Taking Charge of Your Fertility: 20th Anniversary Edition School & Library Binding – 7 July 2015

After trying to get pregnant for 7 months and getting very frustrated i seen this book recommended in the comments section of two blogs within one week, having never heard of it before seemed a very good sign. My husband and I had already been to the Doctors to have blood tests for any hormone deficiencies and a sperm test and both came back clear, so knew we had no obvious reasons as to why we weren't conceiving and would have to wait another 5 months to be referred to a specialist for any further tests. I read many of the comments of reviewers and decided it couldn't hurt ( i also bought a BabyMad thermometer that i think cost £5 and came with a temperature chart). The book is very informative and written in a very easy to read format. The first month things seemed to be all over the place (it didn't help that we went on holiday and a very different time zone which as the book says plays havoc with your cycle), It originally looked like my cervical mucus and ovulation were completely out of sinc but once i got to the end of the month i could identify roughly when i had ovulated, but as i say everything was all over the place because of traveling. Unsurprisingly this month ended with a period- no change there!!! But next month i was vigilant about making sure i got up and took my temperature at the same time ever morning and wrote done all changes in mucus type, had sex about 5 times over about 10 days (too much info sorry) and waited. I plotted this months temperatures on a Excel graph once i was about 3 weeks in and this showed more clearly that i had ovulated and had sex on at least three occasions during the 'right' times (this matched with the changes in mucus as well). I wasn't hoping for much this month, just thought i would be in a good position to know exactly when to have sex next month, but once i got to 16 high temperatures i got a little excited and then on 19 days of highs i done a test and it was POSITIVE!!!!! It's very very early days but 7 months of nothing and then on second month of tracking temperature and mucus and a positive test i am very happy. I think if i hadn't read this book we would still be waiting and getting even more frustrated. For what it costs it is definitely worth trying, if nothing else you learn an awful lot about your body that nobody else ever tells you. Good luck to anyone struggling, it is very frustrating, especially when as soon as you are everyone around you seems to already be pregnant.

I absolutely loved this book and feel that it will be a life changer for me. I read Chapters 1-12 intensely, making sure I understood the basic principles and details. It wasn't hard to do as the writing was very simple and easy to follow. I never felt overwhelmed with medical terminology and I was so interested in this subject that I couldn't put it down. I couldn't believe how little I knew about women's bodies and systems!I then read the following chapters that applied to me or I took an interest in, but I would recommend avoiding skipping over anything in Chapters 1-12 as it will help you understand everything else in the book.I have been married for almost a year now and when I first got married I had discussed with my husband the possibilities of using invasive, expensive and long term birth control options (the IUD or the implant). The only thing I was considering was the convience of these options compared with the pill which I was on for about 10 years. He actually convinced me not to undergo any of these procedures because: a. we didn't know the negative side effects they could have on my body, b. how they would affect our ability to conceive when we were ready, and c. the costs. We decided to use condoms and I am actually very grateful that I didn't go to those extremes for birth control.I don't know if I would have been interested in this book or method earlier in my life, due to immaturity and not being in a long term committed relationship (the birth control method suggested in the book is not suited for adolescents or people not in an std concious, monogamous relationship) .At this stage in my life it was exactly what I was looking for. A lot of information I found on the web about natural birth control was very religious orientated and I was not interested in that at all. This book does not force any religious ethos but is aware that a lot of religions may benefit from FAM (Fetility Awareness Method).I will be using this book for birth control and in a few years, pregnancy achievement. Many of the chapters in the book are relevant for women of all ages and I will definitely teach any future daughters to be aware of how their bodies operate so they can gain confidence in their knowledge.I cannot wait to begin charting my cycles and the book also has an accompanying website where you can join the forums and get advice from other readers. I definitely recommend this book!