Hospital also declined to comment, citing patient confidentiality.

Suleman said in an interview with NBC that her doctor transferred six embryos. She gave birth Jan. 26, and although the births were initially celebrated as a medical miracle, public opinion quickly turned when it was discovered that Suleman had six other children, was a single mother and was relying on some public assistance, including food stamps and Social Security benefits.

Los Angeles police said Thursday that they are investigating death threats made against Suleman and her publicist.

Octuplets doctor has another patient expecting quadruplets – Los Angeles Times

Angela Suleman is caring for the six older children while her daughter is hospitalized after giving birth Jan. 26 to the octuplets.

“She already has six beautiful children, why would she do this?” Angela Suleman said in the videotaped interview with celebrity news Web site RadarOnline.com. “I’m struggling to look after her six. We had to put in bunk beds, feed them in shifts and there’s children’s clothing piled all over the house.”

The Web site posted photographs from inside Angela Suleman’s disheveled three-bedroom home, where Nadya and her brood also live. Heaps of clothing pour from an open closet door and a carpeted bedroom, where a bedsheet serves as a curtain, is cluttered with cribs.

Nadya Suleman’s publicist Mike Furtney said that his client has been away for nearly two months, so shouldn’t be held responsible for the home’s current condition.

Furtney said his client planned to move into a larger home once the octuplets were healthy enough to leave doctors’ care.

He declined to comment on any of the remarks Angela Suleman made about her daughter in the interview.

“Those are very personal issues between a mother and a daughter,” he said.

Angela Suleman said Nadya’s boyfriend was the biological father of all 14 children, but that she refused to marry him.

“He was in love with her and wanted to marry her,” she said. “But Nadya wanted to have children on her own.”

Nadya Suleman, a divorced single mother, told NBC’s “Today” show that the same fertility specialist provided in-vitro fertilization for all 14 of her children.

Angela Suleman seemed to contradict that account, saying the fertility specialist who helped her daughter give birth to the octuplets was a different doctor from the one who aided in the birth of her first six children.

Angela Suleman said she and her husband pleaded with Nadya’s first fertility doctor not to treat their daughter again, so Nadya found another doctor to work with.

“I’m really angry about that,” Angela Suleman said of the doctor’s decision to perform the procedure.

A Medical Board of California spokeswoman said Friday that it was investigating the doctor — who has not been identified — to see if there was a “violation of the standard of care.” The spokeswoman did not elaborate on the nature of the potential violations.

Angela Suleman also challenged her daughter’s remarks in the NBC interview that she always wanted a large family to make up for the loneliness she felt as an only child.

“We raised her in a loving family and her father always spoiled her,” Angela said.

The Associated Press: Octuplets’ grandmother criticizes daughter

The report said the twins, both boys, were seven weeks prematurely delivered by caesarean section. Though one is breathing with the help of special equipment, doctors said the twins are doing well but will be kept in hospital until they gain weight and both can breathe on their own.

The woman, originally from India, traveled back to that country for in vitro fertilization using donor eggs after being refused the treatment in Canada because of her age. The CBC said she had tried for years to get pregnant but had miscarried three times, even after surgery to correct a problem with her womb.

While unusual, a 60-year old woman giving birth is nowhere near a record. ABC News reported in July that a 72-year-old woman in India, who already had five grandchildren, gave birth to twins after in vitro fertilization, making her the world’s oldest mother.

The CBC report said the Calgary woman’s obstetrician thought it was a joke when she was referred to him before she showed up at his office. He is still questioning the implications of someone having children at an advanced age.

“I couldn’t imagine if I was 65 having two five-year-olds running around crazily. The energy to do that is incredible,” the CBC quoted the doctor as saying.

60-year-old gives birth to twins?

A study of 35 healthy men given paroxetine — sold as Paxil or Seroxat by GlaxoSmithKline — found that, on average, the proportion of sperm cells with fragmented DNA rose from 13.8 percent before treatment to 30.3 percent after just four weeks.

Similar levels of sperm DNA damage have been linked to problems with embryo viability in couples trying to have children.

The research by Peter Schlegel and Cigdem Tanrikut of the Cornell Medical Center in New York was reported in New Scientist magazine and is due to be presented in November at a meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

A copy of the study abstract was made available to Reuters.

“The fertility potential of a substantial proportion of men on paroxetine may be adversely affected by these changes in sperm DNA integrity,” the experts concluded.

The study adds to concerns voiced by the same doctors in 2006, after finding that two men had developed low counts of healthy sperm following treatment with two different selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

SSRIs like Paxil/Seroxat and Eli Lilly’s Prozac, both of which are now available generically, are the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressant.

Glaxo said it was reviewing the investigators’ findings, since the study was not conducted by the company.

“These medicines remain an important option, in addition to counseling and lifestyle changes, for treatment of depression and this study should not be used to cause unnecessary concern for patients,” a spokeswoman said.

“Patients should discuss their situation with their doctor before stopping use of their medicine.”

Allan Pacey, Senior Lecturer in Andrology at the University of Sheffield, said the apparent increase in sperm DNA damage was “alarming,” although he noted the level at which damage becomes clinically significant was open to debate.

“It is a shame that the authors appear not to have conducted a randomized controlled trial which would be the most scientific way to investigate the drugs effects, but I agree that the results are of concern and need to be investigated further,” he said.

SSRIs have long been known to depress libido in some men and previous research has also found that women taking the medicines are more likely to have a low birth weight baby.

Some antidepressants may damage sperm – Men’s health- msnbc.com

University of Louisville researchers found that, in a study of mice, one week of chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) — the lack of oxygen suffered during obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) — resulted in a 55 percent decline in their daily spontaneous erections. After five weeks, the length of time between mice attempts at mating increased on average by 60-fold.

The findings, published in the second September issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, showed that when the mice went back on standard oxygen levels for six weeks, they recovered 74 percent of their original erectile function.

A second treatment using tadalafil, which is generic Cialis and increases the availability of nitric oxide, improved erectile and sexual functioning of almost all the mice to near-normal levels.

“Even relatively short periods of CIH … are associated with significant effects on sexual activity and erectile function,” Dr. David Gozal, professor of pediatrics at the University of Louisville, wrote in the article.

Researchers found no differences in levels of testosterone or other indicators related to erectile function in mice exposed to CIH for eight weeks.

“Although this study was performed in research animals, chronic intermittent hypoxia has profound effects on multiple organ systems and a strong biologic plausibility exists that similar findings will be observed in humans,” said John Heffner, past president of the American Thoracic Society, “Early identification and effective therapy of OSA is critically important, especially considering the high prevalence of this disorder.”

Sleep Apnea May Cause Erectile Dysfunction – Yahoo! News

A study of 35 healthy men given paroxetine – sold as Paxil or Seroxat by GlaxoSmithKline – found that, on average, the proportion of sperm cells with fragmented DNA rose from 13.8 per cent before treatment to 30.3 per cent after just four weeks.

Similar levels of sperm DNA damage have been linked to problems with embryo viability in couples trying to have children.

The research by Peter Schlegel and Cigdem Tanrikut of the Cornell Medical Center in New York was reported in New Scientist magazine and is due to be presented in November at a meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

A copy of the study abstract was made available to Reuters.

‘The fertility potential of a substantial proportion of men on paroxetine may be adversely affected by these changes in sperm DNA integrity,’ the experts concluded.

The study adds to concerns voiced by the same doctors in 2006, after finding that two men had developed low counts of healthy sperm following treatment with two different selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

SSRIs like Paxil/Seroxat and Eli Lilly’s Prozac, both of which are now available generically, are the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressant.

Glaxo said it was reviewing the investigators’ findings, since the study was not conducted by the company.

‘These medicines remain an important option, in addition to counselling and lifestyle changes, for treatment of depression and this study should not be used to cause unnecessary concern for patients,’ a spokesman said.

‘Patients should discuss their situation with their doctor before stopping use of their medicine.’ Dr Allan Pacey, Senior Lecturer in Andrology at the University of Sheffield, said the apparent increase in sperm DNA damage was ‘alarming’, although he noted the level at which damage becomes clinically significant was open to debate.

‘It is a shame that the authors appear not to have conducted a randomised controlled trial which would be the most scientific way to investigate the drugs effects, but I agree that the results are of concern and need to be investigated further,’ he said.

SSRIs have long been known to depress libido in some men and previous research has also found that women taking the medicines are more likely to have a low birth weight baby. — REUTERS

Researchers found that among 87 healthy men ages 19 to 48, those who were obese were less likely to have ever fathered a child. More importantly, they showed hormonal differences that point to a reduced reproductive capacity, the researchers report in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

Compared with their thinner counterparts, obese men had lower levels of testosterone in their blood, as well as lower levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) — both essential to reproduction.

According to the researchers, these relatively low levels of LH and FSH are suggestive of a “partial” hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. This is a condition in which the testes do not function properly due to signaling problems in the hypothalamus or pituitary gland, two brain structures involved in hormone secretion.

The findings suggest that obesity alone is an “infertility factor” in otherwise healthy men, write Dr. Eric M. Pauli and his colleagues at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine in Hershey.

Of the 87 men in the study, 68 percent had had a child. Pauli’s team found that the average body mass index, or BMI, was lower among these men compared with those who’d never fathered a child; in the former group, the average BMI was 28, which falls into the range for “overweight,” while the average BMI for childless men was nearly 32, which falls into the “obese” range.

When the researchers assessed the men for several reproductive hormones, they found that the more obese a man was, the lower was his LH and FSH levels. On the other hand, increasing obesity correlated with increasing estrogen levels.

Excess body fat, Pauli’s team explains, may increase the conversion of testosterone to estrogen in a man’s blood. Such hormone alterations could, in turn, signal the brain to suppress FSH and LH production.

Past studies have linked obesity with a dampened libido and increased risk of erectile dysfunction, the researchers note. Those effects, they say, along with the hormonal alterations seen in this study, could act together to decrease an obese man’s fertility.

Obesity may diminish a man’s fertility | Health | Reuters

Despite modest progress, particularly in Asia, the global maternal mortality toll remains stubbornly stable due to a lack of financial resources and political will, it said.

More than 99 percent of the estimated 536,000 maternal deaths worldwide in 2005 occurred in developing countries, half of them in sub-Saharan Africa, it said in a report entitled “Progress for Children: A Report Card on Maternal Maternity”.

“One of the critical bottlenecks has always been access to highly skilled health workers required to deliver emergency obstetrical care, particularly caesarian sections,” Peter Salama UNICEF’s chief of health, told a news briefing.

Around 50 million births in the developing world, or about 4 in 10 of all births worldwide, are not attended by trained personnel, according to the report.

Hemorrhaging is the leading cause of maternal death in Africa and Asia, causing one in three deaths, it said. Infections, hypertensive disorders, complications of abortion, obstructed labor or HIV/AIDS are other causes.

Such complications can be easily treated in a health system whose facilities are staffed with skilled personnel to handle emergencies around the clock, but disparities persist, it said.

“The lifetime risk of maternal death in the developing world as a whole is 1 in 76, compared with 1 in 8,000 in the industrialized world,” UNICEF said.

The riskiest place to give birth is Niger, where the risk of dying in pregnancy or childbirth over the course of a woman’s lifetime is one in seven, it said. In Sierra Leone it is 1 in 8.

But developing countries including Sri Lanka and Mozambique have succeeded in reducing maternal mortality rates, it said.

A combination of family planning, training skilled birth attendants, emergency obstetrical care and post-natal care is the key to reducing maternal mortality, according to the agency.

At the current average reduction rate of less than one per cent a year, the world will miss the goal of reducing maternal mortality rates by 75 percent between 1990 and 2015, to less than 150,000, one of the Millennium Development Goals, it said.

“The time is right. We now know exactly what to do for maternal mortality reduction to make this one of the next big issues in global health,” Salama said.

Programs to combat three major epidemics — HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria — now receive the required international attention and billions in funding, he said.

“But maternal mortality and child mortality do not yet receive the attention that the scale of the problem deserves,” he said. An additional $10 billion would be needed each year to combat both child and maternal mortality, according to Salama.

UNICEF said last week that more than 9 million children died before their fifth birthday in 2007, down slightly from a year before, but a huge gap remains between rich and poor countries.

500,000 women die in pregnancy, childbirth: UNICEF | Health | Reuters

Watermelon. A study suggesting that watermelon may have Viagra-like effects on the body made headlines last month. But the findings don’t exactly mean that eating watermelon can boost libido or treat erectile dysfunction. Watermelon, scientists found, contains large amounts of the plant nutrient citrulline, which is known to have beneficial effects on the cardiovascular and immune systems. The chemical can relax blood vessels and improve blood flow, in much the way Viagra’s active ingredient does. But, the researchers say, it isn’t as organ specific as Viagra. Also, most of watermelon’s citrulline is found in the inedible rind of the fruit.

Oysters. Since ancient times, many people have considered these mollusks to be an especially potent aphrodisiac. But this reputation may have arisen simply because an oyster’s shape resembles the female genitalia. (The same may be true of figs and avocado.) There’s no scientific evidence that the slippery mollusks boost libido or sexual performance. However, oysters have a high zinc content, which is essential to the production of testosterone, the male sex hormone, and the maintenance of healthy sperm. Pine nuts, also considered an aphrodisiac by some, contain large amounts of zinc relative to other nuts.

Hot peppers. A group of alleged aphrodisiacs—cayenne and other chili peppers—is sometimes sold in the form of an extract, but its effect on the body may be more discomfort inducing than arousing. The fiery fruits contain varying levels of a chemical irritant called capsaicin, which, when ingested, causes an increase in heart rate and breathing, sweating, and blood flow—similar to the body’s response to sexual arousal.

Chocolate. Perhaps the most famous—and most studied—of the aphrodisiacs is chocolate. A 2006 study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine found that women who habitually ate chocolate on a daily basis reported higher sexual function scores than those who did not. Researchers believe this finding is a misleading artifact of chocolate eaters’ tendency to be younger—and have naturally higher libidos—than people who avoid the treat. Interestingly, there was no difference between the groups in sexual arousal or satisfaction. Still, it’s plausible that chocolate contains a little love mojo: The neurotransmitters serotonin and anandamide both contribute to feelings of happiness and euphoria during sex. And both are found in chocolate.