"Throughout the entire history of world armed conflict, the proportion of battle injuries involving the genitals was minimal--rarely above 5%. But sadly, by the end of 2007, this statistic was no longer valid for the U.S. military. While standard-issue body armor protects the torso, some lower extremity wounds are so severe that all or part of the reproductive organs are obliterated." --E Scott Sills, MD PhD As America picks up the pieces from more than a decade of war, a caliper has never been laid across one critical casualty--the long-term consequences of military service on the fertility of those in uniform. Written for a general audience, "Fighting At The Fertility Front" includes separate chapters for men & women and follows their journeys from reception & basic training to far-away places like the open burn pits of Afghanistan, and back. The list of ingredients here is provocative: Sex, soldiers' fertility, overseas service, and the "military-industrial-congressional complex" that funds it all...or, in the case of fertility treatment for Veterans, paradoxically denies funding. This one-of-a-kind book confronts some deeply unsettling questions from our armed service members and their loved ones: Should I be worried about fertility if my partner is in the military? How can hazards of defense work diminish future reproductive capacity? Is it true that the Army's standard combat uniform is coated with a potential reproductive toxin? The answers may surprise you. Before deciding on a fertility attack plan, you need credible intelligence about the target. Until now, there has never been any field-book outlining maneuvers to maximize the chances of a military patient growing his or her family. Recognizing that fertility after deployment is another "unknown unknown" of military service, this book helps guide a clear way to bring back baby.

"As Samantha's and Kyle Busch's public lives grew more pronounced, their private life was being torn apart. The frustrations and uncertainty of their fertility problems took a toll on them as individuals and as a couple, creating a cyclone of emotions that threatened everything they had worked so hard for. Through these trials, they learned how to build a stronger relationship, foster a deeper faith, and find humor through the tears. They also discovered a passion for helping other couples gain access to fertility treatments. In this memoir, Samantha uses her voice to break the silence and stigma that surround the infertility community. By sharing practical advice as well as candid and inspiring stories of her journey, she provides support, validation, community, and education for others experiencing similar tribulations"--

The “Jason Bourne of fertility” (The New York Times Book Review) presents a personal and deeply informative account of one woman’s journey through the global fertility industry. On paper, conception may seem like a simple biological process, yet this is often hardly the case. While many would like to have children, the road toward conceiving and maintaining a pregnancy can be unexpectedly rocky and winding. Lawyer Elizabeth Katkin never imagined her quest for children would ultimately involve seven miscarriages, eight fresh IVF cycles, two frozen IVF attempts, five natural pregnancies, four IVF pregnancies, ten doctors, six countries, two potential surrogates, nine years, and roughly $200,000. Despite her three Ivy League degrees and wealth of resources, Katkin found she was woefully undereducated when it came to understanding and confronting her own difficulties having children. After being told by four doctors she should give up, but without an explanation as to what exactly was going wrong with her body, Katkin decided to look for answers herself. The global investigation that followed revealed that approaches to the fertility process taken in many foreign countries are vastly different than those in the US and UK. In Conceivability, Elizabeth Katkin, now a mother of two, exposes eye-opening information about the medical, financial, legal, scientific, emotional, and ethical issues at stake. “A well-researched, informative, and positive account of a very long journey to motherhood” (Kirkus Reviews), Conceivability sheds light on the often murky and baffling world of conception science. Her book is an invaluable and inspiring text that will be a boon to others navigating the deep and “choppy waters” of fertility treatment (Publishers Weekly), and her chronicle of one of the most difficult, painful, rewarding, and loving journeys a woman can take is as informative as it is poignant.

By the end of her twenties, Valorie Ciechanowski was ready to settle down and start a family with the love of her life. After pursuing a successful career in the music industry and landing multiple once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, it was her time to step out of the limelight and into a quieter chapter to raise a family. Now was the moment to enjoy married life and focus on her true dream: becoming a mother. After nearly a year of trying to get pregnant to no avail, Valorie sought the help of fertility doctors. Heartbreakingly, at only thirty-one years young, Valorie received a diagnosis that would shape the next years of her life: infertile. In her memoir, Fighting Fertility, Valorie exposes her pain and loss in searing anecdotes. Taking you through the stages of her grief, Valorie tells the story of bottomless pain, ferocity of self, and the remarkable role that never-ending faith can play in your life if you let it. 13

PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and TBI (traumatic brain injury) have been called the "signature wounds" of the recent war. The bomb blast has been the "signature weapon" of these conflicts, which primarily affect the lower exposed areas of the body, including the extremities and pelvic region. Fortunately there are many strategies to mitigate resulting sexual problems.

When British journalist, memoirist, and New York-transplant Emma Brockes decides to become pregnant, she quickly realises that, being single, 37, and in the early stages of a same-sex relationship, she's going to have to be untraditional about it. From the moment she decides to stop "futzing" around, have her eggs counted, and "get cracking"; through multiple trials of IUI, which she is intrigued to learn can be purchased in bulk packages, just like Costco; to the births of her twins, which her girlfriend gamely documents with her iPhone and selfie-stick, Brockes is never any less than bluntly honest about her extraordinary journey to motherhood.She quizzes her friends on the pros and cons of personally knowing one's sperm donor, grapples with esoteric medical jargon and the existential brain-melt of flipping through donor catalogues and conjures with the politics of her Libertarian OB/GYN-all the while exploring the cultural circumstances and choices that have brought her to this point. Brockes writes with charming self-effacing humour about being a British woman undergoing fertility treatment in the US, poking fun at the starkly different attitude of Americans. Anxious that biological children might not be possible, she wonders, should she resent society for how it regards and treats women who try and fail to have children?Brockes deftly uses her own story to examine how and why an increasing number of women are using fertility treatments in order to become parents-and are doing it solo. Bringing the reader every step of the way with mordant wit and remarkable candour, Brockes shares the frustrations, embarrassments, surprises, and, finally, joys of her momentous and excellent choice.

Hannah’s Hope is intended as a guide to assist you in making wise decisions as you struggle through your grief of not yet conceiving, losing a child, or struggling through the adoption process.