Infertility can make women - and their partners - feel completely powerless. This clear, perceptive and incredibly helpful book enables women to empower themselves to not only deal with infertility but navigate the often difficult and confusing path through IVF.
Written by experienced counsellor Claire Hall and fertility expert Dr Devora Lieberman, Empowered Fertility is a practical guide for women to help them cope with their psychological wellbeing, their emotions, family and friends and their attitudes during a very difficult time. It contains clearly structured and expressed information and offers women practical steps to assist them as they go through the experience of and treatment for infertility.
The steps are:
1. How Did You Get Here?
2. Accepting What Is
3. Letting Go of Expectations
4. Feeling a Bit Off-Kilter?
5. A Conversation with Fear
6. Releasing Control
7. Building Your Emotional Toolkit
8. Handling Family and Friends
9. Relationship Bumps
10. Moving Forward
11. When Enough is Enough
12. Embracing
The reader can work through at their own pace, making use of the coaching tools and exercises to help with each step. For readers who are starting or in the midst of IVF treatment, the last section of the book forms an IVF Cycle Handbook, to guide women through their experience.
Included in the handbook:
Milestone 1: The Injection Phase
Milestone 2: The Egg Collection
Milestone 3: The Embryo Transfer
Milestone 4: The Waiting Game
Milestone 5: Taking the Test
The book concludes with a list of resources for readers who seek more information, and includes online resources for Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
Claire Hall (Author)
Claire Hall is a counsellor/life coach who writes a variety of coaching articles that have been published in several popular magazines, including Wellbeing and Cosmopolitan. She also writes and delivers tailored workshops and presentations on a broad range of topics.
Dr Devora Lieberman (Author)
Devora Lieberman joined Genea in 2003, when it was still called Sydney IVF. Prior to that, Devora had spent 3 years as Associate Medical Director, Women's Health at Organon (now part of MSD). Devora now devotes most of her clinical work to infertility and miscarriage management. Devora has also been a clinician in the Menopause Clinic at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital since her arrival in Australia in 1998. She served as President of Family Planning NSW from June 2003 to March 2014. She became a Director of Sexual Health and Family Planning Australia in 2003, and served as its President from 2006-2008. Devora has also been a Director of the Board of the Fertility Society of Australia from 2005-2013, and held the office of Vice President from 2007-2009.