Taking Charge of Your Fertility, 10th Anniversary Edition: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health

I feel compelled to write a review of "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" because this book has really helped me. It was recommended by a friend who had some problems conceiving. First, I have to say that I bought this book on November 16, I immediately started reading it and charting my fertiliy signs using the charts provided in the book (which is incredibly easy and quick to do, and kind of fun, too), and by DECEMBER 13 I had a positive pregnancy test and now am about 8 weeks along! Not kidding!! I can't really give this book full credit for getting me pregnant, because it really was due to me and my husband taking the information we learned and applying it. But what this awesome book did was give me a wealth of information about how to interpret what was going on with my cycle and my body and gave me more confidence in my ability to conceive. The other thing I love about it is that it gave me a sense of control over something that most women often feel very little control over, especially those having trouble conceiving. This book made me realize that I know more about my own body than any doctor ever will, and it was very powerful for me to realize that I already have the tools for understanding what is going on with my cycle already naturally built in. I honestly thought that it would take much longer to conceive based on several factors, one of which was my irregular cycle (I had been charting just my periods and ovulation predictor sticks for 6 months prior to reading the book), but by applying what I learned from the book, I discovered that I ovulate almost a week AFTER the "traditional" Day 14 that most literature (and even my doctor) tells you. The information I learned about charting basal body temperature is what led me to take a pregnancy test when my temperature stayed elevated when it should have gone down, and I found out about my pregnancy at just 4 weeks along. I was also able to know exactly when I conceived and that my due date is actually one week earlier than the due date determined by the standard 40-week pregnancy wheel that my doctor used (this was confirmed when I had a dating ultrasound!). I cannot say enough good things about this book. It is also not just for trying to get pregnant, it can also be used for avoiding pregnancy naturally, and also covers womens health topics for all ages, including menopause. I am 34 years old and am amazed at what little I really knew about my fertility and monthly cycle prior to this. Before I bought the book, I had friends recommending that I buy things like a $200 fertility monitor, but I am so glad that I waited and decided to really educate myself first. That made all the difference and I believe it saved me a LOT of time and money. If you are having trouble conceiving or understanding your cycle, or even if you are starting out with trying to have a baby, I would highly recommend this book.

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.UPDATE 2014: Our son was born in 2012, thanks to understanding my cycles. I was ovulating, but not getting pregnant despite an effective timing of ovulation and intercourse. As a result, I was able to see a doctor and have some thyroid and hormonal issues addressed. They didn't try giving me ovulation-inducing drugs, because we could see from my charts that ovulation was not the problem; something else was. I conceived a few months after treatment for those issues. We have now used the FAM method after my son's birth, to help plan our second child.

Es un libro que toda mujer debe de leer, me tarde mucho es descubrirlo. Da excelente explicación de cómo funciona nuestro cuerpo y entender todo lo relacionado con nuestra fertilidad. Me gusta tenerlo en físico para poder consultarlo cuando tenga dudas cosa que en el kindle no sería tan sencillo.

This book is an eyeopener for everyone. It made me figure out that the female cycle is quite different to what they teach you at school. It talks mainly about the temperature method but ever since reading the book and using the methods my life has completely changed. I absolutely love this book and reccomend it to anyone, if struggling with fertility, wanting to learn more about it or when looking for natural prevention methods.The method works great on me after I had been diagnosed with PCOS and was told I will always have issues with my fertility. It's an absolutely great read and you learn more about your body than you thought you knew.

Me ayudó a dejar de tomar la píldora y a conocer mejor a mi propio cuerpo. Ya me preocupo menos cuando noto cosas que anteriormente no entendía. Creo que es un libro que deben leer todas las mujeres.La autora basa todo en investigaciones y en sus experiencias y las de otras mujeres. Utiliza un lenguaje que es fácil seguir y muchas veces es divertido.(Esta versión está en inglés)

I was told about this book during my reasearches about alternative ways of birth control, when I wanted to quit the pill. I learnt a lot in this book and recommend it, for the birth control method or/and only for self-knowledge, to every woman or man who is interested in fertility./Je suis tombée sur ce livre au cours de mes recherches sur une méthode de contraception naturelle, au moment où j'arrêtais la pilule. J'y ai appris beaucoup et donc le recommande, pour la méthode de contraception et/ou l'apprentissage de son propre fonctionnement, à tout homme ou femme qui est curieux au sujet de la fertilité.

Amazing book! Changed my life...I do wish i knew about it sooner..something to cherish and to share with other females around you..I owe a lot to it...