REVIEWS
GETTING STARTED: Where to turn for answers about IVF... "What to Do When You Can't Get Pregnant" by Daniel Potter and Jennifer Hanin guides you through the medical maze.
Newsweek July 4, 2005 "Going Straight For IVF" by Raina Kelley [print version only] - "What to Do When You Can't Get Pregnant" is the ONLY book mentioned
From natural family planning to high-tech methods like in vitro fertilization (IVF) and zygote and gamete intrafallopian transfers, this easy-to-read, empathic guide covers every option for infertile couples wishing to conceive-and much more. Reproductive endocrinologist Potter (director, Huntington Reproductive Ctr. Medical Group, CA) and Hanin, a freelance journalist who has conceived two children through IVF, begin by outlining the reproductive system and showing how to recognize infertility. Guidance on choosing a doctor and discussion of what to expect of an infertility workup, what such a workup might find, and how to assess treatment options follow. Other topics include sperm and egg donation; embryo donation and surrogacy; technologies that allow prescreening for genetic diseases, sex selection, and preselection of desirable traits; keeping a relationship healthy; deciding when to move on; and the role that legal and mental health professionals play in all these processes. A glossary and resource list of various organizations round out the text. This solid, up-to-date resource supplants Debra Fulghum Bruce and Samuel Thatcher's Making a Baby: Everything You Need To Know To Get Pregnant. Recommended for most consumer health collections
Library Journal Review June 15th, 2005
PRAISE
Having a child is truly a miracle. In What to Do When You Can’t Get Pregnant, Dr. Daniel Potter and Jennifer Hanin provide a roadmap to achieving this miracle of nature. The combination of medical and personal experience included in this book makes it the ultimate read for prospective parents dealing with fertility issues. I highly recommend it!
David R. Marks, MD, MPA, is medical reporter for WCBS-TV, New York and CBS Newspath and author of Raising Stable Kids in an Unstable World
Dr. Potter and Jennifer Hanin have done an outstanding job of discussing state of the art medical information in an accurate and easily graspable framework for couples going through infertility. The authors offer valuable insight into the diagnosis and treatment of infertility with a supportive and inspiring energy that encourages the reader to take positive steps. What to Do When You Can't Get Pregnant should be required reading for all patients and their partners as they enter the world of infertility, where everything from low tech diagnostic tests (HSG and FSH) to high tech procedures (IVF, ICSI, PGD) can otherwise appear to be little more than alphabet soup. In all, it is a most readable, comprehensive discussion that delicately weaves personal touches and evidence-based medicine to provide up to the minute information in a manner that is clear and helpful to all who read it.
Alan B. Copperman, MD, FACOG, is a reproductive endocrinologist in New York where he is Director of Reproductive Endocrinology and Vice-Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Mount Sinai Medical Center, and Co-Director of Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York
Dr. Potter and Jennifer.Hanin have succeeded in providing patients with an excellent guide to steer them through the fertility journey and the spectrum of therapeutic options available. They have accomplished this in a manner that is technically comprehensive, but with a personal touch.
Included are the ever-present pros and cons of different therapies which helps explain why there is no absolute single approach to a couple’s treatment. This is also why there is such varied and confusing information on internet sites.
Importantly, they arm patients with the right questions to ask themselves and their health provider in order to maximize their personal chance to conceive. Detailed is an excellent review of the latest high-tech therapies to inform patients about options they may not have even known were possible today.
I commend Dr. Potter and Ms. Hanin for their efforts and will enthusiastically recommend this book to my patients.
Robert M. Colver, MD, FACOG, is a reproductive endocrinologist at Midwest Fertility Specialists in Indianapolis, Indiana where he is Professor of Endocrinology and Infertility at Indiana University School of Medicine.
Each year, millions of couples in the United States search for the answers found in What to Do When You Can’t Get Pregnant. In their book, Dr. Dan Potter and Jennifer Hanin provide an insightful, easy to read roadmap designed to lead these couples through the maze of infertility diagnosis and treatment. By combining consumer advocacy, common sense, and a direct approach to the most sensitive of topics, they demistify the science and provide the encouragement that current and prospective patients need to proceed toward their goal. I commend them for their work and recommend this book wholeheartedly.