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Taking Charge of Your Fertility, 10th Anniversary Edition: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health by Toni Weschler
Book Summary InformationAuthor: Toni Weschler Edition: Paperback Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published) Published: 2006-10-31 ISBN: 0060881909 Number of pages: 512 Publisher: Collins
Book Reviews of Taking Charge of Your Fertility, 10th Anniversary Edition: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive HealthBook Review: Balanced and Effective approach to Au Natural Family Planning Summary: 5 Stars
I have spent 5 years of marriage using this method to AVOID pregnancy. My mom used this method for 25 years of marriage, both to conceive (5 kids) and avoid conceiving. Three of her five pregnancies were planned. The other two - one was conceived less than 2 mths after another was born, and my mom didn't know you could conceive so early while still breastfeeding. The other unexpected was conceived while my mom was fasting (juice only) for a week, because fasting throws off your body temp!
This book is an enclopedia of the female reproductive system, but it's easy reading. With this method, it doesn't matter how unusual your cycles are - mine range from 30 to 120 days.
Other methods of natural planning are very narrow-minded: The "rhythm" method relies on counting days only. The Billings method relies only on cervical fluid. Typical NFP relies only on waking "basal" body temperatures. This book teaches you about all three, and how they work together to help you predict ovulation and understand your unique body and cycles.
If you don't think you're organized enough for natural family planning, because of the temperature and charting, DON'T LET THAT STOP YOU! (You still have to be organized enough to know where your pills are and take them every day!). The benefits are SO worth it.
The book does not set out to slam any un-natural type of birth control, it just helps you understand your body. However, the potential side effects of un-natural birth control are SO much more than the medical field will tell you (birth-defects, miscarriages, irritability, depression, emotional instability, and even unplanned pregnancies!) - I have sisters and friends that can attest to EACH of the above. Also, the hormones that stimulate ovulation also create HAPPY moods (including being amorous), like the opposite of PMS! If you are on the pill, you will never get this happy time of the month, because it is cutting off those hormones - but you do get to keep PMS!
ALSO HIGHLY RECOMMEND Fertility, Cycles and Nutrition by Marilyn Shannon. Addresses ways to manage fertility and balance feminine issues using nutrition, vitamin, herbal supplements, weight management, and more. Totally different subject than Taking Charge... but highly necessary. Get them both together.
UPDATE 2010: My husband and I have effectively used the NFP methods described in this book to avoid pregnancy for eight years. NFP is effective as long as you actually USE it. People you have heard of who accidentally got pregnant on NFP weren't using it properly, I can pretty much guarantee you. Now that we are using it to try to start a family, I feel really confident knowing my body so well, and understanding ovulation and fertility.
Summary of Taking Charge of Your Fertility, 10th Anniversary Edition: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive HealthCelebrating 10 years of helping hundreds of thousands of women achieve pregnancy, avoid pregnancy naturally, and gain better control of their health and lives, the 10th Anniversary Edition of the classic bestseller will include: ? New 'Preface to the 10th Anniversary Edition" ? Updates on new fertility technologies ? Natural approaches to conception ? Updated Resources and Books For any woman unhappy with her current method of birth control; demoralized by her quest to have a baby; or experiencing confusing symptoms in her cycle, this book provides answers to all these questions, plus amazing insights into a woman's body. Weschler thoroughly explains the empowering Fertility Awareness Method, which in only a couple minutes a day allows a woman to: ? Enjoy highly effective, scientifically proven birth control without chemicals or devices ? Maximize her chances of conception or expedite fertility treatment by identifying impediments to conception ? Increase the likelihood of choosing the gender of her baby ? Gain control of her sexual and gynecological health This comprehensive book explains in lucid, assured terms how to practice the fertility awareness method (FAM), a natural, scientifically proven but little-known form of birth control (which is not to be confused with the woefully ineffective "rhythm" method). Author Toni Weschler has been teaching fertility awareness for almost 20 years, and it's only just now gaining in popularity. As the book explains, by using simple fertility signs including peaks in morning body temperature and changes in cervical position and cervical mucus, it's possible to determine when ovulation is taking place. Fertility awareness is therefore useful for not only couples who are trying to conceive, but for those who are aiming to avoid pregnancy without the use of chemical contraceptives. It will be of special interest to those women who have suffered from infertility; many FAM practitioners have told the author that by filling in the detailed charts in the book, they've realized that they were chronically miscarrying, even when their doctors told them they weren't conceiving at all. As the book explains, by charting body temperature, it's simple to tell when pregnancy has occurred--and when there's danger of miscarriage. Taking Charge of Your Fertility also explains how to choose the sex of your baby by timing intercourse according to certain fertility signs. It also features thorough, easy-to-understand explanations of hormones, the menstrual cycle, and menopause, along with fertility tests and treatments and their long- and short-term side effects, plus a topnotch resource section. Recommended for any woman who wants to better understand her body. --Erica Jorgensen
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