Customer Reviews

To Full Term: A Mother's Triumph Over Miscarriage

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
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First things first: I'm a family friend of the Kleins: I've known Darci's husband since childhood and Darci since they married nearly 15 years ago. And I also reviewed the book as Darci was writing it.

But despite living through Darci's pregnancy (as much as someone 3,000 miles away can experience it) and knowing the story, I honestly found "To Full Term" a powerful and engaging story which taught me something about Darci, about her relationship with her husband, and perhaps most important of all, about the remarkable lack of attention pregnancy loss gets and the importance of being an educated and engaged parent and patient. I have no doubt that Darci's fight for the care she received was truly a fight for her son Sam's life, one that would have been lost had she not been so committed.

This is a gripping story that reads like great fiction -- with interesting, sympethetic characters and compelling drama -- but it's also a shocking expose on one important way our health care providers and the medical community fail us, and it's a story that needs to be told.

I recommend this book primarily for women in the determined phase after their miscarriages, who want to hear a strong, steady voice describing one mother's search for answers to her recurring losses.

Interweaved in the story are background facts, statistics about loss, the National Institutes of Health's woeful funding on miscarriage, and what she feels is the incriminating lack of chromosomal testing on early miscarriages to separate women into those who had "bad luck," and those who have a problem that can be treated to save pregnancies.

Klein's story is passionate and clearly told. She was adamant that she not lose any more babies and demanded medical intervention to save them.

I do think, however, that her mixture of stats and story is not very helpful in the early days following your first loss. It's hard to feel emotionally involved in her journey when you are constantly being fed facts in an order that might not be what you want to know, when you want to know it. Her writing is very edgy and strong, a voice that might be difficult to relate to during your saddest days.

But for those of you who have had two losses or more, those of you who are determined, frustrated, and maybe still a bit angry at your lack of answers or your care, then this is a solidly written and researched book about the journey.

Read a full review at www.pregnancyloss.info

I was nervous that this book would concentrate too much on medical terms and be dull, but was pleasantly suprised that this was a funny, interesting, and captivating book. I couldn't put it down, even though I knew how the story ended from reading the cover. I would feel comfortable recommending this book to anyone. Great book, great topic!

The book is a must read to help all of us understand the taboo subject of miscarriage. The author enlightens us with a moving, beautifully written and medically informative account of her struggle to carry her baby to full term. I found her voice extremely likable and funny even though she was telling us a heart wrenching story of how she lost baby after baby and wouldn't give up, even when it seemed like rest of the world had given up hope.

Her story is beautiful because she took the hurt, anger and frustration of miscarriage and channeled it into research, study and finally, the success in carrying her son "to full term."

The book is also a great lesson to all of us about taking control of our own medical care, reproductive health, and family life. This book is a great gift to give someone who has suffered miscarriage as a way of giving them hope and empowerment to do something positive. I highly recommend this book!

This is a very up to date and very informative book. I am so glad that I purchased this book as it was invaluable when I went and saw my Fertility Expert, who I felt could have been far more helpful. I was able to ask informed questions and get far better actions taken not to mention the tests that I asked about. If I did not have this book I would still be paying too much money and getting nowhere fast. I recommend this book to everyone who has had unanswered questions about this issue.

This is an amazing book. Darci Klein paints an extremely powerful and realistic portrait of the anxiety and anguish of pregnancy after miscarriage. She also writes about the strain of loss on relationships, especially between spouses, and how these strains can be repaired.

Her story is interwoven with medical information that makes it an essential guide for women who face the same problem: needing to know more than your doctor tells you and to be stronger enough to overcome the many obstacles to becoming a mother and building a family.

Very easy to read, but with a depth & heart that only someone who lived this pain could describe.

This book is very encouraging for anyone who has suffered a miscarriage! I am not much of a reader and have never read an entire book my whole life...but I couldn't put this one down.....
The author went through such a hard time to get her wonderful son after suffering set back after set back! It an absolute must!!
Made me feel like I could really carry through after my miscarriage, and it got hard at times...but I constantly reminded myself of what this author had went through...The lenghts she went to is amazing!!!
Thanks be to God, we are expecting our first healthy little girl in a couple months!!

This book actually held my attention until the end, while similar books medical topics usually have me hunting around for the relevant and important stuff, not reading all the way through. Even though this book is about a high-risk pregnancy, the lesson can be applied to every situation with doctors: You really have to be your own advocate, as tempting as it is to just trust the doctors' opinions.

I am convinced, after reading this, that if Darci hadn't fought to have her opinions and hunches considered during every step of her pregnancy, she would not have carried her baby to full term. Medical science sees thousands of pregnancies each year, so they treat you based on statistics sometimes rather than your own body. But every woman's body is different. Just symptoms alone vary widely, thus, so do other aspects of carrying a child.

From reading this, I knew which questions to ask the doctors with my own pregnancy (as an older mom) and which tests to push for so I could give my child the best chance, to the extent it was in my control (obviously some things aren't, but some things are.)

I think anyone who wants to have a child might benefit from reading this. It has a happy ending, despite the ups and downs. Of course, it may be better to just get pregnant when you're young and be blissfully ignorant of all the things that can go wrong later in life, but if you might be in a risk group or have complications, read this so you are aware that you should question doctors and make sure you follow your instincts. This book pretty much informed how I dealt with my pregnancy.

If you have Factor V Leven or an incompetent cervix, this book is a must read after a pregnancy loss and prior to another pregnancy. It was extremely helpful, both emotionally as well as by giving ways to medically advocate for you and your unborn baby.

I love this book. I couldn't put it down. I finished reading it in 3 days! I am going to enjoy re-reading it every time!!! I HIGHLY recommend this book for others. I have had 2 miscarriages and have learned a few things from this book.