Making a Baby: Everything You Need to Know to Get Pregnant »

Debra Fulghum Bruce is a medical writer and author of sixty books on health and wellness, including The Sinus Cure and The Fibromyalgia Handbook.

You may have waited a long time. You may have tried and tried.
Now your chances of having a baby are better than ever!

There have been remarkable advances in fertility technology and choices in the last few years, with pregnancy success rates skyrocketing. Now Making a Baby provides the information you need to become your most fertile—and increase your chances for having the baby you've always wanted. Up-to-date, comprehensive, written with compassion and clarity, this book reveals how to protect, increase, and extend your fertility, with essential information on:

- The optimal frequency, timing, and sexual positions for getting pregnant
- Surprising new findings on which foods and exercise programs boost fertility—and which ones actually decrease your chances
- Advances in baby-boosting medications—and a complete assessment of risks, costs, and alternatives
- Breakthrough medical techniques that help achieve pregnancy without the risk of multiples
- Avoiding the common—and often hidden—threats to fertility at work, at home, and in public places
- Choosing the A.R.T. (assisted reproductive technology) that's right for you
- Special issues for midlife mothers
- What every man should know about his long-term reproductive health
- How to minimize emotional stress and keep your relationship strong
- How to work with your HMO to get the right treatments—at the right cost

This detailed, insightful, and meticulously researched book will help guide you to a wonderful new beginning as a parent!

Publishers Weekly

According to authors Bruce (a prolific health writer) and Thatcher (a reproductive endocrinologist), five to eight million couples in the U.S. currently experience difficulties conceiving a baby. To assist them, and others who may confront the prospect of infertility in the near future, Bruce and Thatcher present a comprehensive examination of the options and technologies available today. From "conception 101" to cutting-edge procedures, this clearly written book guides couples through the causes of infertility and the options available to counteract it. While stressing that certain problems can't be controlled (a parent's age or an inherited disorder, for instance), the authors claim that there has "never been a better time than now to get pregnant." Along with familiar "BMTs" (baby making tips), such as the best positions for conception, they offer a wide range of practical information--including which sexual lubricants may actually interfere with sperm motility, which over-the-counter medications to avoid and how excessive exercise can adversely affect fertility. Lifestyle issues (use of alcohol, nicotine and drugs) as well as environmental and workplace hazards are discussed, with the focus on ways to promote the health of both parents even before conception. The causes and treatments of infertility in men as well as women are covered in depth, making this a valuable volume for both wanna-be parents. Lucidly explicating new and complicated medical procedures, the text helps couples decide on which ART (assisted reproductive technology) may be right for them. This is an essential guide for infertile couples hoping to beat the clock. Also included is a useful appendix of medical acronyms and glossary. (July) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|