| Part 1 | Getting Ready for Pregnancy | 14 |
| Chapter 1 | Lifestyle and healthy habits for fertility | 15 |
| Exercise | 16 |
| The evidence for exercise | |
| Exercise and weight | |
| Athletes and fertility | |
| Getting started | |
| Weight | 19 |
| Why it matters | |
| Managing weight | |
| Sleep | 24 |
| Sleep and, your overali health | |
| Nightshifts and fertility | |
| Stress | 26 |
| Your body and stress | |
| Fertility and stress | |
| Sex and stress | |
| Alcohol, tobacco and other toxins | 29 |
| Alcohol | |
| Tobacco | |
| Marijuana | |
| Other recreational drugs | |
| Environmental exposures | |
| Diet | 35 |
| Chapter 2 | Healthy eating for conception | 36 |
| Is there a "fertility diet?" | 36 |
| Carbohydrates: Natural, not processed | 37 |
| Simple and complex carbs | |
| Carbs and blood sugar | |
| Carbs and fertility | |
| Dietary fats: Go for good fats | 40 |
| Avoid trans fats | |
| Healthier daily habits | |
| Protein: Eat more beans and nuts | 41 |
| Make a protein plan | |
| Dairy: Creamier is better | 43 |
| Caffeine and conception | 44 |
| Focus on your health | 46 |
| Chapter 3 | Additional preparations | 47 |
| Going off birth control | 47 |
| Medications and supplements | 48 |
| Prenatal vitamins | 50 |
| Prescription vs. over-the-counter | |
| Vaccinations | 50 |
| Vaccines during pregnancy | |
| Vaccines and fertility | |
| Chronic medical conditions | 54 |
| Genetic tests | 55 |
| Take heart | 57 |
| Chapter 4 | Producing healthy sperm | 58 |
| Sperm health and fertility | 58 |
| Quantity | |
| Structure | |
| Movement | |
| How to improve sperm health | 60 |
| Maintain a healthy weight | |
| Eat a healthy diet | |
| Exercise | |
| Manage stress Prevent and treat infections | |
| What to avoid | 65 |
| Chapter 5 | Family-building options for single and LGBTQ+ parents | 67 |
| Single parents | 68 |
| Women without a male partner | |
| Men without a female partner | |
| Same-sex couples | 70 |
| Female couples | |
| Male couples | |
| Transgender and gender-diverse parents | 74 |
| Transgender men | |
| Transgender women | |
| Adoption and third-party reproduction | |
| Part 2 | How To Get Pregnant | 77 |
| Chapter 6 | How babies are made | 78 |
| Reproductive organs | 78 |
| The female reproductive system | |
| The male reproductive system | |
| Ovulation | 80 |
| Fertilization | 82 |
| Implantation | 83 |
| Pregnancy | 84 |
| Multiple babies | 85 |
| Chapter 7 | Ovulation and your fertility window | 88 |
| Your menstrual cycle | 88 |
| The follicular phase: Prep time | |
| The ovulatory phase: Go time | |
| The luteal phase: Resolution time | |
| Your fertility window | 90 |
| Use a calendar | |
| Monitor your temperature | |
| Watch for cervical changes | |
| Putting it all together | |
| Apps, devices and other products that can help | 94 |
| Ovulation predictor kits | |
| Fertility monitors | |
| Apps and wearable tech | |
| Other devices | |
| Don't be afraid to seek help | 99 |
| Chapter 8 | Tips for increased odds of success | 100 |
| Plan ahead | 100 |
| Know your window | 101 |
| Finding your window | |
| What to know about frequency | |
| Forget about positions and routines | 104 |
| Avoid most lubricants | 104 |
| Have fun | 105 |
| Frequent sex and semen quality | |
| Don't forget about the rest of your relationship | |
| Chapter 9 | Are you pregnant? | 106 |
| Early signs and symptoms | 106 |
| Tender, swollen breasts | |
| Fatigue | |
| Slight bleeding or cramping | |
| Nausea with or without vomiting | |
| Food aversions or cravings | |
| Increased urination | |
| Headaches and dizziness | |
| Mood swings | |
| Raised basal body temperature | |
| Home pregnancy tests | 108 |
| Reading the results | |
| Test accuracy | |
| Follow-up blood test | |
| When to see a healthcare professional | 109 |
| Bleeding | |
| Emergency symptoms | |
| Miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy | |
| Chapter 10 | Pregnancy loss and ectopic pregnancy | 112 |
| Miscarriage | 112 |
| Signs and symptoms | |
| Causes | |
| Getting medical attention | |
| Recovery | |
| Recurrent pregnancy loss | 117 |
| Causes | |
| Evaluation | |
| Treatment | |
| Ectopic pregnancy | 119 |
| Signs and symptoms | |
| Treatment | |
| Future pregnancies | |
| Recovery after pregnancy loss | 121 |
| Emotional recovery | |
| Physical recovery | |
| Part 3 | Common Fertility Problems | 126 |
| Chapter 11 | Age, fertility and pregnancy | 127 |
| Female reproductive life span | 128 |
| Female fertility and age | 129 |
| Fertility over the years | |
| What about today? | |
| Related risks | |
| Pregnancy loss | |
| Chromosomal abnormalities | |
| Other complications | |
| Male fertility and age | 134 |
| Effect on pregnancy rates | |
| Health of aging sperm | |
| Related risks | |
| When to seek help | 140 |
| Chapter 12 | Guide to fertility problems | 142 |
| Ovulation and female hormone issues | 143 |
| Thyroid prob!ems | |
| Elevated prolactin | |
| Hypothalamic dysfunction | |
| Polycystic ovary syndrome | |
| Premature ovarian insufficiency | |
| Luteal phase deficiency | |
| Female structural and anatomical issues | 150 |
| Fallopian tube damage or blockage | |
| Endometriosis | |
| Adenomyosis | |
| Uterine conditions | |
| Congenital abnormalities | |
| Cervical narrowing or blockage | |
| Sperm problems | 161 |
| What causes a low sperm count? | |
| When there's no sperm | |
| Male structural and anatomical issues | 164 |
| Varicoceles | |
| Undescended testicles | |
| Sperm duct abnormalities | |
| Hypospadias | |
| Tumors | |
| Male hormone imbalances | 168 |
| Primary hypogonadism | |
| Secondary hypogonadism | |
| Ejaculation issues | 171 |
| Retrograde ejaculation and anejaculation | |
| Erectile dysfunction | |
| Male chromosome defects | 173 |
| Evaluating infertility: A summary | 174 |
| Unexplained infertility | 175 |
| Part 4 | When You Need Some Help | 176 |
| Chapter 13 | Seeing a doctor | 177 |
| When to see a doctor | 177 |
| Whom should you see? | |
| What to expect | 180 |
| Medical history | |
| Physical exam | |
| Fertility tests | |
| Fertility tests | 182 |
| Semen analysis | |
| Scrotal ultrasound | |
| Ovulation tests | |
| Ovarian reserve tests | |
| Uterine and fallopian tube tests | |
| Hormone tests | |
| Keeping a positive outlook | 192 |
| Chapter 14 | Medications | 193 |
| Many options | 194 |
| Fertility medications | 195 |
| Clomiphene | |
| Aromatase inhibitors | |
| Gonadotropins | |
| Human chorionic gonadotropin | |
| Metformin | |
| Medications for specific conditions | 199 |
| Chapter 15 | Fertility-related surgeries | 201 |
| Surgery options to treat infertility | 201 |
| Fibroids | 202 |
| Uterine polyps | 203 |
| Endometriosis | 203 |
| Adenomyosis | 204 |
| Müllerian anomalies | 205 |
| Esthmocele | 205 |
| Asherman's syndrome | 206 |
| Obstruction of the fallopian tubes | 206 |
| Hydrosalpinx | |
| Tubal ligation reversal | |
| Varicocele | 207 |
| Obstruction of the epididymis or ejaculatory tract | 207 |
| Vasectomy reversal | 208 |
| Looking ahead | 209 |
| Chapter 16 | Reproductive assistance: IUI and IVF | 210 |
| Intrauterine insemination | 210 |
| Why do IUI? | |
| How IUI works | |
| After the procedure | |
| Risks | |
| Assisted reproductive technology | 214 |
| The first IVF babies | |
| IVF today | |
| How IVF works | 217 |
| Superovulation | |
| Egg retrieval | |
| Sperm collection or retrieval | |
| Fertilization | |
| Embryo transfer | |
| Freezing extra embryos | |
| Risks of IVF | |
| Alternative ART methods | 233 |
| Zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZFT) | |
| Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) | |
| Assisted hatching | |
| Preimplantation genetic testing | |
| Financial costs of ART | 234 |
| The success of ART | 236 |
| Extra embryos | |
| Understanding IVF failure | 239 |
| Treating infertility: A summary | 240 |
| Chapter 17 | Third-party reproduction | 242 |
| Donor eggs | 243 |
| Do you need donor eggs? | |
| How egg donation works | |
| Donor sperm | 246 |
| Do you need donor sperm? | |
| How donor sperm works | |
| Donor embryos | 248 |
| Gestational carriers and surrogates | 248 |
| Do you need a gestational carrier? | |
| How gestational carriers work | |
| Selecting a donor or carrier | 250 |
| Egg donor | |
| Sperm donor | |
| Gestational carrier | |
| Directed donor or carrier | |
| Costs and contracts | 255 |
| Donor sperm | |
| Donor eggs | |
| Donor embryos | |
| Gestational carriers | |
| Directed donors | |
| Take your time | 257 |
| Part 5 | Support And Special Considerations | 258 |
| Chapter 18 | Coping and support for infertility | 259 |
| Stress and infertility | 260 |
| Causes of stress | |
| Sexual dysfunction | |
| Coping techniques | 263 |
| Support groups and counseling | |
| Other coping techniques | |
| Chapter 19 | Fertility preservation | 269 |
| Reasons for fertility preservation | 269 |
| Cancer | |
| Other medical conditions | |
| Personal reasons | |
| Seeing a specialist | 271 |
| Options for people with ovarian tissue | 272 |
| Embryo cryopreservation | |
| Egg cryopreservation | |
| Ovarian tissue freezing | |
| Radiation shielding | |
| Ovarian transposition | |
| Conization and radical trachelec?omy | |
| Options for people with testicular tissue | 276 |
| Sperm cryo preservation | |
| Radiation shielding | |
| Looking forward | 278 |
| Chapter 20 | Other options | 279 |
| When to consider alternatives | 279 |
| Deciding with a partner | |
| Adoption | 281 |
| Issues to consider | |
| Selecting an adoption resource | |
| How to begin the process | |
| Forums and support groups | |
| Child-free living | 288 |
| Facts about child-free living | |
| The benefits of child-free living | |
| Other ways to get involved with children | |
| Finding support | 285 |
| Additional resources | 286 |
| Index | 287 |
