Stronger than infertility The essential guide to navigating every step of your journey

Heather R. Huhman

Book - 2023

"This indispensable, comprehensive, and accessible reference book to infertility provides people with the tools they need to be their own best advocates as they navigate fertility treatments and highs and lows of their infertility journey. Author Heather Huhman guides readers through every stage of the process-from knowing when to seek medical advice to parenting after infertility, and everything in between. There's the medical nitty gritty: getting a diagnosis (or not); selecting a fertility clinic that's right for you; understanding IUI and IVF and genetic testing; a comprehensive list of medications and their side effects, and much more. There are emotional high and lows: staying hopeful while managing grief and depression..., maintaining and strengthening your relationship, and navigating religious and ethical concerns. And then there is the practical and often complicated questions around affording treatments, dealing with your workplace (including the military), and everything you need to know about insurance and fertility treatments. Stronger Than Infertility breaks down complicated clinical information and expert medical advice from top specialists in the field. The book includes first-person stories and hard-won advice from women who have been down this long and often painful road (Huhman included) and offers a clear-eyed look at the emotional and psychological landmines that come with the journey. The result is a book that inspires as much as it educates and is a much-needed source of support and inspiration for readers hungry for understanding and hope"--

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Subjects
Published
New York : Workman Publishing 2023.
Language
English
Main Author
Heather R. Huhman (author)
Physical Description
x, 485 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
Bibliography
Includes index.
ISBN
9781523504329
  • Foreword
  • Introduction: Stronger Than Infertility
  • Part I. The Basics
  • 1. Infertility 101
  • 2. How to Select the Right Doctor and Prepare for Your First Visit
  • 3. Getting-and Understanding-Your Diagnoses
  • 4. The Role of Genetics in Infertility
  • 5. An Introduction to Fertility Medications
  • Part 2. Paths to Parenthood
  • 6. Timed Intercourse (TI) and Intrauterine insemination (IUI) 101
  • 7. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) 101
  • 8. Preparing for Fertility Treatments
  • 9. Let's Talk Multiples
  • 10. Donor Eggs, Sperm, and Embryos 101
  • 11. Surrogacy 101
  • 12. Adoption 101
  • 13. Living a Happy, Full Life Without Your Own Children
  • Part 3. Big Feelings
  • 14. The Emotions You Might Feel
  • 15. Strategies for Becoming Stronger Than infertility
  • 16. Maintaining and Strengthening Your Relationships
  • 17. Miscarriage and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss
  • 18. Religion and Ethics in Infertility
  • Part 4. The Practical Stuff
  • 19. Understanding Your Insurance (and Convincing Your Employer to Cover Infertility)
  • 20. Affording Family-Building
  • 21. Navigating Infertility in the Workplace
  • 22. Navigating Infertility in the Military
  • Part 5. Life After Infertility
  • 23. Pregnancy After Infertility
  • 24. Facing the NICU
  • 25. Depression and Anxiety After Infertility
  • 26. Parenting After Infertility
  • 27. Advocating for Fertility Benefitsand Other Warriors
  • Diagnoses Appendix
  • Index
  • Acknowledgments
Review by Booklist Review

About 15 percent of couples hoping to get pregnant struggle to conceive. Huhman and her husband were among them. She "suffered in silence," she writes. "In our society, we whisper about infertility." That's changing. Today Huhman, now a full-time infertility coach, hosts a podcast called Beat Infertility. Her helpful guide answers many questions about how to find a clinic, go through in vitro fertilization, decide how many embryos to use, research donors and surrogates, think about adoption, and be hopeful and resilient. By the time women turn 40, just 15 percent of their eggs are good quality. Men may contribute to fertility problems if they smoke, use recreational drugs, or consume too much caffeine or alcohol. At the end of each chapter, Huhman gives "warrior action steps," "warrior wisdom," and a "warrior checklist." She also shares many a "myth" and the "busted" truth. For example, how a woman positions herself after intercourse does not make pregnancy more or less likely. Louise Brown, the world's first IVF baby, was born in 1978. We've come a long way, baby.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.