The Couple's Guide To In Vitro Fertilization: Everything You Need To Know To Maximize Your Chances Of Success

Thank you Liza for writing this book. It couldn't have been easy revisiting everything IVF after two cycles. I'm in the middle of my first IVF cycle and I've turned to your book for each and every step. In the beginning it was exhausting and reading a page induced a fatigue in my emotions but it was much needed. I'm glad you decided that women need to know what to expect when going through this. I wouldn't have had the energy to go through different articles online and piece my way through each step and stage of IVF.We accidentally injected myself with the wrong-sized needle - we used the inch and a half for intramuscular when we should have used the half inch "short" needle for subcutaneous, and it was for the Menopur, which I've realized hurts more than any other injection so far - and when I felt such pain I immediately opened to your book (which is organized in such helpful ways that I could immediately find the page) and realized what we did. We immediately called the emergency line to my clinic and the doctor on call (at 7pm) said it was totally okay and to not do it again. Your book was what I turned to!Tomorrow I go in for retrieval. So I read from page 185 on medications all the way through to the end in one sitting and just got done with it now. I want to say that you wrote with such encouragement, and that the anecdotes of real stories help paint an even picture of the ups and downs of IVF (though of course you tended to lean towards the ups more since it is a book that wants to encourage couples more than just paint reality for the already-sensitive IVFer - I get it). It helped that you weren't a proponent of one thing over another, that you gave space for different opinions, different values, and different medical practices. It was nice that you ended with the anecdotes of people who decided to not pursue parenthood as well as people who pursued adoption and those who continued with other cycles of IVF. Every couple is different, and you took into consideration that families are formed in different ways, especially those who are faced with infertility.Thanks for making IVF something I can be proud of having been a part of, one of a team of women (and their "mates" as you call them) across the world who as alone as they feel in their infertility, can find solace in the stories of similar couples, and strength too.Whatever the outcome of our retrieval and later implantation, I will most likely be rereading those last chapters to remind myself of how to treat myself and my husband and to hear your compassionate and gracious voice help me get through the next phases... Your humor was spot on, not insensitive or fake; it was the voice I needed to hear.Thank you so much.Just for reference, I am not a type-A individual who needs to know everything and be on top of everything. Usually I'm not. And it makes me stressed out to have to be. (To illustrate this: my husband and I struck a deal from the beginning saying I will go through the bodily experience of it - the probing, the added hormones, the physical pain of it - if he will take care of everything else, including paperwork, payment, appointments, calls, recording, etc.) Reading through this extensive book helped me not to have a very good idea of what to expect so I could focus my emotional and mental health on what to expect and not have worry, confusion and the "unknown" paralyze me and make me feel like I don't have control of myself or this process. The book was very helpful for that.

This book helped my husband and me to fully understand what to expect as a couple going through in vitro. It was amazing to both of us how well informed and equipped we felt going through this process due to this book. We both recommend this book to couples and want to applaud Liza for taking the time to write it. We know several couples who have gone through in vitro and sadly none of them had heard of this book. When we told them what we had read to prep us for our journey, they all looked as if we had received a gem they wish they had. My husband has shared several times that this book helped him as a guy to understand what a woman goes through. We speak blessings over Liza and want to say we are so grateful for you taking the time to educate others on this process.

I read this book three months before starting IVF and found it incredibly helpful in my preparation, financially, emotionally, physically, and logistically. I would highly recommend this book to anyone considering IVF and would strongly suggest that anyone already in the planning process for their first cycle read immediately. From tiny nagging details regarding insurance to setting up a support network, this book covers it all. I did find that some of the information provided is not relevant as the book is a few years old, but never misleading or totally irrelevant.

I thought this was a great book. Very easy to read, even when I was having trouble focusing. Very informative in breaking down and explaining the IVF steps with some great tips and things to think about that weren't addressed in other literature. It's like the girlfriend's guide to in-vitro. It's really positive, pretty much all the case stories ended with pregnancies, but sometimes that is just what we need when we're going through this.

I bought this book to accompany my first IVF cycle. Unfortunately, I found it very dated and it did not tell me anything I didn't know, even with it being my first cycle. I was hoping to have more help with some symptoms I was experiencing. Not too bad, though.

This was full of great information regarding all of the steps that come with in-vitro fertilization and what to do if it doesn't work.

Does have some really good humor in the book. Will help while getting through the process of IVF. Doesn't have alot of specifics in it but does give you an overview of what to expect.

This book is perfect for anyone preparing for this procedure/process. It is a very confusing and overwhelming experience and the book helps to explain all the details. I found it to be very helpful.

This was a really good book as we are embarking on an IVF attempt. The book goes through various stages of treatment and explains how the treatment works. I really liked the book because it dealt with many issues that couples should consider early on in their treatment, some of which are very difficult decisions. By reading about others who faced the same decisions and how they came to their conclusions it has helped me in deciding which course to take. The book is very informative and helpful and is also written in a personal way. The only criticism of the book is that it does have a US bias although I really recommend that the rest of the book should be read for its own merits.

I was pleased by this book's calm, matter-of-fact approach. Going through the example treatment cycle in detail was useful. I felt much more positive about our impending treatment than I did after reading 'The Wayward Stork' - that just put the fear of God in me!

Good book arrived quickly

I found it a really easy read and finished it within a week. Very informative but can also relate to the writer and her experiences. A must have for people seeking ivf treatment.

well written book. Found it really easy read.