Meet Glenn Weitzman, M.D.
For the Love of New Life
Partner physician Glenn Weitzman, M.D., of Nashville Fertility Center received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and upon graduation, he was presented with an award for the most promise in the surgical field of gynecology. It’s easy to see why – his strong interest in the surgical aspects of women’s health care – and particularly IVF treatment – shines through when he talks about his passion for helping patients to start families.
Q: Tell us about your decision to study obstetrics and gynecology.
A: As a medical student, obstetrics and gynecology is the one rotation in which you get to participate rather than just observe. I had the opportunity to deliver seven babies. It leaves a big impression, and it’s a very positive experience when you help bring a beautiful, crying newborn into the world.
Q: Did you think your career would lead to the field of IVF?
A: IVF was just evolving in the early and mid-1980s, when I was doing my residency. I really loved fertility surgery, and I saw IVF as part of our specialty. It didn’t take long to figure out that’s what I wanted to do. The specialty has progressed and matured. I’m so fortunate to end up where I am because it’s still interesting and satisfying.
Q: Last year you traveled to Africa with Jenni Whitefield, R.N., to perform gynecological surgeries there. What was that like?
A: Jenni inspired me to go to Malawi through her work with the nonprofit Sarah Walker Foundation. I’d never been to Africa nor really done mission work. She sold me on it through her excitement and commitment, and I ended up taking my 16-year-old son. We were amazed to see the people and realized what our “regal life” is like in America. You see the struggles, but also see a very happy bunch of people without all the entitlement and materialism we have in our country.
Q: You’ve published papers and have done a thesis on the effect of toxins on reproduction. Tell us more.
A: When I was on the faculty at the University of Arkansas, I participated in a study with another faculty member, Don Mattison, who is internationally known in reproductive toxicology. We discovered that the number of follicles in the ovaries of mice exposed to cigarette smoke was drastically reduced, compared to mice that were not exposed. People who smoke don’t realize that organic products like tobacco don’t completely burn, and they produce polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that are known to cause cancer in humans. Women who are regular smokers come into menopause years earlier on average than women who are not smokers. They potentially cut their chances of becoming pregnant in half, even by smoking as little as half a pack a day.
Q: How has that knowledge affected your patient care?
A: Our goal is to always do everything we can to optimize our patients’ fertility health. It’s our job to alert patients to barriers to fertility, whether it’s cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana or other lifestyle choices. We know infertility treatment can be expensive, and we want them to have the very best opportunity they can have to start new families.