Unsung Lullabies: Understanding and Coping with Infertility

For people experiencing infertility, wanting a baby is a craving unlike any other. The intensity of their longing is matched only by the complexity of the emotional maze they must navigate.

With insight and compassion, Drs. Janet Jaffe, Martha Diamond, and David Diamond-specialists in the field of Reproductive Psychology who have each experienced their own struggle with infertility-give couples the tools to:

*Reduce their sense of helplessness and isolation

*Identify their mates' coping styles to erase unfair expectations

*Listen to their "unsung lullabies"—their conscious and unconscious dreams about having a family—to mourn the losses of infertility and move on.

Ground-breaking, wise, and compassionate, Unsung Lullabies is a necessary companion for anyone coping with infertility.

For people experiencing infertility, wanting a baby is a craving unlike any other. The intensity of their longing is matched only by the complexity of the emotional maze they must navigate.

With insight and compassion, Drs. Janet Jaffe, Martha Diamond, and David Diamond-specialists in the field of Reproductive Psychology who have each experienced their own struggle with infertility-give couples the tools to:

*Reduce their sense of helplessness and isolation

*Identify their mates' coping styles to erase unfair expectations

*Listen to their "unsung lullabies"—their conscious and unconscious dreams about having a family—to mourn the losses of infertility and move on.

Ground-breaking, wise, and compassionate, Unsung Lullabies is a necessary companion for anyone coping with infertility.

Library Journal

According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, infertility affects 6.1 million American women and their partners. Consequently, it is good news that there are two excellent new books addressing this topic, both written by individuals who have experienced the emotional and physical stresses of infertility. Growing out of the conversations and emails among three girlfriends as they struggled to conceive, The Conception Chronicles is a candid and irreverent ("TTCs," for example, are women "Trying To Conceive") yet reassuring guide that "tells it as it is." The authors provide thorough information about diagnosis, treatment options, and, no less important, the dilemmas and strains of infertility. "Tales from the TTCs" (personal stories from friends who have faced infertility) and emails by the authors are interspersed throughout the narrative, which make this a highly comprehensible and supportive book. Written by three psychologists who cofounded the Center for Reproductive Psychology in San Diego, Unsung Lullabies also evolved from the authors' own problems with achieving parenthood. Their premise is that everyone has a "reproductive story," a largely unconscious narrative of one's expectations of parenthood that begins in childhood and progresses through the adult years. The fact that this reproductive story may not unfold as expected is what the book deals with so well. Part 1 describes infertility as a trauma that must be recognized and dealt with; Part 2 explains "why it hurts so bad"; Part 3 defines the steps of grieving and coping; and Part 4 provides information to assist readers in "rewriting" their reproductive histories as they go through treatment. Although Unsung Lullabies does have its lighter moments, it is somewhat more intense and certainly more thorough in the psychological analysis of infertility than The Conception Chronicles, which offers more detailed, practical medical advice and is without question more pleasurable and engrossing reading. Still, the two titles complement each other and are both enthusiastically recommended for all consumer health collections.-Linda M.G. Katz, Drexel Univ. Health Sciences Libs., Philadelphia Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Janet Jaffe, Ph.D., Martha Ourieff Diamond, Ph.D., David J. Diamond, Ph.D., are co-founders of The Center for Reproductive Psychology in San Diego, California.