The essential guide to understanding fertility and improving your pregnancy chances.
The journey to fertility can be daunting and filled with obstacles. In The Expert Guide to Fertility, OB-GYNs Joseph S. Sanfilippo, MD, MBA, and Aarti Kumar, MD, offer the information you need in your journey to achieve pregnancy. They provide an overview of the human reproductive system, describe issues that may impede conception, and explain various medical, surgical, and lifestyle interventions shown to improve ones chances of becoming pregnant. Sanfilippo and Kumar offer important information on:
• A broad variety of assisted reproductive technologies, including in vitro fertilization
• Diagnostic tests and what to expect throughout your fertility journey
• Fertility-preserving options for people diagnosed with cancer and people with recurrent miscarriages, polycystic ovaries, a low egg supply, or endometriosis
• Fertility options for LGBTQ+ readers, single parents, and military personnel
• Adoption, egg and sperm donation, and egg freezing procedures
• Financing options, including tips for working with health care insurers
Joseph S. Sanfilippo, MD, MBA, is a tenured professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences and the vice chairman of reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Magee-Womens Hospital, where he is also the director of the Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Fellowship training program.
Aarti Kumar, MD, is an OB-GYN resident at New York University Langone Health.
Preface
Chapter 1. Christies Story: A Personal Infertility Experience
Chapter 2. Enhancing Your Chances: Optimizing Natural Fertility
Chapter 3. Against All Odds: Female Infertility
Chapter 4. Were Part of It, Too: Male Infertility
Chapter 5. The Embryo Just Wont Stick: Reproductive Immunology
Chapter 6. Not Tonight, Wait till Ovulation: Sexual Dysfunction
Chapter 7. No Periods for Me: Amenorrhea
Chapter 8. I Just Cant Stop Bleeding: Abnormal Vaginal Bleeding
Chapter 9. Painful Periods, Nobodys Listening: Endometriosis
Chapter 10. I Have Acne, Im Hairy, and I Just Cant Get Pregnant: Polycystic Ovaries
Chapter 11. No Room for the Fetus: Uterine Fibroids
Chapter 12. Too Little, Too Early: Miscarriages
Chapter 13. Wrong Place, Painful Conception: Ectopic Pregnancy
Chapter 14. Help Is Here: Assisted Reproductive Technology
Chapter 15. Keep My Eggs Ripe: Social Egg Freezing
Chapter 16. Cancer Cant Stop Me: Fertility Preservation
Chapter 17. Building a Nontraditional Family: Nonbinary Fertility
Chapter 18. Building a Family while Serving the Nation: Military Fertility Services
Chapter 19. Help Me Preserve My Sanity: Managing Stress
Chapter 20. How to Pay for It All: Financing the Infertility Journey
Chapter 21. The Nontraditional Conception: Donor Insemination, Adopting Embryos, and Beyond
Chapter 22. The End Is in Sight: Youre Pregnant—Whats Next?
Final Words
Acknowledgments
Resources
Index
The essential guide to understanding fertility and improving your pregnancy chances.
I recommend this book to patients and their families. The content is evidence-based and includes up-to-date diagnostic and treatment modalities.
— Melanie Ochalski, MD, Shady Grove Fertility
This guide serves as a companion for those seeking information on preconception preparation, infertility testing and treatment, fertility preservation, the unique issues faced by the LGBTQIA+ community, and even the financial and emotional detours individuals may deal with along the way. As an infertility specialist, I give this book my highest recommendation to a wide spectrum of people looking for a comprehensive guide to enhance their fertility journey.
— Teresa Erb, MD, Florida Institute for Reproductive Medicine
This inclusive, comprehensive, fact-based book covers all social, medical, emotional, and financial aspects of infertility and family building.
— G. David Adamson, MD, ARC Fertility / Stanford University
In addition to being an expert clinician, Dr. Sanfilippo puts patients first and leans into their journeys to help them get on the right path. This collection of patients reproductive journeys is accompanied by Dr. Sanfilippos and Dr. Kumars descriptions of the conditions and treatments that played a role in each. These intertwined stories are ones that patients and clinicians will appreciate.
— Emily S. Jungheim, MD, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
