Birth Control Books

I cannot say enough good things about this book! I have been using it for over 2 years. After going off a "gentle" birth control (which made me nauseous daily and slightly depressed) we used the Fertility Awareness Method taught in this book to avoid pregnancy for 5 months. When we wanted to have a baby it only took us two months to conceive. Now I am a breastfeeding mother, and we have avoided pregancy the past 6 months after my cycle resumed when my baby was barely 4 months old!

With the knowledge gained from this book, I can confidently tell you the day I ovulate, precisely how many days from then my period should arrive, and I can connect "strange" bodily occurances with my cycle! I know exactly what is normal for my body so I would be able to detect the slightest abnormality that could indicate a problem long before my annual exam.

Additionally, this information can help me and the doctor with accurate pregnancy information. I know that since I have a longer than "average" cycle - I ovulate on day 21 usually so my cycle is 35 days long - a due date that the doctor calculates (which is based on a 28 day cycle) is WRONG for me! Further, a doctor who believes in inducing when a woman is one week overdue, would actually induce labor ON MY ACTUALY DUE DATE. With my knowledge, I can avoid such an unnecessary induction.

I think you get the point. This book is unmatched and is for every woman!

While very informative with regard to the workings of the female reproductive system, I felt that in the year 2008 it's unnecessary to do all of the temperature taking, charting, analyzing bodily fluids, etc...for pregnancy purposes. I was taken aback by some of the completely weird anecdotes (ie., the egg white story --GROSS) and felt that with the digital fertility monitors out there, you don't have to be a slave to that thermometer. As a hard working, career woman who likes to get her drink on occasionally, I like to sleep in on the weekends and would always miss the window for taking my temperature. I gladly spent the $200 for the easy monitor that fits better into my lifestyle and saves me from examining where my cervix is at any given moment.

Every woman should read this book! I am 33 years old and it took me until reading this book to understand what my body is going through each month. Thank you for explaining it in simple terms that we can understand. I can't believe they didn't tell us this in health class!

I bought this book over a year ago and reference it all the time. It is great to use when you are trying to conceive or if you are just trying to understand your cycles. I would & have recommended this book to my girlfriends.

I have found this book very helpful in getting started with the FAM method to avoid conception as an alternative to hormonal birth control methods. The author very clearly describes the fertility process and the steps to observing and charting a woman's cycle. I especially enjoyed the tone of the book, which is gently humorous and devoid of religious ideology. It really convinced me that FAM is a good method of birth control as well as an aid to conception.

The downside is a few "over the top" moments in the book. After using this method I will agree that the process of taking a temperature every day and charting fertility signs is not as inconvenient as I had originally thought, but I will not go so far as to say that "charting is a privilidge".

Overall, this book is a good start. I recommend it.

This book is easy to understand, easy to put into practice. I was trying to get pregnant in my late 30's and was able to do so within 3 months. After the birth of my first child I waited a couple of years before trying again. By now I was 41. Again I got pregnant within 3 months. All my friends around my age were going crazy taking hormone shots and doing in vitro. Of course, it could be that I am a very fertile person. However, even at that, at the age I was, I did not have any time to waste! So I do credit this book for giving me the right information so I could be get pregnant naturally within the shortest possible time frame. If you have had trouble conceiving, I strongly recommend you try this natural method first before getting any expensive treatments.

This is by far one of the easiest books on knowing your body and tracking your fertility signs. this book is a must own by every woman it truly takes the guess work out of trying to figure out your fertile and non fertile days. I'm a former nurse and I found this to be the most concise and reader friendly book on this subject. everyone from the novice to the expert can learn from this book. kudo's to the author on demystifying the ovulation cycles of womens bodies.

This is an extraordinary book. Every woman should own a copy. I still don't understand why we are not taught about our own bodies since childhood. If this was the case there wouldn't be so many unplanned pregnancies. Not only that but we wouldn't have to put harsh chemicals into our bodies to avoid pregnancy.

I was searching for holistic methods of contraception and thankfully discovered this book.
The author's tone was inviting and engaging: the words and images were clear, accessible and deeply informed. The text was constantly accompanied by illustrations that varied from relevant technical descriptions, to decorative or humourous images, making it an pleasurable read as well as an informative one. The book is aimed at both avoiding and attaining pregnancy so that even if like myself, the reader has an exclusive emphasis on avoiding pregnancy, she will be better informed if she does decide to have children in future. The book also offers useful ways of relating to your partner should any challenges come up in your sex life which I found practical and necessary given how much misunderstanding can happen in sexual matters between men and women.

I found this book before I even meet my hubby of almost a year now. Back in 1997, I was in collage and knew from a experience with the pill for health reasons that when I became active in this area I would not be able to rely on chemicals to control fertility, I tend to become sick after a short time of take a pill. Plus I did not like the idea of being on pills or what ever to limit how many kids I might have. This was the only information I could find on a natural fertility method of birth control and I found it in a used book store. When I read this book it cleared up many Questions I had and help me feel more confadent that I would be fine with out pills. All though I did end up using the NuvaRing for a few years before I married my guy(he is allergic to latex), that was do to miss placing the book through a cuple of moves. As soon as we were married I tracked bown this book again and fond Cyclebeads as well, I have been off chemicals for almost 6 months using both methods to learn and understand my body. I know when we are ready to have kids we will be well informed and have no problems. I wish this information was standard class tought in high school. Peace & Blessings, Cloe

This is a wonderful, well written, book about a heroic figure who has endured much intimidation by anti-choice thugs who want to control women's bodies. It's a book I would recommend especially to young woman as they have a 50% chance of finding themselves in need of a save and legal abortion sometime in their life and if things keep going the way they are, they may be unable to obtain one. The stories Dr. Wicklund relates about herself and her patients would be unheard of in other developed Western nations so you get an indication of how out of step the U.S. is with respect to women's health. The book contained interesting medical facts about abortion procedures so you'll get factual information about an issue that has been clouded by a great deal of misinformation courtesy of the anti-choice folks. I was surprised not to see more endorsements on the book jacket from well known feminists other than Barbara Erenreich but that may be an indication of their own fear of being targeted. This is an inspiring story of a courageous woman who followed her passion and sacrificed much to serve women in need.

This is a brave book by a courageous woman. As an Australian, I am not surprised by what she describes as I have become aware of the shameless and gutless tactics used by anti-abortion activists in the US. If it is their faith which drives them to make Susan's life hell, then they are certainly not Christians. The very encouraging thing about this book is Susan's determination not to be cowed by them and the little ways in which she discovers the latent support for her around her eg the man on the plane. As a man I find the over the top zealousness by the male anti-abortion activists almost laughable as they can have no concept of the pressures that may make a woman undertake an abortion.

I was engrossed with reading this book. It is well written and the story is powerful. Also, the details match the details of my life when I worked at an abortion clinic; it is accurate.

Many thanks to Susan Wicklund for telling the world how her life was effected by her work.

This book is simply excellent. No matter your feelings on the subject matter, the memoir is well-written, with a compelling story. Dr. Wicklund makes an excellent heroine for the 21st century--we see her plodding on with resolve, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. But we also see moments of doubt, of reflection, that let us know that she is human. This is a very good book.

Dr. Wicklund focuses her memoir on herself, but also on her patients. The many, many women that she has served over the years play a huge role in this book. However, what was most interesting and eye-opening to me was her recounting of various tactics used by anti-choice protesters, and what she had to do to keep herself safe and to keep working. I had heard of doctors being killed, but I truly had no clue about the everyday lengths to which the "antis" would go in their self-righteousness.


Dr. Wicklund, I don't know if you read your book reviews on Amazon.com, but thank you. Thank you for writing this book, and for doing what you have done and what you do. Thank you for never giving up. You are an inspiration, as is your daughter, and everyone who supported you.

I have always opposed abortion. In the 1970's, I stopped going to public protest functions. At that time, one of my fellows brought a side-by-side shotgun with him to the protests. At first, I thought it was just a sort of symbolic zeal. Later, I found that at least one barrel was loaded. This did not bother me, in itself. What bothered me was that the "organizers" were not willing to suppress or control that kind of misplaced zeal. So, I quit going to the protests. I didn't stop opposing abortion. I just stopped supporting bad organization. I don't support uncontrolled crazies, and they were already in evidence then.

Dr. Wicklund has a right to produce a book, especially after decades of work in the area. However, the book is poorly planned. It is a sequence of personal recollections, a number of anecdotes put together, end to end. If the anecdotes were connected better by a common theme, it could be more revealing. As it is, it recounts the personal emotional excursions of a number of different people. There is no doubt that the emotions are real. They are relevant to an extent, but they aren't some sort of telling argument. Neither side of this particular debate has ever been plagued or inconvenienced by any excessive exercise of sanity.

I have tried over many years to understand the views of the opposition, those who are pro-abortion and prefer to spin it as "pro-choice." To me, it has always seemed that the core argument of their position is convenience. It is convenient to be very sexually active and even to be sexually promiscuous, and abortion is a somewhat unpleasant but very practical version of birth control. So, it has seemed to me---perhaps incorrectly---that abortion is needed mainly as a practical convenience. Even Dr. Wicklund's own original experience was caused basically because she found it convenient or useful to live together with a man who was not her husband at a time of their lives when they had not established a reasonable economic basis. Was it necessary? They thought so. Maybe it was...maybe not.

Is my view wrong? Undoubtedly it is simplistic. Undoubtedly the world itself has shades of gray that I am overlooking or too blind to see. The fact is that this book is written sufficiently badly that it gives me no more clue of the opposite view than I had before. I read the book because I was clueless, and I remain clueless afterward.

People do have a choice, and it is often good to exercise the choice by using a zipper.

Sic transit gloria mundi.

This book is a must-read. It has changed my life. After reading about the human rights abuses concerning fertility and reproduction that have taken place, I have come to realize that we take for granted our right to bear children. Please read this book, it is a real eye-opener.

I never knew about the famine in China in the late 50s, early 60s, but reading the incredibly extreme measures the government was/ is? willing to go through wasn't in some way influenced by those horrible events.

Yes, the method of enforcing the one child only policy are brutal and heart-wrenching, but I cannot help thinking this decision was not taken lightly just as another means to oppress people.

The very horror and brutality makes me wonder what horrible forecasting, what dire conditions were predicted to make those in power feel the need to create the policy and then to enforce it so strongly. If up to 40 million died in the first famine, what numbers were foreseen for the next one? I have to think it must have been apocalytic in suffering predicted that forced abortions and even infanticide were deemed the lesser evil.

I've read "A Mother's Ordeal" twice now and it's one of the most compelling books I've ever read. I was born just weeks apart from Chi An, the main character in this true story, but our lives have been lived worlds apart.

As she vividly describes her childhood in Communist China, her poverty and famine and cruel government policies, I couldn't help but trace my own life events and be painfully aware of the blessings I've received in comparison to her life lived under vise-grip pressures of a government not concerned for its own people. As I read about her eating pancakes made of tree leaves and sleeping through school in the afternoons because of her weakness from hunger, I pictured myself going door-to-door to collect money in milk cartons for the "starving children in China" and now I've been introduced to the first-person story of one of those children.

This book helped me to put a very human face on the stories I've read in the newspaper and studied in history classes. I am a deeply pro-life woman, and yet I can fully empathize with women in China who are forced to submit to abortion because of the relentless, crushing pressure experienced on a daily basis by the women of that country by a government committed to a one-child policy at any cost, which is so graphically explained in this book. Reading it makes me ask myself how strong I could be under the same circumstances.

You will not be able to forget her descriptions of her C-section done without anesthesia because of her desire to avoid the dangers the anesthesia posed to her unborn son, and to admire her courage and the deep mother-love that drove her to do so. And even when she becomes a birth control worker who imprisons and berates and forcibly aborts other women (even her best friend, in labor at full term), you cannot see this woman as a monster herself, but as part of a monstrous system that must be exposed and changed.

This book may change your understanding of abortion forever and make you more committed than ever to ending its destructive power in a very pro-woman way. It will most surely challenge excuses for UNFPA funding of these policies in China. Thank you Chi An, for telling your story!

This account of a woman in China, including the events of her life from her birth in 1948 to the time she became a permanent resident of a free country in the 1980s, is full of high interest for any one who wants to know what it is like to live in China in her time, and I presume today. It is indeed a chilling account of the way things are in a country which accords to abortion a higher position than life, and the accounts of the way abortions are performed I don't suppose would be what pro-abotionists would like to read about. But I found the book educational and eye-opening.

This book is truly an eye opener. It is well written and I found it hard to put it down. The story of Chi An, a chinese woman and her life, in particular how the 'one child' policy affected her, is fascinating. It made me realise how lucky we are in the Western World, and how much we take our freedom for granted.

Desnuda, sin tapujos, sin que pretenbda inclinarte hacia el norte o hacia el sur, SOLO EXPONE.
Tremendamente bien escrita y documentada a prueba de tormentas !

BUDISTA O AGNÓSTICO... Lo que importa es que seas un ser humano y que, a traves de este libro, veas LA REALIDAD

QUE SE DE BUENA FUENTE QUE HA SIDO BOICOTEADO POR LOS QUE FAVORECEN EL ABORTO !
POR VALIENTE
POR HONESTO
POR BIEN ESCRITO
POR CRUDO Y REALISTA
¡BRAVO !

Hey TU.. Joven este es un libro para TI, te hará pensar antes de tomar cualquier decisión al respecto.Buenisimo

This is a very truthful book about abortion. No lies. It lines right up with the ethics course I took. One of the topics was abortion. I was glad I stayed for it truely changed my views from an emotional one to a scientific,rational logical one. When we plant human seed we dont get corn or puppies. This is an unborn child, human being,and is not a fetus. It is not an IT, this is a person who will possibly hold the key to solving a great mistery or just one who will be a blessing to his or her mom in the end. I know my own daughter,and I comtemplated my "free choice", but she is worth all and kept me going. If you know anyone who is contemplating such a final act that does bring emotional and physical scars give them this book. Have grace for the one who made such a terrible error in life. What is popular is not always right. Choose Life. Hugs blessings smiles.

As an adult convert to Catholicism struggling for now five years with infertility, a non-American and the daughter of a founder of my hometown's Family Planning Association, I ordered this book wondering if it would help me sort out my mixed feelings about abortion. When it arrived my heart sank: though I had been interested in the topic, it looked long enough to remind me of the first-grader's book report, ``This told me more than I wanted to know about penguins.'' But it's so well-written, well-peopled and thoughtful it's a joy to read. When Cynthia Gorney describes a pro-choice activist she does it so carefully you feel certain she's pro-choice, and certain you must be. But when she describes a pro-life activist, you realize she might be pro-life -- and so might you be. If we were all be so generous and balanced, so readily able to enter into the subtleties of other people's positions, abortion might never have become a ``war.''

This book was wonderful. Though on first glance it seems very long and likely dense and dry, it is anything but. Gorney does a fabulous job of presenting both sides of abortion evenly and without bias. And she ties in the thoughts and feelings of the players with the actual battles of the day so smoothly that the book ends up being an easy and very enjoyable read. It should be mandatory reading for anyone involved in, interested in or having an opinion about abortion.

Before Roe vs. Wade thousands of women a year were getting illegal, unsanitary and oftentimes dangerous abortions. Articles of Faith does a great job of presenting both sides of the abortion argument. The book focuses on the abortion wars in Missouri. It starts in the 60's with Judith Widdicombe, who is an obstetrics nurse and who had an abortion herself. She is a key figure in the underground abortion world in St. Louis. She recruits doctors and she directs women to doctors. Her opinions on abortion are formed from personal experience as well as occupational experience. She was strong in her opinions that a baby and a fetus were different. She had seen hospital beds full of women dying of infection from getting illegal abortions. This led her to her calling.
While Judy was directing women to safer but still illegal abortions, the laws state by state were slowly starting to break down. This created a movement of concerned citizens who were against abortion. These citizens would give presentations using medical and scientific information to support their position that life begins at creation. As to drive their point home, they would show pictures of aborted fetuses. These pictures featured a trash can full of little fetuses and a bloody mass of appendages. What they didn't realize is that people like Judy Widdicombe looked at the same stuff, in real life-not in photographs. She would bring women with gauze and bandages stuffed up their vaginal cavities and let them miscarry in her home. She would then examine the remains of the miscarrage and make sure there wasn't anything left inside the woman.
After Roe vs. Wade, Judy set up a clinic specifically for performing abortions-the first one of its kind in Missouri. She wanted it accessible for all women, and wanted a warm and medical environment that set women at ease-they knew their situation was understood and they knew they were safe. This is where Samuel Lee is introduced. He arrived in St. Louis in 1978 intent on studying theology at Saint Louis University's seminary. As soon as he arrives he becomes involved with the Franciscans. They hosted a meeting of people planning a protest on the steps of an abortion clinic. This was how Sam became drawn into the abortion argument-he was exhilarated by it. Sam researched both sides of the abortion argument, but the more he read the more he became convinced that abortion was never justified-it was putting an end to human life. He left the seminary and became engulfed in the protests and the research-he would protest and be arrested until there was no longer a need to protest abortion.
The abortion argument came to a head in the 80's when Sam and Lou DeFeo wrote a bill that was passed by the Missouri state Senate and the House. It became a Missouri law in 1986. The bill stated that public funds may not be used for abortions and public employees may assist in abortions. The bill also stated that life begins at conception, unborn children have interests that should be protected and the parents of an unborn child have protected interests in the child. But that's only the beginning. The bill says that unborn children at any stage of development should have the same rights of all of other people. This was the first attempt to reverse the ruling of Roe vs. Wade, and it seemed well on its way.
One month before the law took effect, a lawsuit was filed against the bill by Frank Susman. He approached Judy, who had been fighting for almost 30 years for the woman's right to choose, and she was hesitant to join the lawsuit. She was tired of the fight, but she couldn't turn her back on this lawsuit-this one was too dangerous to reproductive health. The judge in that suit came back in 1987 declaring that every provision in the bill was unconstitutional. In 1989, the law suit went to the U.S. Supreme Court for appeal and the justices left Roe vs. Wade alone. The problem with this ruling is the vagueness of the language in the ruling-saying that parts of Roe needed to be more defined, but that it needs to be argued for years to come. When I read the ruling in this book, I really didn't understand exactly what it meant. It almost seemed like the judges had very definite opinions, but they were all different from each other.
After reading this book, I was more affirmed in my own opinions of abortion. It was really interesting to read the other side of the argument. There's no arguing that at life begins at conception-just like a every cell in our body is life, so is a zygote. However, the foundation of my belief in the pro-choice movement lies in the belief that a woman has the right to decide if a fetus should be born. One of the best bumper stickers I've seen about abortion is "Don't like abortion? Don't have one." A woman deserves the choice, that's it-PERIOD.

Written in 1998, and criticized for stopping its retelling of the abortion story in the U.S. several years before that, Articles of Faith is nevertheless still an important book and may be increasingly so if the abortion debate heats up again now that George W. Bush is President. A completely even handed retelling of the history of the abortion debate in the U.S. from the 1960's through the 1990's told through the lives of dedicated partisans of both sides. Yet the author tells this story with sympathy to both sides. Its hard to read this book, your emotions swing from side to side in the debate as Gorney shifts her focus from chapter to chapter from pro choice to pro life. Each side is presented forcefully, but not stridently. Its an excellent book.

Once in a while, there's a rare book that'll smack you in the noggin, grab you by the lapels and scream, "This is how it really is! Now learn something!"

Articles of Faith is one of those books. You'll learn abortion is never nearly so clear cut as "either side" would have you believe; you'll see how each side's arguments, legal status, movements and, later, extremism are developed. But most importantly, you get the honest truth about what it's all really about, or not about. Despite the serious of the issue, I was never even able to get a glimmer of what Gorney's own view is of abortion. It's not simply objective; it never fails to delve into the details of each side, while coming up with an occasional fresh insight.

I own the last edition and find it invaluable in my practice. Can't wait to see what's new and exciting here

The Labor Progress Handbook, though a bit pricey, is an excellent book. It contains a tons of labor information and is complete with many illustrations. It's a nice compact size, which makes it easy to carry with you (great for doulas, midwives, etc.). I love it!

This book is wonderfully full of information, however, as it is called a "handbook", I expected it to be more concise, and so more quickly usable in a labor setting - more of a quick reference book. It is more of a textbook than a handbook. I think I've read everything that Penny Simkin has had published. I am a fan of her writings, just disappointed that this was not more concise.

Having labored with three babies who presented posterior and caused long hard labors, I have looked for information after each one. After the second baby delivered posterior, and I became pregnant with my third, I came across this book. Reading it two or three times before my delivery, I had it almost memorized and used a lot of the suggestions from it. The third delivery (thanks to help from this book and my doctor) we were able to turn the baby. I can't credit the book entirely since my doctor had to manually turn the baby's head, but I do think the positioning and activities the book suggested were half the victory. I wish all birth professionals would read and reread the book.

It's clear that the book is writen for professionals because of the jargon, and in my opinion every professional should read it! I am on my way to become a doula and unfortunately this book is not on the required reading list, I think it should be. It is an important tool for when labor doesn't progress 'as it should', and offers options and ideas to try before the drugs and machines are introduced to speed up labor are introduced.

This book has been edited skillfully. It contains highly readable articles and essays, especially on population issues.

As one of those whose writing is included in this anthology, I must say that I feel very proud indeed. My partisanship aside, I speak as a veteran journalist and author: this is a must-read work of journalism--especially for young journalists and general audiences.

I have read The Earth Times for almost a decade now--ever since it was started--and have always been impressed by the newspaper's imaginative coverage of global and local environmental issues. Now some of the best reporting has been put into an anthology, and I must say that the advance copy I received was a sheer delight--a book to savor.

This books represents an imaginative selection of reportage from the pages of The Earth Times, the leading independent international newspaper on the business of the human environment. There are wonderful dispatches from all corners of the world, particularly developing countries.

I have always found The Earth Times to be a wonderful newspaper covering such critical issues as population, the environment and sustainable human development. This book now gathers together some of the finest articles that have appeared in the newspaper over the last decade. It is highly recommended reading for diplomats, policymakers, students, teachers--everyone who has a stake in the way we live and how our common future is being shaped.

Anne Baker's book is a comprehensive and useful information source. It belongs on the reference shelf of every abortion provider and every person who counsels women considering abortion.

Anne Baker's book is a comprehensive and useful information source. It belongs on the reference shelf of every abortion provider and every person who counsels women considering abortion.

Anne Baker's book, " Abortion and Options Counseling " is a well constructed text which covers this complex and controversial topic in a well thought out manner. Her approach to counselling issues has been a valuable addition to our already comprehensive library of abortion medicine texts and has proven to be an extermely useful tool for counsellors and clients at our Planned Parenthood of Australia clinics. It should be a must read for all in the abortion health care field.

Dr David Grundmann, Medical Director, Planned Parenthood of Australia, President of the International Society of Abortion Doctors

I have worked in an abortion clinic for over twenty years and Anne Baker's work is required reading for all new counselors on our staff. In addition her book is an excellent resource for the seasoned counselor. Her expertise and sensitivity in dealing with a host of patient issues relating to abortion becomes apparent in the first few pages of this manual. She also manages to provide useful guidelines to help clinic staff deal with the special stresses involved in working in an abortion clinic.

Anne Baker's, "Abortion and Options Counseling", turns out to be an absolutely marvelous encyclopedia of her interaction with women undergoing termination of pregnancy. Her manual can serve both as a guide for the implimemtation and initiation of abortion counseling services for the office or a physician addressing the initiation of abortion services. On the other hand, the detailed attention to "clients who pose a challenge" and to the Fetal Indications Termination of Pregnancy patients can be a resource for offices and physicians who handle these very uniquie and specialized sitations..

This book reflects expertise, caring, and understanding of these difficult circumstances that some women experience..

I read The Belated Baby in one sitting often with tears in my eyes. Reading it felt like sitting with a good friend who has felt the pain and disappointment all women feel who have struggled with infertility. As a hopeful, waiting adoptive mother-to-be, I found it particularly helpful in foreshadowing what may come after our much longed for baby finally arrives. In one excerpt the author describes herself sitting in a coffee shop when an expectant mom comes in and sits beside her. When the author feels her body stiffen but her heart soften, I felt hopeful that someday I too will feel that brand of genuine joy for the happiness of other women. Knowing that it is normal for the disappointment of infertility to persist even after the baby arrives is a good lesson and reading the book before parenthood for the still childless couple is a great way to prepare for the emotions that are sure to remain even after children. Those of us who are infertile are going to walk again someday, and the arrival of a baby helps us to do that, but most of us will always walk with just a little limp---it's the battle wound of what it took for us to get there. The book was hopeful and sensible and validates every feeling I have as someone who cannot create children. A must read.

Anyone who has dealt with infertility or adoption should read this book, it is excellent! I just loved it

I had tears in my eyes while reading most of this book. What a comfort to read about the struggles, frustrations, and (belated) elation of other women.

Infertility is a long, lonely struggle and one that emotionally numbed me to core. I feel blessed to have my children, but have lost myself in the process. The authors assuaged my guilt and gave me the stepping stones to find my way back.

This book is a "must read" for anyone that has ever taken the long, winding path to parenthood.

Loved this book. It covers the many stages that couples may go through as they struggle with infertility. The first-person accounts of couples who experienced or are experiencing infertility are encouraging, funny, poignant, and honest. Many different experiences are documented including fertility drugs, IVF, surrogacy, and domestic and international adoption. The authors offer a frank and straightforward discussion of these issues...a discussion only made more insightful by their own experiences with what can be an alternately heartbreaking and joyful journey.

The Belated Baby: A Guide to Parenting After Infertility
As a licensed psychotherapist, I have counseled couples struggling with infertility, miscarriages, fertility treatment, surrogacy and adoption decisions. It's a long, painful road. Couples who ache to have their own children struggle with the mystifying lack of success, the difficult processes of infertility treatment, the ups and downs of hormone treatment, and the grief and frustration of trying and failing, over and over again. When they finally do achieve their dream of parenthood, the longed-for experience is colored by their painful history. The Belated Baby is written by women who have been there, and it pulls no punches; but it manages to be encouraging and helpful at the same time. The quotes from couples and individuals who are going through the struggle, and those who have been successful, through many different means, are instructive, supportive and encouraging. This is a survivor's handbook, which will be of tremendous value to any parents on this journey.