Infertility Books

When we think of creating our families, most of us take for granted that we'll have exactly the number of children we want exactly when we want them. It seems the more "together" you have it when it comes to family planning the greater the disappointment when all things reproductive don't go as planned. In his book, Matt Miller does a wonderful job of expressing his dreams and hopes of fatherhood and the bitter disappointment that comes when those dreams suddenly become elusive. A beautiful, often humorous, always raw and honest account of the experience of infertility from a male point of view, this beautifully written book reads like a novel. The love Matt and his wife have for each other and for their family and friends is palpable and inspiring! Truly a "love story," this entertaining and informative book is a must-read for anyone who has ever experienced or is currently experiencing any level of infertility or delay in family planning.

Dr. Beck's book is an awesome help to those with sexual issues and problems and want to be proactive in their treatment. She writes about the importance of healthy approact toward sex without stress and guilt. I recommend this book without reservation as it is a great edition to the field.

Jim has produced a timely, informative, and well-written volume. He addresses very effectively the integration and balance of mind, body & spirit necessary for older mommies-to-be. I especially enjoyed the short case studies: first-person accounts of his clients while on their own fertility journey.

From an ecological/biological point-of-view, when the environment contains too many things stressing the population (whether that population is prairie dogs or humans), often the effect of those stressors is first seen in the ability to reproduce, or more accurately the lack of the ability to reproduce. Modern society has tossed quite a few 'big' stressors at its human population, including endocrine-disrupting pesticides that mimic estrogen in the body, endocrine-disrupting residues from plastics leaching into our food because we lazily heat everything in plastic in the microwave, increasing incidence of food allergies & food intolerance, high levels of stress because of work, personal life issues, and just LIFE issues in general. The list goes on and on. Combine those with women putting off child bearing until their later years, and you have a recipe for reproductive disaster.

Jim offers hope for many in the midst of all those stresses, who desperately want children and who either don't want to start down the ART/IVF route, or those who have already gone that route and and who are hoping to find another way to work with, assist, and strengthen the body. Often, docs will refer an older woman for ART/IVF based on age alone, although no tests have been done on hormone levels or the health of the eggs. Addressing the mind, body, and spiritual issues place as much control as possible back with the mommy (and daddy) to be. And considering that the highest stress levels of all occur because of things out-of-our control, this is a very good thing indeed.

Jim only touched on the energy healing aspects of this integrated approach, but it is also (IMHO) a very important part of re-balancing the body and helping to clear the endocrine system, which the chakras work with intimately. Other things that also help with this are dietary changes, daily meditation (his 10-minute visualization is a perfect example), daily Qi Gong, and adapting other helpful practices that make you feel BETTER, body, mind & spirit.

Melodie
Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist
Certified Reiki Master Teacher
Certified Karuna Healing Master Teacher
Certified Integrated Energy Therapy Advanced Practitioner
Triquetra Therapy (tm) Creator
BS Biology (ecology concentration), Chemistry minor
www.MelodieHawkins.com

This book was recommended to me many years ago when I was trying to conceive. At the time I didn't really know all too much about fertility issues, all I knew was that I desperately wanted to have a baby. This book helped me understand a lot of the terminology associated with fertility problems and treatments as well as educating me on different options that were available. It also helped me after I suffered a devastating miscarriage. It took me 10 years to finally have a child of my own and Miracle Babies and Other Happy Endings was with me every step of the way.

I loved this book. I did tons of research on maximizing fertility and found this book to be the most comprehensive. It contained many facts and suggestions my doctors never mentioned but I found helpful and sensible. I recommend it to all of my friends who are trying to conceive (or even thinking about it). We are now expecting our first child in a few months!

My husband and I are just beginning to explore the reasons we're having trouble conceiving, and before going to our doctors, I wanted to make sure that we were giving ourselves the best possible odds. This book is great at summarizing the many things affecting fertility that are in our control right now, and since reading this book, we've changed our diet, started taking supplements and herbs, and begun acupuncture. But the book also covers traditional medical treatments; it just doesn't assume that they're a first step. The book is pretty short, which is good, but I would have liked more detail about particular herbs. Also, it's written with British terms, which is only a problem if you don't know that linseed oil and flax seed oil are the same thing (I spent a lot of time looking for "linseed oil," which is the British name). There are also some suggestions that we're not up to ("don't store food in plastic"; "eat only organic food"), but that's our fault, not the book's.

I highly recommend it!

This book was great! After I read it, I made an appt with the Dr. It's with his help that my husband and I have a little girl. I highly recommend it for couples having problems with conceiving.

This book was referred by a friend from RESOLVE. I found this book an easy way to get up to speed on how to deal with infertilty. While every situation is different, I found something to relate to in each story, even when the circumstances were different than mine. It helped me deal with alot of the emotional things that I was going through and personally helped me move to the next step. For me it was adoption. Although this has been and still is an emotional rollercoaster, at least I feel that I can make an intelligent choice and know all the different options. It was also comforting that these woman were successful and it gave me hope. (something that none of the doctors gave me)

This book is really for anyone who is stuggling with infertility, and even better for those with PCOS. Hansen candidly explains her trials and tribulations with trying to become pregnant, and details the painful 22 cycles, and three years it took her to become pregnant. I wondered for a bit why the book had PCOS in the title as she rarely refers to it, and never talks about being diagnosed. Later in the book she does explain that she does not suffer from the other random but "charasteristic" sypmtopms so many others do. I liked the book because it's from a patient perspective, and seems to have a healthly positive message, and nothing dangerous as you would often find in patient written medical books. She does a great job at detailing her experience, and being honest about things she cannot recount, or does not know. Her knowledge is vast, and is written and presented in a non-intimidating way. I wish it has included more of her husbands feelings, and details, rather than just her own, but it was still written well. She uses a little sarcasm to lighten the load as she goes through let down after let down. There is great info on OHSS which I had never read about, and was pleased to learn something new. There is no speechy chapter after chapter that you find in other PCOS books about what PCOS is. Overall, it was empowering to read, and up-lifting. I highlu recommend!

This is the definitive work on human Laboratory Andrology. Not only does Dr. Mortimer give detailed protocols for performing laboratory testing of male fertility, but he also provides the scientific background for each test and clinical significance of the results. In addition, he discusses quality control and laboratory management issues. Each section is clearly written with straightforward explanations. There are excellent illustrations throughout. As a practicing Andrologist, who directs an Andrology Laboratory, I can not imagine getting by without this reference. I highly recommend this text to anyone who performs semen analysis. The text would also be of interest to sperm biologist working with domestic, exotic and research species.