Product Description
After seven years of tests and more tests, treatments and more treatments, Elizabeth Swire-Falker understands what it means to struggle with infertility. In this frank, reassuring, and thoroughly researched handbook, she shares her own personal experience and offers insight into what challenges to expect along the way-from getting support to finding the right doctor xto dealing with insurance. She helps readers: € Navigate the maze of infertility tests and treatments € Handle the financial strain and marital stress that accompany the treatments € Formulate questions to ask doctors and nurses and learn to be their own advocate for good medical care € Understand the options: -IUIs -IVF -traditional adoption -embryo adoption -donor eggs -gestational surrogacy -the virtues of living child-free Swire-Falker will tell readers straight-as only a best girlfriend will. This is the only guide anyone will need for navigating such a difficult course.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 43 reviews)

Good info but very negative by cmf9903

2 Stars
October 19, 2009
I thought this book contained good information on infertility, particularly IVF. However, I felt it was unnecessarily negative and its primary purpose seemed to be to induce fear. While I am all for telling it like it is, the author seems to focus too much on the negative aspects of the process. You finish the book with more worries than you started with, rather than feeling good about the decision you made. Certainly everyone reacts to this situation differently but the level of complaining seemed a little excessive. There are other books out there with the same good information where the author tells it like it is without all the negativity.

FINALLY a book that speaks to me!!! by STP (New York, NY USA)

5 Stars
May 29, 2009
In the bizarre and complicated world of ART, this book comes as a blessing. Ms. Swire Falker's book should be a bible for anyone going through any infertility process. It should be given out to family members to help educate them. Ms. Swire Falker covers everything that you will need to know from the financial to the emotional to the physcial and does so with a refreshing down-to-Earth honesty that makes you thankful you found this book. She also provide an in-depth reference section that I found most helpful. My only regret is not finding this book sooner!!! Kudos to Ms. Swire Falker for championing the fight to break down society's shame label that is associated with infertility!!!!

A must read for anyone undergoing (or considering) fertility treatment by Anonymous (Washington, D.C.)

5 Stars
April 16, 2009
This is a fantastic resource for anyone undergoing (or considering) fertility treatment. It offers an abundance of useful technical information, written in a way that is very easy to understand. I read most of the book before my first appointment with an RE and am so glad that I did. I felt prepared for the consultation and I think it would have been unbearably overwhelming if I didn't know what to expect during the visit and was clueless about the different treatment options. The visit went smoothly and I felt ready to talk to the doctor, ask questions and make treatment decisions. As I begin my treatment, I have been referring back to this back often. At the same time, the book also offers some levity and humor at a time when you really need it. Because it is written from a patient perspective (but she does consult with doctors so you can trust that the medical information is accurate) it is easy to relate to her experience, and I have found comfort in that. Overall a great resource!

Do not buy if you are dealing with male infertility. by F.O. (USA)

2 Stars
December 08, 2008
This book was a good book and very informative. However if you are dealing with male infertility this book is not for you. It is very informative when it comes to ivf procedures but there are very few chapters you'll benefit from. The author tells her own struggles with infertility. Her struggles were all related to egg production and endometriosis. Her husband did have a few problems when with shape of sperm, but it did not pose a problem. She does talk about adoption as well.

From Endometriosis Patient Perspective by a reader (Northern VA, USA)

4 Stars
November 30, 2008
Imagine having a conversation with an informed and smart support group member with stage IV endo who has been through numerous IUIs, three laparoscopies, and five IVF cycles. Elizabeth Swire Falker knows what it's like to deal with infertility. The Infertility Survival Handbook Everything You Never Thought You'd Need to Know is written from the patient's perspective, and it's written well, which makes it an easy and fast read. Despite its name, this book is more moral support than a comprehensive reference on infertility or endometriosis. It's a one-person support group that can be immensely emotionally helpful for someone undergoing infertility treatment; I found the book useful, comforting, and uplifting. There is a chapter devoted to endo. The author recognizes a genetic component to endometriosis and notes that a few women in her family also had endo, but the chapter itself is short. In other parts of the book, the author talks about her experiences with surgeries for endometriosis and mentions that changes in diet have helped her. But, there is no material on how to increase your chances for a successful surgery by choosing an experienced endo surgeon nor there is any mention of the Endometriosis Association. There is, however, a very good chapter about how to find a good Reproductive Endocrinologist or infertility clinic. So, my main and probably only major complaint is that it is not as a comprehensive reference on infertility as I had expected from a book containing the word "everything" in its title. When I experienced complications with IVF, and while on Lupron, developed a cyst that later burst, I found the book lacking. There was nothing on that subject and what the options might be. Should I wait for it to go away on its own as my doctor had suggested or take the medicine to force the cyst to burst as the doctor covering for my regular one this morning suggested I do? The book held no information to help me make a more educated choice. Alternative protocols, such as Ganirelix protocol instead of Lupron, are neither mentioned nor discussed. Yes, while most of the fertility treatments are the "one-size-fits-every-diagnosis", there are options. Discussing complications and including these options instead of injection steps would enhance the book's value at the era of Google and even YouTube videos, which are there in an unlikely event your doctor didn't provide printed injections directions or a DVD or a class. One of the last sections on what to make of the pregnancy test and how to deal with either successful or unsuccessful IVF cycle is very helpful and has excellent advice. While the book is definitely not everything you'd need to know about infertility, it is worthy of a purchase and is arguably one of the top books on infertility out there. I referred to it over and over again when I was going through my first IVF cycle, but I wish I had the book before I started any treatment at all. Overall, I would give the book four out five stars and recommend it without hesitation.

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