| Top Ten Ways to Prepare for Pregnancy | x |
| Foreword | xi |
| 1 | Deciding to Have a Baby | 1 |
| Are You Emotionally Ready? | 2 |
| Physical Fitness: A Whole New Definition | 5 |
| Fiscal Responsibility: Family Style | 6 |
| Taking Family Medical/Maternity Leave | 8 |
| What Will Your New Baby Need? | 9 |
| Only Child or More? | 11 |
| 2 | Body Basics: Preparing for Pregnancy | 13 |
| Acting Pregnant | 14 |
| Avoiding Alcohol | 15 |
| Nicotine and Smoking | 16 |
| Caffeine's Common Effects | 17 |
| Chemical and Workplace Hazards | 17 |
| Enjoying Yourself | 18 |
| Physical Readiness: Not Just for Women | 22 |
| Pre-Baby Checkup | 23 |
| 3 | Menstrual Cycle Basics | 25 |
| Understanding Hormones | 26 |
| Putting Them All Together | 27 |
| The Ovulation Process | 29 |
| Determining Gender | 30 |
| Four Phases of the Menstrual Cycle | 31 |
| Tracking Your Cycle | 32 |
| Lifestyle Effects on Your Cycle | 34 |
| 4 | Sex: Procreative Recreation | 37 |
| Sex--Conception and Myths | 38 |
| Getting Physical: Positioning | 40 |
| Positioning for Special Situations | 44 |
| Location, Location, Location | 46 |
| It's All About Timing | 47 |
| Talking About Sex with Your Partner | 48 |
| Getting Out of the Birth Control Mentality | 48 |
| Keeping the Romance Alive | 49 |
| 5 | Boosting Your Odds of Conception: Fertility Charting | 51 |
| How Pregnancy Occurs | 52 |
| Listening to Your Body's Signals | 53 |
| Checking Your Cervical Mucous | 53 |
| The Position of Your Cervix | 55 |
| The Consistency of Your Cervix | 56 |
| Taking Your Temperature | 56 |
| Charting the Data | 58 |
| Natural Family Planning | 61 |
| Confusing Your Body's Signals | 62 |
| 6 | Low-Tech Fertility Aids | 63 |
| Ferning Testers | 64 |
| Herbal Aids | 65 |
| Home Fertility Testing Kits | 67 |
| Fertility Charting as a Diagnostic Tool | 69 |
| Charting Software | 71 |
| Fertility Monitors | 71 |
| Using Information Wisely | 72 |
| 7 | Am I Pregnant? | 73 |
| Signs You May Be Pregnant | 74 |
| Pregnancy Tests | 75 |
| When to Test | 77 |
| Blood Tests | 78 |
| Using Ultrasound for Confirmation | 79 |
| Pregnancy Symptoms | 80 |
| Sharing the Good News | 82 |
| 8 | Facing Fertility Problems | 85 |
| What Is Infertility? | 86 |
| Measures of Infertility | 87 |
| Talking to Others | 88 |
| Deciding to Get Help | 90 |
| Where to Go from Here | 92 |
| 9 | Male Factor Infertility | 93 |
| How It Should Work | 94 |
| Sexual Dysfunction | 96 |
| Sperm Production | 97 |
| Structural Defects | 99 |
| Endocrine Problems | 102 |
| Other Causes | 103 |
| Vasectomy Reversal | 105 |
| 10 | Female Factor Infertility | 107 |
| Menstrual Disorders | 108 |
| Ovulation Disorders | 109 |
| Endometriosis | 111 |
| Tubal Factor | 113 |
| Uterine Anomalies | 115 |
| The Endocrine System | 116 |
| Other Medical Issues | 116 |
| 11 | Pregnancy Loss | 119 |
| Miscarriage | 120 |
| Bleeding in Pregnancy | 124 |
| Blighted Ovum | 126 |
| Molar Pregnancy | 126 |
| Ectopic Pregnancy | 128 |
| Stillbirth | 131 |
| Repeated Loss | 132 |
| Emotions | 133 |
| 12 | Secondary Infertility | 137 |
| What Is Secondary Infertility? | 138 |
| Getting Your Doctor to Listen | 139 |
| Causes of Secondary Infertility | 140 |
| Fitting in Between Two Worlds | 142 |
| Dealing with Family and Friends | 143 |
| Talking to Your Children | 144 |
| 13 | Choosing a Fertility Specialist | 147 |
| Who Cares for Fertility Patients? | 148 |
| Specialist Training | 149 |
| Getting Recommendations | 151 |
| Services Offered | 151 |
| Treatment Facilities | 152 |
| Who's Who at the Infertility Clinic | 153 |
| Questions to Ask | 156 |
| 14 | Your Fertility Workup | 157 |
| Self-Help Tools | 158 |
| Hormone Levels | 158 |
| Ultrasound | 161 |
| Cervical Mucous | 163 |
| Post Coital Test (PCT) | 163 |
| Semen Analysis | 164 |
| Hysterosalpingogram (HSG) | 165 |
| Endometrial Biopsy | 166 |
| Laparoscopy | 166 |
| Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) | 167 |
| Unexplained Infertility | 167 |
| 15 | Insemination as Treatment | 169 |
| Who Benefits from Inseminations? | 170 |
| The Collection Process | 170 |
| Washing the Specimen | 172 |
| Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) | 173 |
| Intracervical Insemination (ICI) | 175 |
| With or Without Medications | 176 |
| Super Ovulation | 176 |
| Donor Insemination | 178 |
| 16 | Medication Therapy | 181 |
| First Line Medications | 182 |
| Ovulation Induction Medications | 183 |
| Medications for Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) | 184 |
| Supplemental Medications | 187 |
| Medications for Men | 188 |
| Administering Meds | 190 |
| Medication Emergencies | 193 |
| 17 | Fertility Surgery | 195 |
| Hysteroscopy | 196 |
| Laparoscopy | 197 |
| Laparotomy | 199 |
| Myomectomy | 200 |
| Fallopian Tube Reconstruction | 201 |
| Lysis of Adhesions | 202 |
| Endometriosis | 203 |
| Uterine Repair | 203 |
| Male Surgeries | 204 |
| Preparing for Surgery | 205 |
| 18 | Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) | 207 |
| Is Advanced Treatment for Me? | 208 |
| In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) | 209 |
| Assisted Hatching | 212 |
| Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injections (ICSI) | 213 |
| Frozen Embryos | 214 |
| Other Alphabet Soup Treatments | 215 |
| Emotional Aspects of ART | 216 |
| Unsuccessful Cycles | 217 |
| 19 | Egg Donation | 219 |
| Who Can Benefit? | 220 |
| The Egg Donation Process | 220 |
| Selecting a Donor | 221 |
| Cycle Synchronization | 225 |
| Shared Cycles: Divvying Up the Eggs | 227 |
| What It Takes to Become an Egg Donor | 227 |
| 20 | Third-Party Reproduction | 231 |
| Egg Donation | 232 |
| Sperm Donation | 233 |
| Surrogacy | 233 |
| Embryo Adoption | 235 |
| Infant Adoption | 236 |
| Ethical Debates | 239 |
| 21 | Financing Fertility | 241 |
| Health Insurance | 242 |
| Shared Risk | 244 |
| Special Programs | 245 |
| Shopping Around | 246 |
| Loans | 248 |
| Choosing the Right Options | 249 |
| 22 | Fertility Support | 251 |
| Staying Sane | 252 |
| Living Your Life | 252 |
| Keeping the Love Alive | 253 |
| Peer Support | 254 |
| Support Groups | 255 |
| Internet Support | 256 |
| Counseling/Therapy | 258 |
| Living in a Fertile World | 259 |
| 23 | Congratulations! You're Pregnant! | 261 |
| Emotional Roller Coaster | 262 |
| Who's Who in the Birth World | 263 |
| What to Look for | 265 |
| Multiples | 268 |
| Asking for Referrals | 269 |
| Your Outlook on Pregnancy | 269 |
| Your First Prenatal Visit | 270 |
| Appendix A | Resources | 274 |
| Appendix B | Basal Body Temperature Chart | 283 |
| Index | 284 |
