Before trying to get pregnant, it seemed appropriate to learn more about how female fertility works. For that, I chose this book.

The first, and perhaps most important, thing to know about this book is that it is a book every woman should read. Whether you want to get pregnant or avoid pregnancy, whether you're taking birth control pills or attempting more manual methods of contraception, if you're a woman who cares about how her body actually works, you should read this book. (Note: I use "you" and "your" throughout this review because it's more conversational. I acknowledge that this may a bit awkward for any men reading this. Consider it an exercise in what it's like being in a situation whose "you" is not, in fact, you.)

It amazed me, when I started reading this book, how little I knew about my own fertility. While I think that birth control pills were the right contraceptive option for me during the years I wanted to avoid pregnancy — my ovulation cycle has always been much too irregular to depend on my physical signals — I am, in retrospect, sad that I spent a over a decade taking a drug without understanding the system it was regulating. Now that I am trying to become pregnant and having a hard time, I regret accepting the explanation from my doctor that the pill would "fix" my extremely irregular cycles. Yes, it suppressed the symptoms, but now that I actually want to get pregnant, I still have the same issues and no more knowledge of them than I did as a teen. (By the way, Weschler also wrote a book targeted at teens, which I haven't read.)

Now to the book itself. This book is centered around the Fertility Awareness Method. This can be seen as a natural birth control method or a technique for helping achieve pregnancy. I see it as a way to understand how your own body works. Part one discusses these different perspectives and encourages women to take charge of their own fertility. Part two contains background on a women's reproductive anatomy, menstrual cycle, primary fertility signs, and various types of irregular cycles. Parts three and four apply knowledge of the primary fertility signals to, respectively, birth control and pregnancy achievement. Part five discusses other practical benefits of charting your cycle, even if you don't care about the other two.

As a final note, if avoiding pregnancy is absolutely vital for you, I cannot recommend the Fertility Awareness Method as a standalone method of birth control. Even if you're extremely regular normally, stress, sickness, alcohol, and other life factors can make your signals less reliable. But I still recommend reading the book. ( )

Several friends recommended this book to me, and I would in turn recommend it to just about any woman who is interested in understanding her body better, whether or not she's searching for a method of natural birth control. It's very accessible and in no way pushy or preachy. I can't vouch for the sections on pregnancy achievement because I'm not quite ready for that :), but I can agree with the reactions of other reviewers who wish that the information about the reproductive cycle was made readily available to girls at a much younger age. Once I began charting, I was excited to discover that I could identify my peak day of fertility within less than a week! ( )

What an awesome, empowering book! I had read a lot of this information previously in various places, but to have it all compiled in one authoritative place in such an accessible format, it's worth its weight in gold. This book totally de-mystifies the female reproductive cycle to the advantage of both women who want to try to avoid pregnancy and those wishing to conceive. Take back your knowledge, take back the power of your bodies ladies!

Every girl old enough to menstruate needs a copy of this book or her other book for teens [b:Cycle Savvy|265061|Cycle Savvy The Smart Teen's Guide to the Mysteries of Her Body|Toni Weschler|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173251300s/265061.jpg|256962] ( )

A must-read for every woman. ( )

This should be required reading for all women. There are so many things in here that you just go "why didn't anyone TELL me that??"
I don't think I would actually rely solely on her method for birth control, but it is an excellent adjunct and would be perfect for someone who is (horrors!) trying to get pregnant. ( )