YOU CAN HAVE A BABY: Everything You Need to Know about Fertility

A dense, detailed, medically-oriented guide to overcoming fertility problems--absolutely up-to-date if not the best of company. Infertility specialist Bellina, director of the Omega Institute, and co-author Wilson begin by describing ""the Anatomy of Reproduction"" with an eye to where things go wrong. They then go into massive detail on infertility workups for women and men. (Nowadays men too may expect extensive investigation--from a thorough history and physical and ""The Modern Semen Analysis,"" to hormonal testing and chromosome analysis.) Next they take up specific causes of infertility and their treatment in men and women--with special attention to artificial insemination, spontaneous abortion, pregnancy after age 35, and which contraceptives ""protect"" fertility. (I.U.D.s, for instance, pose a serious threat to fertility because of their implication in pelvic infections.) Finally, Bellina and Wilson discuss last resorts--adoption and the ""miracle baby"" techniques (including their moral, religious, legal, and ethical implications). Not only is the viewpoint strongly medical, but the professional jargon often makes for heavy going. Concerned couples will find Sherman Silber's How To Get Pregnant (1980) an excellent first guide and infinitely more reassuring. But in a fast-developing field, Bellina and Wilson set forth the latest medical options.