Your Fertility Signals: Using Them to Achieve or Avoid Pregnancy Naturally

I can tell you that I am one of the success stories from using this book. As artificial birth control is against our religion, I needed to learn, so I checked this book out of the library. I learned the method entirely from this book (I never took a single class), and consequently never spent a day of my marriage using artificial birth control. We have spent THREE YEARS successfully avoiding pregnancy, and are now applying the concepts to become pregnant. This book is written in basic language, not crammed full of medical jargon. You can pretty much read it in one sitting, and understand it. I bought this book as a reference, and still use it from time to time, if I need to check up on the guidelines. And for those who say that natural family planning results in a huge restriction on intimacy, I will tell you that I am one of those women who has LONG fertile phases, and many annovulatory cycles. Calculating my charts over the last three years, my fertile vs non-fertile time is pretty much equal. This means a lot of abstinence, but it can be done! My husband and I both agree that it has enriched our marriage. It keeps those lines of communication open, and we know that we still love each other, even when abstaining during the fertile phase. Instead of birth control being only the woman's responsibility, it becomes the couple's. Yes, the onus is still on the woman to check her signals, but the man has to be cooperative for the method to work. The abstinence can be difficult at times, but think of it this way: you get a honeymoon to look forward to every cycle! It keeps those fires burning. All the couples that we know who are on the Pill are down to maybe once or twice a month, and that's after less years together than our three. We are still just as active as when we were first married, because that mandatory abstinence period ensures that you can't take your partner for granted. Not only that, but many of these couples on the Pill have unplanned children, and we don't have any "accidents". Hmm . . . and yet they tell us that we don't know what we're doing, and that natural birth control doesn't work. (Please note: this is NOT the rhythm method! That method is only 75% effective - natural family planning, when used properly, is 99% effective.) This is a wonderful book for setting people free from society's negativity towards fertility. We don't need harmful pills or intrusive devices to control what is a normal, healthy condition. Instead, we celebrate and respect fertility, and learn to control ourselves. Only one caveat: As a Catholic, even "barrier methods" are forbidden. The author noted that one could use barrier methods if temporarily unsure about fertility, or if one didn't want to abstain, but did say that pregnancy can obviously still result. Other Catholics and possibly other religions would have to ignore that bit of advice from the book, but other than that, this is a great resource. Update: I am now happily expecting our first c

This book is so well written and explains very clearly through detailed description and diagrams everything you need to know about mucous. Sounds odd, but if she didn't have such good diagrams I don't know if I would have quite understood what she meant. For the first time in my 35+ years I am understanding my body better than ever and YES, I can actually tell when I'm ovulating now, simply through tracking changes in the mucous as the author recommends. I definitely recommend this book to women who both want or do NOT want to conceive. June 2004 UPDATE: I'm pregnant now for the 2nd time - unfortunately I miscarried in February. I conceived both times in months that I was careful to follow the fertility signals especially the physical signs of ovulation (i.e "strings" - read the book, you'll know what I mean!) I'm a believer!

I recommended this book to a good friend of mine who'd been struggling to conceive (she has a very irregular cycle); it worked for her and has since worked for several of her friends, too. Interestingly enough, a friend recommended the book to me in the first place, as well! The information is basic, and the author doesn't write in a complicated manner. I think someone with a sixth-grade education could read the book and use it effectively. Which is good - regardless of our educational backgrounds, I think every woman should know how her body works. There are more 'complex' versions out there, and classes etc. as well - which can also be helpful in addition to this book. But the single most helpful option I found, was Winstein's book. I continue to recommend it to friends who are struggling to get pregnant, and to friends who are looking for other options for family planning. I used the book for natural family planning, so that I did not have to use chemical or artificial birth control options; when we were ready to start a family, we succeeded the very first month. I have every confidence that this book will be informative, regardless of whether the purchaser is hoping to avoid or embrace pregnancy. I think Winstein had to walk a fine line while writing this book, in terms of religious issues etc. and managed to do so in a way which allowed her book to be unbiased, open, and helpful regardless of what the readers' backgrounds or goals might be.

An excellent overview of human fertility cycles. Very concise and clear-cut, it can be read in one sitting. The charts provided in the back allow a woman to understand her own fertility. This was an invaluable tool for planning my own two pregnancies. I've also lent this book out to several friends who all conceived successfully after reading it. I recommend it highly to anyone trying to make a baby!

This easy-to-read book tells women, step-by-step, how to understand and chart our body's signals to figure out when we can and cannot get pregnant. This is a non-religious approach to natural family planning, and includes instructions for using the method with a condom or diaphragm. Women can also use this book to figure out the best time to conceive. Other side benefits include: a better understanding of mood swings and other physical and emotional changes that accompany our menstrual cycle; and heightened awareness of abnormalities in our cycle. The simple writing style and plethora of pictures and diagrams make this a fun, interesting, and very useful book.