Customer Reviews

Taking Charge of Your Fertility, 10th Anniversary Edition: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health

5 star:		(359)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After 7 years of trying and over $35,000.00 out of pocket expenses to fertility doctors, my wife and I pretty much resigned to the fact we couldn't make our own genetic children. We then started the adoption from China process. We paid all that money and are still waiting for our adoption referral date.

While we were waiting for the adoption to go through, I came across this book on Amazon. I figured, what the hell, it's worth a try. I bought the book and read it in three days! I found a couple of excel charts online, and then altered them for our use. I highlighted the most important parts of the book for my wife to read. She said several times, "I never even heard of this stuff!" Even our long time family doctor didn't know most of this info.

We were pregnant after the third month! Yes, after trying for SEVEN years!!! Our beautiful baby boy is now seven months old and the joy of our lives.

GET THIS BOOK! There is HUGE money in keeping us ignorant on fertility.

Good luck!

A happy and proud Dad and Husband!

I generally abstain from reviewing the items I purchase, but I feel so compelled to share my opinions on this book. I purchased TCOYF last spring. My husband and I successfully used the Fertility Awareness Method to avoid pregnancy for 11 cycles. On cycle 12, we shifted gears to attaining pregnancy and here I write, at the end of 12, pregnant. Obviously this was the reason I bought the book - to learn the method, put it to use and feel like I got my money's worth. But, I was provided with so much more - an entry into a world I was previously stumbling through, with conflicting understanding of my own body. I have since come to know, without doubt, what is going on! But too, to know when something is "off" and to get a professional opinion. In the beginning, I read twice through the book, but now use it for reference - I never once felt as if I was being talked down to, nor did I find any wording disagreeable. As my dad would say, "it's hard to believe anything is without any fault," and my response in this circumstance would be - The pros are so strong that I would be forcing myself to nitpick. So I will leave it here - this book is for those women looking to steer clear of synthetic hormones, those wanting to know and understand their bodies, and most importantly, those wanting to trust their bodies.

After being on the pill for 8 years, I decided it was time for a different birth control method. I was worried that after so many years of regulated hormones, it might take my body a really long time to readjust once I finally wanted children. I did some basic online research into the fertility awareness method, and just about every single source I saw recommended this book. This ended up being just what I was looking for!

After carefully reading the book and using a month to practice the temping and checking cervical fluid, I tossed my pills. I was surprised at how easy this method was to pick up and maintain, and I was so happy when my charts started to show a clear pattern. After a couple months I had it down, and we were able to only use a barrier method during the days we actually needed protection. I was able to successfully prevent pregnancy for a full year. Once we were ready to try to conceive, I reread the achieving pregnancy chapter, applied the principals, and got pregnant on the very first cycle of trying! I am now expecting my first in 3 months and couldn't be more excited and greatful.

Aside from the fact that these methods worked for me, I was impressed with the book itself. Even though I was a little put off by the size of the book, I found it to be an easy, and even enjoyable read. It was well organized and made it easy to find sections that I wanted to review. Even my husband (who is not much of a reader) got through the most relevant parts, and found it interesting as well. And despite the fact that he is a medical professional, he wasn't put off by her somewhat disparaging tone toward the medical community.

Another thing I liked about the book was its section on various problems that you could encounter while trying to conceive. Obviously if you have a medical issue, reading every fertility book in the world is not going to help you get pregnant without medical assistance. But one thing I did like is that the technique helps you spot potential problems so you have some idea of where to start if you do end up needing to seek medical help. For example, it took my cycle 6 months to regulate after going off the pill, and during those six months I was ovulating but my luteal phase was super short - most likely too short for a fertilized egg to successfully implant. If I had just gone off BC right when I wanted to conceive and started trying, I wouldn't have been successful for at least 6 months and had no idea why.

All in all I would recommend this to any woman, whether she was interested in avoiding or achieving pregnancy. It's a good read and a great resource.

Due to irregular ovulation and infrequent periods i assumed i was infertile. After charting i realized i was in fact ovulating just late. My doctor put me on clomid to help me ovulate more often and i got pregnant the first month. It's nice to know my exact date of conception and how exactly the female body works. This should be the text book for high school sex ed.

This book IS NOT just for women who are trying to conceive a baby ~ this book is for women ~ period. I purchased this book after having a great deal of trouble coming off birth control. I was scared and confused about what was going on with my body and this book was recommended to me by someone on a message board.

I've read the book cover to cover and have re-read certain sections several times ~ yes, its that good. The book itself is really informative and reviews information we may or may not have learned earlier in our lives. But then it specifically reviews how cycles work and why. It teaches you how to learn about your body and why it is important to do so. It then teaches you how to chart your cycle symptoms, beginning with basel body temperatures and continues with other fertility signs as well. The book also reviews all the variations we might see in our charts, which is very comforting to people like me who were having irregularity issues.

I am not currently trying to conceive, nor are we planning on trying until May 2009. I am actually using this book to learn about my cycles, learn when I am ovulating, and learn, most importantly to me right now, when I am NOT fertile. That's right, no more pregnancy scares, no more nervousness about when I could get pregnant, etc. I only use condoms for about 1/3 of my cycle and the rest of the time we can enjoy unprotected sex. I am successfully practicing natural birth control the rest of the time ~ and its wonderful. Its so nice to be know what is going on in my body without being scared and nervous!

I also expect that we we do start to TTC, the process will be much easier because I will already know so much about my cycles and when I am fertile. Plus, if we do have trouble, we'll have data to share with the doctor.

Really, the book is a must for women who are of a healthy reproductive age. I feel empowered, happier, and more relaxed about my body.

A totally fascinating read. I purchased this book to learn about FAM for birth control. I am utterly amazed at the volume of information I was not taught about my own body (Sorry, I had no idea that my ovaries aren't physically attached to my fallopian tubes!), about the hormonal and physical chains of events that trigger ovulation and menstruation, about how long sperm can survive in a fertile (pre-ovulatory) environment - Uh hello? 5 days. FIVE. I'm betting like, NOBODY knows that. You can have sex on Tuesday and get pregnant from that act on Friday! What?!

I could launch into a long rant here about why the friggedyfrack we're not taught this stuff. The point is, I think this is mandatory reading for all women. It's well-written: it moves well, it's light, and it has TONS of helpful information. I'll be buying my teenage sister a copy of her other book, Cycle Savvy, as well.

Fantastic.

I have spent 5 years of marriage using this method to AVOID pregnancy. My mom used this method for 25 years of marriage, both to conceive (5 kids) and avoid conceiving. Three of her five pregnancies were planned. The other two - one was conceived less than 2 mths after another was born, and my mom didn't know you could conceive so early while still breastfeeding. The other unexpected was conceived while my mom was fasting (juice only) for a week, because fasting throws off your body temp!

This book is an enclopedia of the female reproductive system, but it's easy reading. With this method, it doesn't matter how unusual your cycles are - mine range from 30 to 120 days.

Other methods of natural planning are very narrow-minded: The "rhythm" method relies on counting days only. The Billings method relies only on cervical fluid. Typical NFP relies only on waking "basal" body temperatures. This book teaches you about all three, and how they work together to help you predict ovulation and understand your unique body and cycles.

If you don't think you're organized enough for natural family planning, because of the temperature and charting, DON'T LET THAT STOP YOU! (You still have to be organized enough to know where your pills are and take them every day!). The benefits are SO worth it.

The book does not set out to slam any un-natural type of birth control, it just helps you understand your body. However, the potential side effects of un-natural birth control are SO much more than the medical field will tell you (birth-defects, miscarriages, irritability, depression, emotional instability, and even unplanned pregnancies!) - I have sisters and friends that can attest to EACH of the above. Also, the hormones that stimulate ovulation also create HAPPY moods (including being amorous), like the opposite of PMS! If you are on the pill, you will never get this happy time of the month, because it is cutting off those hormones - but you do get to keep PMS!

ALSO HIGHLY RECOMMEND Fertility, Cycles and Nutrition by Marilyn Shannon. Addresses ways to manage fertility and balance feminine issues using nutrition, vitamin, herbal supplements, weight management, and more. Totally different subject than Taking Charge... but highly necessary. Get them both together.

UPDATE 2010: My husband and I have effectively used the NFP methods described in this book to avoid pregnancy for eight years. NFP is effective as long as you actually USE it. People you have heard of who accidentally got pregnant on NFP weren't using it properly, I can pretty much guarantee you. Now that we are using it to try to start a family, I feel really confident knowing my body so well, and understanding ovulation and fertility.

I got this book after reading several people mention it on various websites. I don't consider myself an expert by any stretch of the imagination but I have spent a ridiculous amount of time online looking into various ttc topics. I decided to buy this book and see if perhaps there was a great wealth of information hiding in its pages but sadly the information here was nothing new to me. It was helpful in having a lot of the information in one place, if I needed to look up something or re-read something of interest. I was disappointed because after reading the book I was left with more questions and feeling more confused and overwhelmed. I went so far as to log into the website listed with the book but didn't get much help there either. Basically, I would recommend this book to someone just getting started on their ttc journey or someone that doesn't pour over internet sites all night! :) Good luck!!

I bought this book because I saw so many positive reviews. I should say also that I hold a biology and biochemistry degree and am a med student. I didn't think there would be much to learn from this book, boy was I wrong. This book is nothing like what you'll learn in a text book, the information is far more detailed (in a very easy to understand way) and I learned a few things I know I'll never learn in med school. I think that every woman should have a copy of this book. I'm going to purchase copies for all my girlfriends. You'll learn things that your Gynecologist will simply never tell you and most importantly you'll be more comfortable with your body as a woman.

Further more, if you're trying to conceive, this book is worth its weight in gold. If you're a woman that is unhappy with the pill and its side effects, or hate the other invasive methods of birth control (diaphragms, IUDs, etc) this book teaches simple and effective ways of birth control by charting and understanding your body.

Many doctors use the 28 day cycle rigorously and tell you to have sex on the 14th day to conceive, but cycle length runs differently for each woman and some women have to try earlier or later to conceive because they may ovulate on day 12 or 21 for example. These perfectly normal healthy women are then told they have fertility problems and then get put on drugs like Clomid when nothing was wrong with them to begin with. Additionally, when pregnant, OBGYNs use the standard 28 day cycle pregnancy wheel to predict due dates, and if your cycle is different, your baby's due date will very likely be miscalculated.

This book is empowering. If you want to conceive or avoid getting pregnant or just want to understand your body, buy this book.

The reason I have a beautiful baby girl is because of this book! I got pregnant the first time I ovulated in 4 months because I knew what to look for!

This is a must read for every woman, not just ones trying to get pregnant. Knowledge is power, take power over your body!! Most of us have no clue about the intricacies of how our bodies work. Health class taught us the bare basics. This book explains the beautiful symphony of our bodies, and how everything works together. It was truly amazing how little I knew. This should be a text book for health class!

After a cyst on my left ovary, I started having very long cycles - 45 days. This book explained what was happening to my body. I was able to chart my temperatures, see I wasn't ovulating, and advocate for my self with a fertility specialist. I only ovulated 4 months out of 10! I didn't have to argue how I knew, I had proof. He accepted it immediately and was willing to start running tests even though we had been trying to get pregnant for less than a year.

Most doctors require that you try for a year, no matter what. That is because most women can't prove that they know that something is wrong. I was able to show that I was experiencing a real problem.

Amazingly, a week later, I ovulated for the first time in 4 months, and we got pregnant! We didn't even need the tests or medical help. Because of this book I was able to recognize that I was ovulating, and take advantage of it at the right time.

Thank you, Toni, for the new respect I have for my self and my body, the knowledge and ability to advocate for myself, and for my beautiful baby. This book changed my life!