Product Description

A pioneer in the field of fertility, Zita West's programme is invaluable for couples trying to conceive. Harley Street's most popular fertility expert, and favourite consultant to celebrity clients, guides the reader through a process of vital physical and mental preparation. The book is for every couple trying to conceive and has fascinating advice taken from Zita's 20 years of experience as midwife and 7 years as an acupuncturist. It provides a structured, easy-to-follow step-by-step programme, complete with case studies and and enormously detailed questionnaire. The guide includes details on: - when and how often to have sex - what can prevent fertilisation and conception - everything you need to know about sperm and ovulation - nutrition, supplements and herbs - complementary therapies such as acupressure, lymphatic massage and hypnotherapy - how to overcome stress and other emotional blocks to pregnancy - PCOS, endometriosis and other health issues - tests and procedures if there is a problem - and much much more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21380 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Review
'Much sought after acupuncturist and midwife who helped Kate Winslet stay in shape during her pregnancy.' Elle 'West is renowned for helping women to get pregnant when everything else has failed.' Times 'one of Europe's leading authorities on using natural health to enhance fertility.' Style magazine 'Zita, the baby dream maker.' Sunday Mirror 'With her conventional-meets-complementary approach to pregnancy, midwife Zita West has become a favourite with celebrity mums-to-be.' Natural Pregnancy 'Zita West is consulted by the rich and famous when they want a trouble-free pregnancy.' Mirror 'Zita is so in demand that she opened a clinic in Harley Street last month.' You magazine

About the Author
Zita West is a fertility expert who was a midwife for 20 years and acupuncturist for seven. Her Harley Street clinic advises on every aspect of pregnancy, fertility and birth and Zita's clients include celebrities such as Kate Winslet and Gaby Roslin. She has had two previous books published -- Natural Pregnancy and Natural Fertility (with Dorling Kindersley).

Customer Reviews

Highly flawed
This book may be helpful for people who wonder why they can't get pregnant when they work 100 hours a week, live off nothing but Diet Coke and junk food and are severely under/overweight. Most of her case studies seem to involve people like this and you have to wonder how many people are that uninformed. Some of the more advanced nutritional advice is interesting (such as avoiding alcohol around ovulation) but much of this book just plugs Zita West's very expensive clinic and seems to be written for the lowest common denominator.

There are two specific glaring omissions in this book:
1. She fails to point out that period pain may be caused by endometriosis or that this is a leading cause of infertility. This is a shameful omission as many people with endometriosis are not aware they may have this disorder.

2. She fails to inform readers having trouble with lubrication that there are several products on the market (one is called Pre-Seed) that do not interfere with conception and can actually help. Like a judgmental matron, she just says 'you can't use saliva or eggwhites' and that's all. Yet this is something that affects 50% of women!

If you are trying to get pregnant I would highly recommend 'Taking Charge of Your Fertility' by Toni Wessler, and consider buying the charting software too. This will help you understand your cycle to maximise your chances of conceiving, and it has a lot of useful related information and a far more supportive and intelligent tone than Ms West.

Finally, a book that offers really helpful conception advice
I have PCOS and just wasn't getting pregnant. Despite traditional help (Clomid) nothing worked. I read this book and now, just four weeks later, I'm pregnant using no drugs. The book recommended a diet, acuptuncture and hypnotherapy, and I used all three.

What's really great about this book is that it refutes some of the traditional ideas (saving sperm, that you ovulate in the middle of your cycle to name but two) and instead helps women understand their fertility and feel empowered to do something about it.

The only part of this book I didn't like was the bit about chinese herbs but that's probably more to do with my prejudice against taking any form of drugs or supplements than anything else.

I can highly recommend this book.

Great book very user friendly
I ordered this book when my husband and I made the decision to try for a baby, I found it very easy to read, it started with the basics and I realised how little I knew. If this is the first time you have ever thought about having baby I would recommend this strongly.