It's time to make a baby. You and your partner ditch the birth control, chart your cycle, pinpoint Ovulation Day, and then proceed to make wonderful love, reveling in the joy and excitement of creating new life. Later, you make lists of names, even daydream about your child going to your alma mater. Then reality hits. You don't get pregnant.

In high school, they warned, "It only takes one time." But age, health problems, and the anxiety that often builds around an inability to conceive can turn that early admonition into a mocking refrain. Today, about 20 percent of couples find themselves riding the cyclone of fertility frustration, alternately flying high on hope, then plunging into despair as each month passes without a positive pregnancy test. For anyone who's been trying to get pregnant for at least a year (the current definition of infertility), Six Steps to Increased Fertility is a must-read. Written by the Harvard Medical School team Robert L. Barbieri, M.D., Alice D. Domar, Ph.D, and Kevin R. Loughlin, M.D., Six Steps guides you through the conception process, explaining what can derail it and detailing the vast range of treatment options for boosting conception odds--from simple lifestyle adjustments to fertility drugs to more aggressive therapies like in vitro fertilization. Along the way, there are supportive tales of couples who've survived the infertility ordeal and checklists of questions for your doctor. A medical glossary and a list of organizations that deal with infertility, mental health, miscarriage, and adoption are tucked in the back.

But what makes this book so appealing is the authors' refreshing six-step philosophy, one that melds natural methods with conventional medicine. Their perspective: technology can be wonderful, but it should rarely be the first step. Oftentimes, depending on one's age and health, changes in diet, exercise routine, and stress levels can make all the difference. Indeed, the cornerstone of the book is the do-it-yourself version of the successful Harvard Behavioral Medicine Program for Infertility that includes easy-to-master relaxation exercises and other stress-reduction techniques. In study after study, research has definitively shown that as stress, anxiety, and depression levels go down, pregnancy and birth rates rise. Six Steps offers sensitive advice and coping strategies meant to help couples understand that while being "infertile" can be all-consuming, it is not the sum total of their lives. --Norine Dworkin


From Library Journal
Recently, infertility books have either followed the medical or the natural approach. Bridging this gap, this book provides incremental guidelines to maximizing chances of conceiving naturally, then progresses to more advanced medical alternatives. Alice Domar, a guru of women's mind/body health, has collaborated with two colleagues at the Harvard Medical School to present this well-balanced introduction to reproductive health. Believing that couples should begin with the safest, simplest approach, the authors recommend lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, and even the type of underwear) as well as techniques for handling emotional stress. Basic reproductive physiology is reviewed with a brief description of male and female reproductive problems, common diagnostic tests, and medications. All this is carefully wrapped up in an overview of the most advanced approach, that is, assisted reproductive therapies. This is a helpful tool for younger couples on the verge of seeking medical assistance; those desiring a more alternative approach to infertility should try Shana Albo's Infertility Solutions: Natural Approaches (Avery: Penguin Putnam, 2000). Highly recommended for all health collections. (Index not seen.)DLisa A. Errico-Cox, Nassau Community Coll. Lib., Garden City, NY Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Review
Rose E. Frisch, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Population Sciences Emerita, Harvard School of Public Health An especially important, useful book... Highly recommended.


Book Description
YES, YOU PROBABLY CAN GET PREGNANT ...and the really good news is that most of you can conceive naturally, without expensive high-tech intervention. The six-step mind/body fertility enhancement program from Harvard Medical School could give you the answer. How can I relax when I'm worried sick about getting pregnant? Can antidepressants affect my fertility? Is there some medicine I can take to increase my sperm production? Does being a vegetarian increase or decrease my chances of conception? Start to help yourself by learning the newest information on how simple lifestyle changes affect fertility.


About the Author
Robert L. Barbieri, M.D., is the chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

YES, YOU PROBABLY CAN GET PREGNANT...and the really good news is that most of you can conceive naturally, without expensive high-tech intervention. The six-step mind/body fertility enhancement program from Harvard Medical School could give you the answer.

How can I relax when I'm worried sick about getting pregnant? Can antidepressants affect my fertility? Is there some medicine I can take to increase my sperm production? Does being a vegetarian increase or decrease my chances of conception?

Start to help yourself by learning the newest information on how simple lifestyle changes affect fertility.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal