THE FERTILITY HANDBOOK

This is strictly for those seeking information on the medical and surgical treatment of infertility; almost nothing is said of the importance of relieving anxiety or of how timing of intercourse, position, and techniques affect conception. Exhaustive coverage is given instead to treatments of hormonal imbalance, surgical techniques, and issues surrounding artificial insemination by donor--all of which, other experts feel, are beside the point for most couples having difficulty conceiving. While the authors acknowledge that women are sometimes forced to postpone childbearing, they warn that if problems arise when conception is finally attempted, time may run out before the causes and cures for the infertility can be found. The authors' attitudes often intrude: Dr. Lifchez, taking over the narrative to explain what a couple may expect when they visit the doctor, points out that anxiety often is a problem, but in this case for the doctor--the couple is ""so busy wanting to ask questions about what's going on that they don't listen."" This is advisable, indeed, only for the reader who has exhausted other, more general and understanding approaches (viz., Silber, How to Get Pregnant, p. 498), and knows that intervention is warranted.