100 books like Taking Charge of Your Fertility

By Toni Weschler,

Here are 100 books that Taking Charge of Your Fertility fans have personally recommended if you like Taking Charge of Your Fertility. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Expectant Father: The Ultimate Guide for Dads-To-Be

Joseph S. Sanfilippo Author Of The Expert Guide to Fertility: Boost Your Chances for Pregnancy

From my list on how to increase your chances for pregnancy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have spent my medical career focused on infertility and helping couples achieve their dream of pregnancy. Over the span of my career, I have had the opportunity to teach and provide research in the field of infertility, offer medical treatment to address the dream of pregnancy and parenthood, and, most importantly, be there for each and every one of my patients in good and bad times through the stages of their fertility journeys. The joy of achieving pregnancy after navigating infertility makes our entire team celebrate this sometimes monumental goal. This is why I am most passionate and enthusiastic to provide a book designed for those going through the challenging, daunting infertility process.

Joseph's book list on how to increase your chances for pregnancy

Joseph S. Sanfilippo Why did Joseph love this book?

The authors are to be commended in focusing on males and their role with regard to fertility. Preparing for pregnancy, from the male perspective, is revealed in an interesting manner.

The emotional and psychological aspects and experiences that are to be anticipated are readily conveyed. “Staying involved” is as important as providing support for one’s spouse or significant other. Addressing fathers serving as adoptive parents was added with the most recent edition. Decisions that have to be made about the birthing location and what to expect month to month of the pregnancy are addressed. The labor and delivery experience, as well as what if a C-section needs to be performed and the male partner’s role, are the concluding sections of the book. Appendices and resources are readily accessible.

By Armin A. Brott, Jennifer Ash Rudick,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Expectant Father as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Expectant Father is the best-selling pregnancy guide for men, with more than 1.5 million copies sold. This reassuring month-by-month overview gives you the tools you need to support your partner, prepare for your baby's arrival, and take care of yourself during this exciting time. It concludes with two special sections: one on labour and delivery, guiding you through the big day; and the other on what comes next, covering the first few months after the baby's arrival.

This new edition of The Expectant Father is updated from cover to cover with the latest information on fertility options, delivery options,…


Book cover of Getting Pregnant Simply and Resolving Recurrent Miscarriage: A Clinician's Advice Based on 50-Years Experience and Many Successes of Working With Infertile Couples

Joseph S. Sanfilippo Author Of The Expert Guide to Fertility: Boost Your Chances for Pregnancy

From my list on how to increase your chances for pregnancy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have spent my medical career focused on infertility and helping couples achieve their dream of pregnancy. Over the span of my career, I have had the opportunity to teach and provide research in the field of infertility, offer medical treatment to address the dream of pregnancy and parenthood, and, most importantly, be there for each and every one of my patients in good and bad times through the stages of their fertility journeys. The joy of achieving pregnancy after navigating infertility makes our entire team celebrate this sometimes monumental goal. This is why I am most passionate and enthusiastic to provide a book designed for those going through the challenging, daunting infertility process.

Joseph's book list on how to increase your chances for pregnancy

Joseph S. Sanfilippo Why did Joseph love this book?

I like the illustrations. Though it has a focus on “young couples” with infertility, it deals with fundamental issues such as the role of in-vitro fertilization and its indications, and a number of medical problems, such as polycystic ovarian syndrome, are introduced, as well as other medical problems that may adversely affect fertility.

The book considers one’s faith and potential effects on fertility. It also deals with sexuality and its “intricate and rhythmic pattern(s).”  A questionnaire is included, making the material engaging for the reader. The book is designed to provide a basic level of information and has a good glossary of terms.

By Brian M Cohen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Getting Pregnant Simply and Resolving Recurrent Miscarriage as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This book transparently describes the principles of diagnosis and treatment of patients with infertility and solutions to be explored in those with recurrent miscarriage in an environment charged with assisted reproductive technology. This volume provides the fundamental knowledge to assist in the possibility of having a more simple therapy which may help them have a viable pregnancy without the need for assisted reproductive technologies.


Book cover of It Starts with the Egg: The Science of Egg Quality for Fertility, Miscarriage, and IVF

Joseph S. Sanfilippo Author Of The Expert Guide to Fertility: Boost Your Chances for Pregnancy

From my list on how to increase your chances for pregnancy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have spent my medical career focused on infertility and helping couples achieve their dream of pregnancy. Over the span of my career, I have had the opportunity to teach and provide research in the field of infertility, offer medical treatment to address the dream of pregnancy and parenthood, and, most importantly, be there for each and every one of my patients in good and bad times through the stages of their fertility journeys. The joy of achieving pregnancy after navigating infertility makes our entire team celebrate this sometimes monumental goal. This is why I am most passionate and enthusiastic to provide a book designed for those going through the challenging, daunting infertility process.

Joseph's book list on how to increase your chances for pregnancy

Joseph S. Sanfilippo Why did Joseph love this book?

This book provides a personal perspective from a patient who underwent an IVF cycle and struggles with infertility. While the book is quite detailed, it includes a “How to use this book” section. The book begins by conveying basic information about egg quality and its importance. The first section focuses on providing science at a layman's level.

A number of supplemental chapters embellish the information in the body of the book. There is also a large component of supplements that one might consider to attempt to enhance egg quality. Unfortunately, based on science, most of the egg quality is genetic, predetermined for oocytes in the ovaries.  Lifestyle, including diet, is addressed as a “troubleshooting” strategy.

By Rebecca Fett,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked It Starts with the Egg as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The definitive guide to egg quality and fertility, fully revised and updated in 2023 with new chapters covering: the impact of immune and implantation issues, including endometritis, endometriosis, hidden infections, autoimmune antibodies, and natural killer cells. the latest evidence on advanced strategies for tackling very low ovarian reserve, such as platelet rich plasma and human growth hormone. the pros and cons of PGT testing in IVF new expanded chapters on male fertility and preparing for embryo transfer. It Starts with the Egg is your practical guide to the latest science on egg quality and fertility - so you can take…


Book cover of The Fertility Bible for Couples: Nourishing and Easy Recipes to Improve the Egg Quality, Balance Hormones, Enhance Maternal Wellness, and Achieve a Healthy Pregnancy

Joseph S. Sanfilippo Author Of The Expert Guide to Fertility: Boost Your Chances for Pregnancy

From my list on how to increase your chances for pregnancy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have spent my medical career focused on infertility and helping couples achieve their dream of pregnancy. Over the span of my career, I have had the opportunity to teach and provide research in the field of infertility, offer medical treatment to address the dream of pregnancy and parenthood, and, most importantly, be there for each and every one of my patients in good and bad times through the stages of their fertility journeys. The joy of achieving pregnancy after navigating infertility makes our entire team celebrate this sometimes monumental goal. This is why I am most passionate and enthusiastic to provide a book designed for those going through the challenging, daunting infertility process.

Joseph's book list on how to increase your chances for pregnancy

Joseph S. Sanfilippo Why did Joseph love this book?

The author provides “nourishing and easy recipes to improve egg quality.” Overall, the focus is on achieving pregnancy and empowering couples with knowledge and practical approaches to fertility.

Nutrition is placed in high and proper esteem complemented by balanced hormones that enhance maternal wellness. Creating “a good environment” in a woman’s body sets the stage for achieving conception. Basic information regarding the female reproductive tract and associated menstrual cycle is conveyed, and male infertility is addressed.

The vast majority of the book provides recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as snacks, that might benefit individuals struggling with infertility.

By Olivia Thompson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Fertility Bible for Couples as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Couples Around the World Are Talking About This Revolutionary Approach to Combining Food and Fertility!

Why does it seem that some of us simply cannot get pregnant, no matter how many fancy apps we use?

Are you losing sleep because it seems like nature will never let you become a moth-er?

I’ve faced the same battle as you. I’ve also won the battle with a unique look at balanced nutrition!

People will tell you ‘fate’ will intervene when the time is right, and yet nothing ever seems to change.

Others will try to convince you that the answer is medication,…


Book cover of Cursed Bunny

Tiffany Tsao Author Of The Majesties

From my list on riddles, wrapped in a mystery, inside an engima.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I started writing The Majesties, I wanted the narrative to be a continual excavation of secrets, one after the other. This sort of multi-layered story has always intrigued me and my fascination with it has influenced all my written work so far. I am particularly fascinated by books where characters unconsciously keep secrets from themselves, and where the line between the “real” and the fantastic is blurred beyond recognition. Sometimes it’s not just about solving a mystery, but articulating its mysteriousness—giving it flesh and bone, stitching its parts together, and bringing it to life through words.

Tiffany's book list on riddles, wrapped in a mystery, inside an engima

Tiffany Tsao Why did Tiffany love this book?

I read this book late at night while recovering from jetlag, and it was either the perfect book to read late at night while my mind’s guard was down or the worst book to do this with. The stories are hilarious, but also often horrifying, and ingeniously fantastic. A bunny lamp that curses whoever touches it; a woman who gets pregnant from taking birth control pills; a boy who bleeds gold when he drinks his sister’s blood—these stories are sure to keep your brain lit up long after your head has hit the pillow. 

By Bora Chung, Anton Hur (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Cursed Bunny as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner of a PEN/Heim Grant.

Cursed Bunny is a genre-defying collection of short stories by Korean author Bora Chung.

Blurring the lines between magical realism, horror, and science-fiction, Chung uses elements of the fantastic and surreal to address the very real horrors and cruelties of patriarchy and capitalism in modern society.

Anton Hur's translation skilfully captures the way Chung's prose effortlessly glides from being terrifying to wryly humorous.


Book cover of Terrible Virtue

Ames Sheldon Author Of Lemons in the Garden of Love

From my list on reproductive freedom.

Why am I passionate about this?

My great-grand aunt Blanche Ames was a co-founder of the Birth Control League of Massachusetts. My grandmother marched in birth control parades with Blanche. My mother stood in the Planned Parenthood booth at the Minnesota State Fair and responded calmly to those who shouted and spit at her. As the lead author and associate editor of the monumental reference work Women’s History Sources: A Guide to Archives and Manuscript Collections in the United States, which helped to launch the field of women’s history in the 1970s, I learned to love American women’s history, and I’ve always loved writing. Lemons in the Garden of Love is my third award-winning historical novel.

Ames' book list on reproductive freedom

Ames Sheldon Why did Ames love this book?

This historical novel about the life of Margaret Sanger, founder of the birth control movement, is full of accurate details about the life of Sanger – a revolutionary who spent her life making it possible for women to choose the number of children they wish to bear. She was an intriguing character driven by her cause and her belief that women enjoy sex as well as men do. She was charismatic, generous, ruthless, compassionate, calculating, and, when it came to her children, conflicted.

By Ellen Feldman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Terrible Virtue as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the spirit of The Paris Wife and Loving Frank, the provocative and compelling story of one of the most fascinating and influential figures of the twentieth century: Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood—an indomitable woman who, more than any other, and at great personal cost, shaped the sexual landscape we inhabit today.

The daughter of a hard-drinking, smooth-tongued free thinker and a mother worn down by thirteen children, Margaret Sanger vowed her life would be different. Trained as a nurse, she fought for social justice beside labor organizers, anarchists, socialists, and other progressives, eventually channeling her energy to…


Book cover of The Group

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been a journalist for years, and to write my first book, I ended up doing a ton of original research and reporting about photography, fashion, the art world, and the magazine industry in midcentury New York. But certain passages in the twins’ interviews reminded me strongly of many books I’d read growing up, that address the challenges young women face as they confront choices in life. And their story, with its wild and colorful characters, begged to be structured like a novel. It also took place when American society was changing dramatically for women, as it is today. So, I kept books like these in mind while writing.

Carol's book list on best books about young women figuring out their lives while society is changing around them

Carol Kino Why did Carol love this book?

I read this 1963 novel in college, adored it, and have re-read it many times since.

The book opens in 1933, as a group of eight women are graduating from Vassar during the Great Depression, and one announces her engagement. From there, the book functions almost like a work of journalism, following their lives until they gather again for the bride’s funeral in 1940, just as America is on the verge of war. In between, their stories demonstrate the different possibilities for women during a time of enormous social change (the period parallels the Makioka Sisters).

McCarthy’s writing has great range: while describing some figures, she’s biting and acerbic; with others, she’s empathetic, and they all seem very real, even today. I’m still looking for a love story like Polly’s.

By Mary McCarthy,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Group as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

* 'I consider it a masterpiece' HILARY MANTEL
* 'A brilliant novel: honest, engaging and sharp as a tack' SARAH WATERS
* 'One of my favourite books ever' INDIA KNIGHT

When first published in 1963, The Group was on a bestseller for almost two years. This groundbreaking novel, with its frank depiction of friendship, sex, and women's lives, was a revelation, and continues to inspire today.

Mary McCarthy's most celebrated novel portrays the lives and aspirations of eight Vassar graduates. 'The group' meet in New York following graduation to attend the wedding of one of their members - and reconvene…


Book cover of Wounds of Passion: A Writing Life

Kendra Allen Author Of The Collection Plate: Poems

From my list on finding inspiration and motivation.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a person who reads solely for pleasure regardless of research, I make it a mission while writing to read books I actually enjoy on topics I wanna learn more about. I chose the books on this list because I’m also a person who reads multiple books at once in various genres, it keeps me honest; aware of holes and discrepancies in my own work and pushes me towards some semblance of completion. All the writers on this list do multiple things at once and I admire their skill and risk in coupling creativity with clarity.

Kendra's book list on finding inspiration and motivation

Kendra Allen Why did Kendra love this book?

What bell hooks has shown me about the possibility of personal narrative and memoir writing is endless because she consistently shows that your story is never-ending. But mostly bell hooks likes to hurt me on purpose. This is my favorite memoir by her because it centers on two of my favorite topics: words and whirlwind romance that refuses to interfere with the words at stake, and I knew this book would be one I would return to in order to figure out my own priorities once I read, “I’m willing to give up everything I love if it means I won’t be crazy.”

By bell hooks,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Wounds of Passion as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“bell hooks’s brave memoir of struggling to find her own work, love, and independence.” ―Gloria Steinem
With her customary boldness and insight, brilliant social critic and public intellectual bell hooks traces her writer’s journey in Wounds of Passion. She shares the difficulties and triumphs, the pleasures and the dangers, of a life devoted to writing. hooks lets readers see the ways one woman writer can find her own voice while forging relationships of love in keeping with her feminist thinking. With unflinching courage and hard-won wisdom, hooks reveals the intimate details and provocative ideas of the life path she carved…


Book cover of Hidden From History: 300 Years of Women's Oppression and the Fight Against It

Jill Liddington Author Of As Good as a Marriage: The Anne Lister Diaries 1836-38

From my list on books on women’s history that inspired me.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a feminist author, having written about women’s history for nearly half a century. One phrase, "Dig where you stand," truly inspired me. Living in Oldham, I began researching the history of the radical suffragists across industrial Lancashire. Later, moving across the Pennines to Halifax, I gradually learned of Anne Lister of Shibden Hall—and became gripped by her diaries! Meanwhile, I worked in Adult Education at Leeds University & was a Reader in Gender History.

Jill's book list on books on women’s history that inspired me

Jill Liddington Why did Jill love this book?

In 1973, this book broke daring new ground, inspiring me to become a feminist historian. Effortlessly, Sheila introduced readers to an extraordinary range of feminists—from C17th Mary Astell to Stella Browne, the C20th birth control campaigner.

No worries if you’ve not heard of these women: by the end, you’ll be as entranced as I was!

By Sheila Rowbotham,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hidden From History as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this classic study of women in Britain from the Puritan revolution of the mid-seventeenth century to the 1930s, Sheila Rowbotham shows how class and sex, work and the family, personal life and social pressures have shaped and hindered women's struggles for equality.

She explores the different effects that changes in the process of production have on middle-class and working-class women; why birth control and the organisation of working women have been perceived as threatening to traditional male control of the family; how paid work and work in the home are intricately related and determine the social valuation of women…


Book cover of Devices and Desires: A History of Contraceptives in America

Lisa Lindquist Dorr Author Of White Women, Rape, and the Power of Race in Virginia, 1900-1960

From my list on sex in the past.

Why am I passionate about this?

Over my twenty years as a historian, the common thread in my work is the gap between how people are supposed to behave and how they actually do behave. From interracial sexual relationships in the segregated South, to rum smuggling from Cuba during Prohibition, to abortion on college campuses before Roe, I'm interested in how people work around rules they don’t like. And rules about sex are some of the most ignored rules of all. Reading about strange beliefs and common desires connect us to our ancestors. Being a professor of history at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama allows me to research bad behavior in the past to my heart’s content.

Lisa's book list on sex in the past

Lisa Lindquist Dorr Why did Lisa love this book?

We now take effective birth control for granted. But it used to be illegal, even for married couples. It wasn’t legal for unmarried couples until 1972! But that didn’t stop Americans of every kind from making and using a wide variety of substances and contraptions to try and limit births. From mom-and-pop condom shops to the Pill, this book traces birth control’s transformation from an illicit trade associated with the obscene and pornographic to a legitimate business.

By Andrea Tone,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Devices and Desires as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the 1873 Comstock Act to the groundbreaking inventions of today, a history of contraceptives reveals how they evolved from an illicit trade located in secret places and pornography outlets to one of the most legitimate businesses in America.


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in birth control, pregnancy, and infertility?

Birth Control 15 books
Pregnancy 120 books
Infertility 20 books