Angela I. Hutchins was like many career-driven, successful women who thought that falling pregnant was something that would just 'happen'. But it didn't. At the age of 36 and after several long years of trying, she was starting to fear that she and her husband might not get the child they longed for. Angela and her husband are now the proud parents of two children. This book is the result of Angela's determination to provide other women with the information that she found was so lacking during her own battle with infertility. It draws on her years of research, her studies into the Billings Ovulation Method and her role as a mentor to other women on infertility-specific chat rooms and internet sites.

Introduction -- 1. Reproduction and hormones -- 2. Detecting ovulation -- 3. Substances and practices potentially harmful to reproduction -- 4. What causes infertility? -- 5. Fertility assessments -- 6. Assisted reproductive technologies -- 7. Complementary and alternative therapies -- 8. Emotional aspects of infertility -- 9. Support for coping with loss and grief -- 10. Other options to consider -- 11. Other issues concerning infertility -- 12. Reproductive discrimination -- 13. Legislation -- Acronyms -- Glossary -- Bibliography -- Endnotes -- Acknowledgements -- Index.