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

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Summary: TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR FERTILITY
Review: I FOUND THIS BOOK HAD USEFUL INFORMATION ON LEARNING MORE ABOUT YOUR CYCLE AND WHAT TO LOOK FOR. THIS WILL BE MY 4TH MONTH ON TRYING TO BECOME PREGNANT AND I HAVE ONLY USED THIS METHOD FOR 1 MONTH. I FOUND IT VERY HELPFUL AS TO WHEN TO DETERMINE WHEN I'M OVULATING, BEFORE I HAD NO CLUE, I JUST BASICALLY KINDA GUESSED. THE SAD THING IS I'M ALSO A OB NURSE AND WOULD OF BEEN EXPECTED TO KNOW MY BODY MORE AND WHAT TO LOOK FOR. SO I LEARNED SOME VERY USEFUL INFORMATION FROM THIS BOOK, THAT YOU DON'T ALWAYS LEARN IN NURSING SCHOOL OR EVEN ON THE JOB. THE BLANK CHARTS IN THE BACK OF THE BOOK ARE EXCELLENT TO USE AND YOU HAVE A VARIETY OF STYLES TO PICK FROM, DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU ARE MONITORING. THE ONLY DOWNFALL ON THIS BOOK THAT I FOUND, IS ALL OF THE CASE STUDIES AFTER AWHILE, KINDA OF GOT BORING. I WOULD OF LIKED TO SEEN MORE INFORMATION ON MORE HOLISTIC TYPE OF APPROACHES TO INCREASING CHANCES OF CONCIEVING.

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Summary: Such a great book!
Review: I was well-informed about my body before, but reading this book, there is so much more I learned! I sucessfully used this method as birth control for 2 years and am now planning to start trying to conceive soon, and this information is so helpful for that too.
I woudl recomend this book to any woman, not just for birth control or TTC, but becuase there's so much about your own health that you don't know until you look into it.
I cannot recomend this book enough, and I rfeer to it all the time.

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Summary: All women should know this information!
Review: I don't know what took me so long to purchase this book; I wish I had bought it sooner. It is amazing to me that women are not taught this information in school! Whether you are trying to conceive or avoid pregnancy, you need to read this book. You will be amazed at what you never knew about how your body works.

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Summary: Wow! How I love my body!
Review: This book is currently helping me to avoid pregnancy. It sure has worked!!! Soon, my husband and I hope to use it to help us achieve pregnancy. It has motivated me to help others understand their amazing cycles! God Bless!

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Summary: A Bangkok baby thanks to Toni!
Review: I must credit Toni's book for the conception of my first child (hubby was traveling all the time for work, hardly ever home, but thanks to "charting", we knew when I was most fertile) and also for my current pregnancy (same hubby travel scenario). ALSO, and most thrilling for me as a Toni fan now living in Bangkok, was to run into a Thai friend, whom I hadn't seen since lending her this book about four months ago (she'd been trying for years to conceive), to run into her in the waiting room of my OBGYN -- she's three months pregnant! She fully credits Toni's book with helping her understand her cycles. I almost cried with joy for my friend. The information in the book is worth every cent you pay for it. It's invaluable for conception AND for avoiding the same, whichever mode you're in.

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Summary: Great Book
Review: I have read several fertility books and this was the one book that helped me to really understand fertility. This book provides clear guidance for helping you get pregnant. It explains how to interpret your body's own signs. Before reading this book I was confused by all of the other books I had read. Now I feel that I can at least understand what is going on and what I can do to help my chances of getting pregnant.

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Summary: Fantastic book!
Review: It's a shame that as a society we are so ignorant about the workings of our bodies. This book gave me more information than I ever learned in school or from my doctors. It was clear, concise and easy to understand, and it helped me both to avoid pregnancy and to get pregnant on my own timetable. I cannot say enough good things about it!

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Summary: This book could help you become a mom.
Review: This is a great book. It leads you through basic fertility signs that can maximize your chances of conceiving. However, it may not provide you with instant success. As in my own case, this book helped me to realize my cycles were not normal and non-conducive for achieving pregnancy. The good thing is, without this book I may have wasted a lot of my time in frustration. Instead I found a great fertility specialist and now have a beautiful son. The info on charting your cycles is great b/c most fertility doc's will want that from you and if you arrive with it in hand, your treatment can begin sooner. Good luck!

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Summary: Trying to be hormone-free and child-free
Review: After 22 years of being on the pill, I was completely clueless about my cycle. All I knew was that I did not want to get pregnant. After reading TCOYF, I not only have the knowledge, but more importantly, the confidence to finally get off the pill and take birth control into my own hands. The logic and beauty of the female cycle is exquisitely revealed to the reader in a crystal clear, well-organized format. Key points are emphasized repeatedly, and in an honest, straight-forward voice, allowing the reader to "internalize" the most important information. The color pictures also help the reader visualize what to look for when evaluating cervical fluid. By the end of the book, I immediately threw out the pills, purchased my very own thermometer, and embarked on this simple and logical approach to birth control. This book should be required reading for all girls, starting in the 6th grade.

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Summary: An invaluable resource, but skepticism prevents heartache
Review: '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.