The Garden of Fertility: A Guide to Charting Your Fertility Signals to Prevent or Achieve Pregnancy--Naturally--and to Gauge Your Reproductive Health

Rating:
Summary: a must-read for every woman
Review: Around the time I began using The Pill, a friend mentioned the fertility awareness method, FAM, to me. I wrote it off as the infamous "rhythm method." A year later, desperate to come off the Pill (not a good experience for me), I decided that FAM might be worth looking into.

So I went to the book store and bought The Garden of Fertility.
I have read it and re-read it. I've discovered that FAM is NOT the rhythm method. The rhythm method is based on average days of ovulation, which few women fit into. FAM is based on YOUR OWN CURRENT, RELIABLE SYMPTOMS TO KNOW YOUR FERTILE DAYS.

I thought at first that charting my temp would be a pain and that I'd be too squeamish to check cervical mucus. These things have turned out to be a breeze, and I have a comfort with my body that I've never know before. I LOVE to chart, it tells me so much other than when I am ovulating (the book will explain).

Not only is this book good for preventing pregnancy, but when it is time to make babies, we'll know the fertile days.

The book also has great information about improving your reproductive health (nutrition, night-lighting, etc.).

I wish I'd discovered this book earlier. It has changed my view of birth control in so many ways...

Rating:
Summary: A Much Needed Book
Review: Fertility Awareness-a method for preventing or achieving pregnancy based on daily charting of the waking temperature and cervical fluid-is the answer for those who want to space their children, become pregnant or even regain reproductive health without the use of hormones or drugs. For those couples conscious of Dr. Price's discoveries about the importance of spacing children, this book lights the way.

In Garden of Fertility, Katie Singer dovetails step-by-step instructions, including excellent sample charts and diagrams on how to gauge fertility patterns, with fascinating testimonials. This is much more than a how-to book; it presents a model of relationships that partake in the natural rhythms of the earth and moon. In many of the book's testimonials, women describe how participation in Fertility Awareness helped them achieve an unexpected sense of femininity at once peaceful and strong. Even more moving are the remarks of men, who describe an increased sense of belonging in the reproductive process, and increased closeness to their partners when they are aware of fertility patterns in a relationship. One important benefit of joint participation in Fertility Awareness is increased communication between partners.

Singer does not ignore the influence of diet on reproductive health. Happily, her advice is based on the teachings of Weston Price. She explains the fundamental importance of fat-soluble vitamins A and D, as well as vitamin E, iodine and zinc for reproductive health. Dietary suggestions include cod liver oil, egg yolks, butter, liver, seafood and lard. She also warns against commercial vegetable oils, trans fats, sugar, white flour, soy, caffeine and foods grown with pesticides. She even includes a wise caution against too much protein in the diet, noting that energy bars, protein powders, milk powders added to lowfat milk, and lean meats can deplete the body of vitamin A. Singer also describes the frequent problems she sees in women who are vegans. Women with reproductive problems who are charting their cycles can often see immediate beneficial effects by eliminating one or more bad foods from the diet (like caffeine, sugar or trans fats) and adding butter, eggs and organic greens.

Another excellent chapter describes common products that can be hazardous to reproductive health, starting with the various drugs used in assisted reproductive technology. Depo-Provera (an injectable hormonal method of preventing pregnancy), the pill and even progesterone creams and gels can seriously disrupt a woman's long-term fertility, making it difficult and sometimes impossible to become pregnant once they are ceased. Other problematic products include bras (which increase a woman's chance of getting breast cancer), mercury, especially in vaccines and dental amalgams (which can accumulate in the ovaries and testicles), phthalates in plastic containers and coverings for food, most commercial tampons (which contain dioxin) and even disposable baby diapers (which contain estrogen-mimicking chemicals that may interfere with sexual development later on, especially in boys). Singer provides practical alternatives and suggestions for all these industrial products.

Garden of Fertility is a wonderful book to give to your teenage daughters and it deserves a place in every home, right next to Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, the classic book on nutrition by Weston Price.

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Rating:
Summary: What a great resource for learning!
Review: I bought this book when I recently attended a class given by Katie Singer on Fertility Awareness. I have been wanting to learn Fertility Awareness/Natural Family Planning for a long time for several reasons: to know more about my body and how exactly my cycles work, to gauge my gynecological health & have a tool for discovering problems, and to adhere to my church's teachings on birth control (I'm Catholic).

I think this book is a fantastic resource for non-Catholics wanting to learn this tool. The Catholic organizations that are the main teachers of FA/NFP couch this information (naturally) within Catholic theology on marriage and sex. "The Garden of Fertility" teaches FA in a totally secular way and shows why any woman in any situation should be interested in learning this tool. As an example, she quotes lesbians who use FA, even though they obviously aren't interested in
conceiving or preventing pregnancy.

I also enjoyed the sections about strengthening and improving your gynecological health through diet and other natural means. I think she is right on the money that poor diet and overuse of pharmaceuticals are the root of many women's problem cycles. And you will KNOW when you have problem cycles by looking at your charts!

Highly recommended! Thank you for making this information available to all women.