[.ca] Your Fertility Signals: Using Them to Achieve or Avoid ... (ISBN 0961940107)

Your Fertility Signals:
After several years of being on "the pill", I was sick of the side effects. We had purchased "Your Fertility Signals" years ago, but had not read the book in it's entirety. Four months ago I read the book and shared varying parts with my husband, who was eary of seeking alternatives, however after both of us learned to participate in monitoring my fertility signals he bought in to the program! We recently completed our fourth month of pregnancy free naturally!

Much recommended:
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.

Excellent and practical handbook:
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!

Easy to understand and use--for avoiding & achieving!:
I had already gone through the very tedious process of studying NFP from the huge study manual in order to learn about my fertility signals. I ended up adapting the information I had gathered from the huge behemoth NFP manual and several other NFP resources and coming up with what worked best for me. It turns out I was using the Fetility Awareness Method (which this book teaches) without even knowing it. If only I had found this simple little volume first!! :) It is a great way to review and has simple drawings to help certain things stick in your mind. My husband and I used FAM for 9 months to avoid pregnancy, and then used it to achieve pregnancy in only 2 cycles. We are now 7 months pregnant. I would highly recommend this volume to anyone who cannot afford to take an NFP course outside the home and doesn't have the wherewithall the read the several hundred page NFP study manual.

Concise, complete, with some extras on the side:
This book is a very simple, concise, easy-to-read explaination of Natural Family Planning. It includes the "how-to" of using both temperature and mucus symptoms to avoid or achieve pregnancy, as well as the cervical position information. I love that it also explains the hormones going on at each phase of the female cycle to help the reader understand WHY these symptoms are happening! I use it as a quick reference instead of dragging out my big Art of Natural Family Planning book from the Couple to Couple League. It also includes brief information about charting your signals during breastfeeding, and information about some common infertility problems. I really like the added information about "Regulating Cycles With Light" and "Choosing Your Baby's Sex". I still think everyone should have the Art of NFP in their library, but this is a great reference for every-day use!