The Impatient Woman's Guide to Getting Pregnant

Description

Comforting and intimate, this "girlfriend" guide to getting pregnant gets to the heart of all the emotional issues around having children-biological pressure, in-law pressures, greater social pressures-to support women who are considering getting pregnant. Trying to get pregnant is enough to make any woman impatient. The Impatient Woman's Guide to Getting Pregnant is a complete guide to the medical, psychological, social, and sexual aspects of getting pregnant, told in a funny, compassionate way, like talking to a good friend who's been through it all. And in fact, Dr. Jean Twenge has been through it all-the mother of three young children, she started researching fertility when trying to conceive for the first time. A renowned sociologist and professor at San Diego State University, Dr. Twenge brought her research background to the huge amount of information-sometimes contradictory, frequently alarmist, and often discouraging- that she encountered online, from family and friends, and in books, and decided to go into the latest studies to find out the real story. The good news is: There is a lot less to worry about than you've been led to believe. Dr. Twenge gets to the heart of the emotional issues around getting pregnant, including how to prepare mentally and physically when thinking about conceiving; how to talk about it with family, friends, and your partner; and how to handle the great sadness of a miscarriage. Also covered is how to know when you're ovulating, when to have sex, timing your pregnancy, maximizing your chances of getting pregnant, how to tilt the odds toward having a boy or a girl, and the best prenatal diet. Trying to conceive often involves an enormous amount of emotion, from anxiety and disappointment to hope and joy. With comfort, humor, and straightforward advice, The Impatient Woman's Guide to Getting Pregnant is the bedside companion to help you through it.

Jean M. Twenge, Ph.D., is author of Generation Me and coauthor of The Narcissism Epidemic and a professor of psychology at San Diego State University. Her research has appeared in Time, USA TODAY, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, and she has been featured on Today, Dateline, and National Public Radio's All Things Considered. She holds degrees from the University of Chicago and the University of Michigan. She lives in San Diego with her husband and two daughters.

"This book is comforting, accurate, and very funny! I recommend it!" --Christiane Northrup, M.D., ob/gyn physician and author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom and The Wisdom of Menopause "Reducing stress is essential for healthy conception, and this book is sure to help!" --Stephanie McClellan, M.D., coauthor of So Stressed "Psychology professor Twenge (Generation Me) cuts to the chase in this wonderful (and often humorous) guide to getting pregnant-and fast. The author explains that when she was trying to conceive, she read everything she could get her hands on-and found that much of the commonly accepted information was false. She decided to set matters straight and help women get pregnant as quickly and effortlessly as possible. Twenge takes a active and confident approach from the get-go, assuring women that if they use her methods of "fertility awareness," there's a good chance of getting pregnant on the first try. She offers three ways to determine the time of ovulation: charting, ovulation predictor kits, and fertility monitors, advising that the "Very Impatient Woman" use all three. Twenge details the vital importance of timing, citing research on the best days-and hours-to procreate as well as to synchronize ovulation with the chances for a boy or girl. This is a fine science, indeed, but Twenge explains her approach with clarity and precision. She debunks the myth that a relaxed attitude affects outcome and shoots down outdated statistics (e.g., oft- cited research about the fertility of women over 35 culled from birth records from France in the 1600s). Women hoping to conceive will swiftly find very helpful information in this manageable, informative, and entertaining guide." -- Publishers Weekly