This is the book review of our book, How to
Have a Baby, as reviewed by Dr Elisabeth Puschek, Assistant
Professor, OB/GYN, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit,
Michigan, USA, for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine
Newsletter, Patient’s Bookshelf.
Are you a cyber-book reader with infertility? If so, this book, directly
accessible on the Internet, may be for you. The 54 chapters deal with
the full range of infertility problems, in addition to newer topics such
as alternative medicine, emotional aspects, ethics, prayer, and
self-insemination. There is a search box to look for the topics of your
choice should you not find them in the chapter listing.
It seemed to me that this
book was slanted more toward male infertility. Perhaps this stems from
the fact that the male evaluation is presented first, followed by
procedures, and then the female evaluation. Also, there seems to be very
little mention of egg donors and their place in infertility treatments.
However, IVF, ICSI, donor sperm, and surrogacy are all covered well.
Indian couples will
find this book particularly helpful, as it is the first book I have seen
that specifically addresses needs based on Indian ethnicity. That is
terrific!
At the end of the book
there are some financial comparisons between Indian programs and those
in the United States. It looks considerably less expensive in India.
This book is easy to
read, and the illustrations are very informative. Overall, I think it is
very helpful for the couples who like to read on the Internet. It is
also important to note that there are some differences that may be due
to physician individuality, reliance on slightly older data, or on
future methods that, as of yet, are not commonly used.
For example, daily
ultrasounds for ovulation detection in natural cycles are not sensitive
enough to confirm ovulation, and the requirement for these procedures is
quite costly and time consuming. Another example is that many
infertility specialists are no longer recommending laparoscopy as a
component of an initial infertility evaluation.
Testing one’s saliva on a
slide for ferning to help determine the appropriate fertile window is an
idea that I am not familiar with, and the author states it may be useful
but not sensitive enough for everyone. Ultrasound guided tubal
cannulation is a technique that is not routinely practiced in the United
States, perhaps due to the lack of FDA- approved contrast material or
the difficulty in switching from a comfortable procedure in the
operating room with laparoscopy and hysteroscopy or in the radiology
suite combined with hysterosalpingogram.
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