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

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Summary: If you are a woman, you need to buy this book.
Review: It is an absolute sin that the Fertility Awareness Method isn't taught to girls in high school along with sex ed. My husband and I were trying to conceive and were getting frustrated because we weren't successful after 6 months. I bought this book after 2 separate recommendations from friends and after 1 trial month of charting, we were successful in the 2nd month. I have since recommended this book to all of my female friends, even if they aren't trying to conceive. After going off the Pill, my cycles were completely unpredictable (some 30 days, some 40 days). Trying to determine when I was ovulating, based on other books' suggestions, was futile because the rule of 14 days before the start of your next cycle only works for women whose cycles are exactly the same number of days every month. Toni Weschler instead delivers a down-to-earth, detailed explanation of how to interpret your body's fertility signs and offers great examples for every situation. It's so easy to understand and takes 2 minutes out of your day. I intend to use the Fertility Awareness Method as birth control after I have my baby.

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Summary: My story is a little different
Review: I bought this book when I was trying to get pregnant after a miscarriage at 13 weeks the previous year. I considered myself pretty knowledgable about my cycle after trying to get pregnant for over 10 years, but Toni's book went beyond anything I had ever read. Her section on cervical mucus is excellent. I felt so much more in touch with my body and we tried again to get have our much wanted baby. For eight more months, I charted my temperature and my cervical mucus. But, I got so carried away with all the charting, I was an emotional wreck. In tears, I called Resolve one day when my period had started once again. I told her all about this wonderful book (And it truly is a wonderful book) The lady at Resolve told me to put the book away and stop charting. So, I did and by the greatest miracle, I got pregnant that next month. My daughter is now 3. I'm not trying to say that Toni's information isn't valuable, but I caution others dealing with infertility as I was, that the charting can consume you and the best advice I ever got was to stop.

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Summary: A crime this book is not required reading for women!
Review: I am 38 and now pregnant with my first child and a lot of credit goes to this book (and to my husband, too, of course!). A friend also in her late 30's recommended it to me last summer and I could not believe how fascinating it was...whether trying to get pregnant or trying to avoid pregnancy. I charted for a month and a half just for practice, and then we started trying. We got lucky in the 2nd month (and I knew that the first month was pretty well shot because of the strangeness of the charts...due to high altitude treking). I gave this book to another friend who had been trying for 9 months (also in late 30's) and she is due the day before me. Practically unbelieveable...but true. Can't say enough about this book. I learned more about my body from reading this than from all the classes I had...

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Summary: Good information, but author is very biased
Review: 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.

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Summary: After trying for 5 years, it worked for us!
Review: My husband and I tried desperatly for a baby for 5 years. Finally after improper testing, months of chlomid and on our way to see a fertility doctor, we got pregnant. My OB said with the way I spiratically ovulated and no way to track it, it was probably a fluke. 4 -1/2 months in to the pregnancy, I felt wonderful, never better, unfortunatly a close friend of ours was the only one in the state of Florida selling the 3-D ultrasound machines and detected a problem with the baby's heart while trying to find out the sex. The specialist we saw said it was inoperable. Hearbroken, we terminated the pregnancy. I was at a following checkup and the nurse told me to get this book after she saw how upset I was. I read it at least 3 times front to back. I learned so many things about my own body I never knew where all along signs of ovulating. At the age of 30 (maybe younger) I suffered signs of pre-menapause (although my Dr. didn't agree). Hot Flashes, spiratic periods, and best of all yeast infections at the time I was suppose to ovulate. The book stated that if lack of cervical mucus was a problem at the time to conceive, use eggwhite. Eggwhite acts as a lubricant to get the sperm to swin to the cervix, plus is all protein and won't act as a spermicide like all other lubricants. It sounded bizarre enough for us to try. We were open-minded & desperate to feel pregnant again. I separated the egg, reserving just the whites and through a plastic medicine siringe (no needle) I injected it. We got busy and voila! Pregnant again. I think my Dr. still doesn't believe it. But, today we have a beautiful baby girl, now 6-1/2 months old to prove it. Anything is possible if you just learn to read the signs your body is sending you. We're now going for #2. Good Luck! They say there is no such thing as infertility. Just lack of knowledge. Don't leave your futures in a Dr's hands that most of the time lump you in the same category as the majority of their patients. Each one of us is an individual case - And who knows us better than ourselves.

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Summary: Just read it and see for yourself...
Review: An awesome book. It kept me glued to every page like few other fictional books have. Lots of fascinating information and detailed insight into how our bodies function and why. I don't think it is baised at all, as one review stated. The author continually states that seeking medical help is fine, but that is a good idea to first understand your body and its cycle, as you might save a lot of time and money that wasn't necessarily necessary.I have recommended it to all my friends. It is awesome!!!! A MUST read for women (and men!)

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Summary: I can't believe how much I did NOT know about my body!
Review: This is my 1st review. I felt I needed to give this review because the knowledge the book gave me helped me to get pregnant with baby #3. I'd never had a problem getting pregnant before so after a couple of months of trying for #3 I came across this book at a bookstore. Four months of trying isn't alot of time by any means but with my first two kids, I got pregnant almost immediately. This book showed me that my hubby and I were timing intercourse incorrectly. Once I learned to look for my fertility signs I was immediately more confident about our prospects for conceiving. As so many couples do, we were timing intercourse thinking I ovulated around day 13 or 14. I got pregnant the second month of "charting" because I knew what my fertility signs were telling me. By the way I ovulated on day 18, not 14.I may have never known without charting my fertility signs. I think it's unbelievably sad to know that so many women haven't been taught about their bodies and try to get pregnant just based on chance!
This book is a must read for any woman!

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Summary: for practical advice, put your money somewhere else
Review: If you need to figure out your most likely to conceive time, visit a local pharmacy store and buy an Ovulation Predictor kit. You can spend a year charting your temperature with no results. The kits are far less invasive, much friendlier, and most importantly, far more accurate in providing you the information you need. For me, this book was a waste of money and a lot of time...

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Summary: This book is a must for all women!
Review: I had absolutely no idea how fertility worked. Sure, I knew what I had been taught in sex education, but it was nothing compared to understanding more about fertility and the signs a woman's body gives out. This book is amazing. It truly should be given to all women in sex education. I think we'd have a lot fewer unplanned pregnancies if women could take charge of their own fertility. If a young woman is fearful of demanding her lover wear a condom, or afraid to go on birth control for fear of parents finding out, this book could make a huge difference to a woman responsible enough to pay attention to her own body. it's wonderful for achieving pregnancy as well. I think this book is a must have in *any* woman's personal library. It will change the way you view your body and will make clear to you your fertility signs and how your body works.

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Summary: Best Book On Fertility
Review: My new year's resolution for this year was to get my lazy a$$ off the Pill and start figuring out how my body works. I am married and have twins, and before reading this book I knew nothing about fertility other than I get a period once a month. I now use TCOYF for my birth control and I am not pregnant! (yay!) It's a very easy read, makes perfect sense, and goes over everything you need to know. You will not be disappointed! Happy charting!