Customer Reviews

Taking Charge of Your Fertility: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health (Revised Edition)

5 star:		(457)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I honestly thought that just being a woman ~ I knew all I needed to know to get pregnant. I am 35 now and ready to have a baby, so I stopped taking the pill and waited 2 cycles and thought all I had to do was plan our night of fun close to Ovulation "Day 14". Was I ever wrong!!

After trying unsuccessfully on my own for 5 months, I started to question my fertility. I purchased ovulation test strips and they wouldn't show a peak ovulation. I found others online who were trying to conceive and recommended this book. Once I received the book, I couldn't put it down! I was amazed at what little information I actually knew about my cycle ~ my own body and what it had been telling me all along. I just didn't understand it.

I learned not everyone ovulates on "Day 14", for me it is actually "Day 23". I assumed I wasn't ovulating and got frustrated at day 20-21 and would stop testing. I now know to look for signals to show when I'm ovulating and now test in the correct window.

By reading this book I now have a clear understanding of my cycle. At my age, I want to have a baby sooner than later, so I plan on taking a more aggressive approach to my fertilization. I talked with my doctor after 6 months, rather than 1 year. With the help of this book and charting, I was able to explain my cycle and show my doctor all my charts. I was able to provide all the information needed to show I have a short luteal phase. By providing this information to the doctor, we will be able to treat the ovulation problem that much quicker. My doctor commented that I was extremely organized and it really helped things along.

This book is very easy to read and understand. You will be able to clearly read your own body signals during your cycle, and have a better understanding of your fertilization ~ whether you want to become pregnant - or not.

I will share this book with other women and would recommend it for every woman!

I consider myself to be a reasonably intelligent, college-educated woman with a pretty darn firm grasp on How Babies Are Made, so when my husband and I decided to start a family, I thought it would be as easy as tossing the birth control pills aside and Let The Fun Begin! After almost a year with NO baby, followed by a miscarriage, I was starting to question my fertility. (After all, how hard can this be?) I went to the OBGYN, who immediately recommended Clomid and sex on the 14th day of my "cycle." I wasn't comfortable with the fertility pill concept, and saw a recommendation for this book instead. So, I picked it up.

WOW! Why don't they teach THIS in Sex Ed?? I wish I'd known this stuff when I was 13! I sure knew the mechanics of sex, alright, but not the mechanics of my own body. I was amazed at what I didn't know; while I had observed the various signs that are talked about, I didn't have the slightest clue what they meant. They never worried me, but they never gave me any insight, either. I started charting, figured out what day of the cycle I REALLY ovulated, and on the third try -SURPRISE!- we were pregnant! While the OB said to try on day 14, we REALLY needed to try on day 19. Sperm only live for 5 days max, so we would have missed our window of opportunity every time. :(

I have recommended this book to complete strangers whose friends were "trying to get pregnant," and lent it to my best friend when she mentioned going off the pill. She's due in December!

Now that my cycle is back, I've reclaimed the book back again to avoid another baby until we're ready. We're still breastfeeding, and using this as a birth control method doesn't come with the risk of drying up my milk supply. (I know, Micronor (mini-pill) is breastfeeding-friendly, but I don't think I'm ready for that yet.)

I am SO pleased with this book and the knowledge I gained from it; I can't believe I didn't know all this before my mid-twenties!

'TCOYF,' as it is known in pre-conception communities, is definitely an invaluable resource for any woman or couple wanting a child (it is often referred to as the 'bible' of pre-conception). It arms you with the knowledge necessary to maximize chances of conception (or lower the risks of pregnancy in those who do not wish to conceive) and does so in an enjoyable, easy-to-read manner that does not belittle or overwhelm its audience. The wealth of information in this book about a woman's cycle and how to chart it are absolutely fantastic, and one is left with a sense of 'how could I not have known all this was going on in my body before?' Although I highly recommend this book, I would also like to offer a much-needed word of warning about it: page after page after page of success stories are presented, leaving the general impression that the whole process of conception is MUCH easier than it is. The author repeatedly presents 'case studies' of women who conceived after only ONE MONTH of using the methods in this book. The overall effect is one of effortless and immediate conception if the guidelines provided by the author are followed religiously. Although I do not believe it is intentional, I have to say I feel the book is deceptive in this regard. It also promotes methods of determining pregnancy that absolutely are NOT definite and that, if taken to heart by the reader, can leave one devestated at the end of a cycle, when the feeling of 'but I don't understand, the book said I must be pregnant' take over. I have seen too many women experience these disappointments to consider any honest review of this book complete without mentioning these things. The reader should use a healthy dose of skepticism about some of her more controversial ideas and use the book mainly as a guide to getting to know one's body and learn how to determine ovulation. It truly is invaluable in that regard. But don't let all those case studies get you overexcited or build up unrealistic expectations. Conception still is not an exact science, no matter how much knowledge you have at your disposal, and you still may be in for a wait, no matter how faithfully you follow these guidelines.

If you are anything like me, you were about 12 years old when you learned everything you know about the female body. Of course back then we were more concerned about guessing who had gotten their period so far and too busy avoiding eye contact with the boys in the room to really pay much attention.

Now, both as an adult and as a woman actively trying to achieve pregnancy, this is invaluable information that I wish I had known all along. Through Ms. Weschler's clear and easy to understand writing, you'll learn to fill in those blanks: how everything works, what exactly goes on during your cycle, how best to time sex for conception (I learned within the first month of charting that we were off by about 10 days - no wonder our first attempts didn't work!) and so much more...including how HIS parts work (700 million sperm at any given time? OH MY!).

However, I would also take Ms. Weschler's blatant distain for the medical community with a grain of salt. YES, her methods provide invaluable knowledge for women and YES this is information I believe each woman should be armed with, but I do bristle at her constant dismissal of all doctors and her negative portrayal of them. Especially alarming was her description of colonoscopy as "demoralizing." No, this procedure isn't as fun as trip to Disneyland, but it has indisputably saved thousands of lives despite the stigma many would place on it. My hope is that women read this to learn more about themselves...but not shy away from seeking medical help when and if they need it.

This book is note solely to help you GET PREGNANT. It is also how to STOP YOU GETTING PREGNANT.

From reading this book cover to cover I now know so much about my body & menstrual cycle - enough to know my fertile days, and thus when to use an alternative barrier during intercourse. (NOTE: A womens fertile days are NOT necessarily around day 14...every woman is different!)

And the best thing is, not only can I almost guarantee I will get pregnant quickly when trying - I DON'T NEED TO BE ON THE PILL - and have all those nasty side effects while I'm NOT trying!!

A sure recommend for anyone who is: a) not wanting to use the pill as a birth control method; b) wanting to get pregnant quickly; and c) wanting to know what you should ALREADY know about your body!!

This book is truly a priceless source of information about the female reproductive system and natural birth-control. I realized how very little a knew about my body and all the message it sends me everyday. I believe it's a must for every woman and girl over 12. I wish I had it at 12.

That being said, the book has some MAJOR DRAWBACKS:

-The title is misleading and raises false hopes. The book doesn't tech you how to take charge of your fertility, it only teaches you how to watch and recognize whether or not you are fertile. If you are, it's useful in pinpointing the best time to conceive. If you have any problems,however, the book is completely useless. It does not contain a word on what to do if you are infertile or if you are but cannot conceive. Hence, you don't "take charge" of anything.

-What's more, the author is somewhat mistrustful of mainstream medicine and ignores what medical treatments can do for you. It would've been nice if she had given a good list of steps to take after realizing there is a problem. That's a pro-active approach. The truth is, in such a situation, there is no other way to go but medical treatment (I cannot comment on alternative medicine).

-The author also makes getting pregnant look so easy with her countless anecdotal stories about couples that conceived using her method in the first couple of months. These are unnecessary and annoying and can easily make women who cannot get pregnant right away feel desperate.

To sum it up, this book is only a starting point and a small part of our arsenal when trying to conceive. Women who buy it should know its limitations and should not hesitate to use other sources.

This is one of the most important books a woman can read if she wants to, as the title indicates, take charge of her fertility. I read this book three years ago when I was searching for alternatives to chemical birth control. My doctor told me there were no reliable non-chemical options, but she was so wrong. I read this book, made a few photocopies of charts, and purchased a $10 basal body thermometer. For the next three years I spent approximately one minute a day on this method and successfully avoided pregnancy and became aware of my body's cycles. Every month was informative and interesting and I became so much more knowledgeable about myself and my health.

Lat month, my husband and I decided it was time to start trying for a baby. I am happy to report that I am now five weeks pregnant and my expected due date is April, 2004. Without this book, I know things would not have turned out so well. It is an invaluable resource every woman, trying to conceive or not. It includes so much information that was never given to me before, and it allowed me to make educated and personal decisions about my body. I highly recommend this book.

I too suffer from PCOS (cystic ovaries) and contrary to another reviewer with PCOS who found this book not helpful, I found it to be very helpful. Because of the PCOS, my cycles are very irregular (ranging from 30 days to 85 days). Because of the irregularity of my cycles, charting my temperature did not show any clear patterns or allow me to predict which day of my cycle I would ovulate (I completely envy the women who can). What I did find very useful was the information regarding my body's own natural signs of my fertile days (cervical mucus and cervical positioning). Monitoring these allowed me to identify my fertile days and approaching ovulation. Using the temperature charting in conjunction with my body's natural signs of fertility allowed me to confirm ovulation had happened and I could start monitoring whether pregnancy had been achieved. After following this method for 6 cycles, I am now 5 months pregnant and expecting my first child in early September.

My wife and I bought this book when a friend recommended it to us, after we had been trying unsuccessfully for about seven months to conceive. We conceived the very first month we followed the method in this book!

The main thing that is helpful about this book is that it shows you how to pinpoint the most fertile days in the woman's cycle (the days when she is ovulating). Because my wife has very irregular cycles, this was difficult for us, until we read this book. Before reading this book, we bought an ovulation test kit in a pharmacy that is supposed to show you if you're ovulating, but we didn't have any luck with it -- it never said that my wife was ovulating. Wechsler's book shows you how cervical fluid and taking the woman's temperature first thing in the morning every day can help you pinpoint the most fertile days of her cycle.

The book is a bit repetitive, and probably could be 50-100 pages shorter. But it's truly a fantastic resource, and I highly recommend it for anyone who's been trying unsuccessfully to conceive.

I have such mixed feelings about the book that I have difficulty writing a balanced review. On one hand, this book contains far more information about the menstrual cycle, ovulation, and BBT charting than any other source I've found. My OB/GYN suggested that I start charting after several months of trying to conceive, but his overview of how to chart and interpret those charts was so brief as to be almost useless. This detailed, thorough book helped fill in many of those gaps.
On the other hand, I was so upset with the tone of the book that I would hesitate to recommend it to anyone. The author assumes that all of her female readers are ignorant victims of the "male-dominated medical establishment," and criticizes women again and again for not knowing every minute detail of their menstrual cycle, which I found silly. After all, I don't know every detail of the inner workings of my digestive tract either--does that make me a victim too?
My more serious objection is the fear tactics that the author uses to scare women away from seeking out medical help with a fertilty problem. I approached my fertility problem this way: I want a baby, and whether it's conceived through medical means or "natural" means does not matter. I agree that charting and lifestyle modifications should be your first step on the road to treatment, but if those methods don't work (which they probably won't if you have a serious fertility problem), you shouldn't be afraid to move on to medical help. After reading this book, I came away thinking that every doctor is arrogant, close-minded, ignorant about basic biology, and out to prescribe unnecessary fertility treatments just to make money. The first OB/GYN I saw wasn't great, but when I switched to a wonderful infertility specialist, everything became easier right away. He suggested that I stop charting because timing wasn't our problem--my husband's low sperm counts were. Quitting charting was the single biggest stress-reliever of my infertilty experience--I no longer felt that it was all "up to me." I'm also happy to report that after two years of trying, I'm finally expecting a baby this summer. My overall recommendation of this book would be to heed the factual information, but ignore the biases of its author.