'Reproflexology' - the study and treatment of male and female reproductive and fertility conditions using reflexology - is aspecialist therapy that has been pioneered and carefully developed by Barbara Scott over 20 years. The therapy can be applied either as a stand-alone treatment to support natural conception or alongside fertility treatment. This is the first book to be published on treating fertility issues using reflexology.Reproductive reflexology can be a minefield with much conflicting advice being given about what practitioners can and cannot do. Because of this many practitioners choose not to work with clients who are having fertility issues. In this book Barbara Scott gives clear guidance on how to gain information from clients, how to interpret that information, how to plan treatment and what reproflexology techniques to use. This will give practitioners the knowledge and confidence to work with clients who have a wide range of reproductive conditions and who are trying to conceive.

Male factor infertility is receiving greater emphasis in IVF programs. This book reviews the scientific evidence for various medical, environmental and lifestyle factors that can affect male fertility, such as chromosome abnormalities, age, anti-sperm antibodies and endocrine disruptors. Part of a four-book series on improving IVF success, this volume subsequently explores a range of treatments and strategies to improve sperm quality, including FSH treatment and antioxidants. It also discusses methods to prevent male infertility from childhood through to adulthood. Concise, practical and evidence-based - and with insights from global experts in the field - this text will enable gynecologists, urologists and andrologists to make evidence-based decisions that can influence the success rate of fertilization in subsequent IVF cycles.

This extensively updated new edition provides an indispensable account of modern in-vitro fertilization practice, building upon the popularity of previous editions. The authors initially give a comprehensive review of the biology of human gametes and embryos, before outlining basic to advanced IVF techniques. New developments in practical techniques and understanding are discussed, including in-vitro maturation, vitrification, preservation of fertility for cancer patients, stem cell technology, preimplantation genetic testing, and the role of epigenetics and imprinting. The revised introduction also incorporates a 'refresher' study review of fundamental principles of cell and molecular biology, now updated with current knowledge of meiosis in human oocytes, embryo metabolism and basic principles of genome editing. With high-quality illustrations and extensive, up-to-date reading lists, it is a must-have textbook for trainee and practising embryologists, as well as clinicians who are interested in the scientific principles that underpin successful IVF.

Despite incredible and previously undreamed-of advances in modern medicine, for many women the issue of infertility remains a heart-breaking reality. Using a combination of traditional and modern astrological techniques, the author has delved deeply into the charts of hundreds of infertile women, and in many cases has unravelled what might be at the root of the problem. Sometimes it's a matter of location or timing, or it could be psychological issues in the relationship that are causing the block; whatever the reason, the author works closely with the couple - and often the medical profession - to produce results that are frequently positive where there has been no hope before. Although this is an advanced textbook for astrologers, the human element of the case histories is nothing short of inspiring, and from that perspective can be enjoyed by readers with no knowledge of astrology.

This new handbook provides private-practice and hospital gynecologists with a practical guide for advising and treating patients in the case of maternal disease during pregnancy. More than 100 diagnoses are presented from A to Z and described with respect to disease definition, clinical care and obstetrical management. One easy-to-remember guideline summarizes what is most important for the treatment of each disease.

This book aims to address a number of controversies concerning the use of testosterone treatment. It explains topics that clinicians regularly encounter such as whether to use free or total testosterone in the evaluation of the patient with testosterone deficiency; what factors actually impact testosterone levels, polycythemia, gynecomastia, bone density, and hyperprolactinemia in the testosterone deficient patient; critical analysis of the numerous questionnaires that are available to clinicians; and the impact of testosterone therapy on male fertility, cardiovascular disease, and prostate events including prostate cancer. Guiding the reader in both evaluation and management, the book also illuminates novel concepts in the T space such as testosterone use in the transgender population, T therapy as an endothelial modulator, bipolar testosterone therapy in the patient with advanced prostate cancer, and testosterone therapy as a performance enhancer. Controversies in Testosterone Deficiency is intended for any clinician involved in the care of patients with testosterone deficiency, exploring hot topics and correcting existent misinformation in the routine care of patients.

Period positivity starts with asking questions. This informative, irreverent, and absorbing book covers all your period-related questions - why they're taboo (and needn't be) and how to navigate the whole bleeding thing, from first periods to fertility, euphemisms to uteruses, menstrual products to menopause. Let's get period positive. It's about bloody time. Feel your best at any time of the month! This science-backed menstruation book is full of good advice and friendly tips to give you the tools to re-frame your thinking and learn to love your cycle. This frank, funny, and fascinating menstruation guide from Period Positive movement founder and menstrual researcher, Chella Quint's offers: - A practical, science-backed guide to your period with arresting infographics, and anatomical diagrams - Answers to all your period-related questions, exploring topics like the functions and effects of hormones, when periods "normal" or "abnormal," hormonal birth control, sex, fertility, pregnancy - Explanations of common female health conditions such as PCOS and endometriosis Light or heavy, early or late, painful or painfully bad timing - periods can be a nightmare. With its beautiful visuals and question and answer format, Be Period Positive provides practical advice on managing the common symptoms most women have during their period - from easing cramps to using a menstrual cup, coming off the pill and managing PMS. Find answers to the common period myths like whether your menstrual cycle is linked to the moon or if period syncing is a thing. Explore how periods evolved and what is going on in your body to deepen your understanding of your cycle. This period positive book includes sections that will help you "hack your period". Learn how adapting your diet, exercise, and other strategies can help you manage hormonal fluctuations' physical and emotional effects. Learn how to recognise when you're at your most receptive, creative, and vulnerable so that you can get the best out of every stage of your cycle.

The latest edition of An Atlas of Gynecologic Oncology continues its coverage of the innovative techniques in investigation and surgery on the brink of becoming established as part of the gynecologic surgeon's repertoire, now including the exciting developments in uterine transplantation.

How the fear of malpractice affects mothers and reproductive choices Giving birth is a monumental event, not only in the personal life of the woman giving birth, but as a medical process and procedure. In The Business of Birth, Louise Marie Roth explores the process of giving birth, and the ways in which medicine and law interact to shape maternity care. Focusing on the United States, Roth explores how the law creates an environment where medical providers, malpractice attorneys, and others limit women’s rights and choices during birth. She shows how a fear of liability risk often drives the decision-making process of medical providers, who prioritize hospital efficiency over patient safety, to the detriment of mothers themselves. Ultimately, Roth advocates for an approach that protects the reproductive rights of mothers. A comprehensive overview, The Business of Birth provides valuable insight into the impact of the law on mothers, medical providers, maternity care practices, and others in the United States.

Making a Good Life takes a timely look at the ideas and values that inform how people think about reproduction and assisted reproductive technologies. In an era of heightened scrutiny about parenting and reproduction, fears about environmental degradation, and the rise of the biotechnology industry, Katharine Dow delves into the reproductive ethics of those who do not have a personal stake in assisted reproductive technologies, but who are building lives inspired and influenced by environmentalism and concerns about the natural world's future. Moving away from experiences of infertility treatments tied to the clinic and laboratory, Dow instead explores reproduction and assisted reproductive technologies as topics of public concern and debate, and she examines how people living in a coastal village in rural Scotland make ethical decisions and judgments about these matters. In particular, Dow engages with people's ideas about nature and naturalness, and how these relate to views about parenting and building stable environments for future generations. Taking into account the ways daily responsibilities and commitments are balanced with moral values, Dow suggests there is still much to uncover about reproductive ethics. Analyzing how ideas about reproduction intersect with wider ethical struggles, Making a Good Life offers a new approach to researching, thinking, and writing about nature, ethics, and reproduction.

This book presents the latest insights into all the critical aspects of Klinefelter's Syndrome, in order to promote a more homogeneous a medical approach to this condition, leading to better and more "evidence-based" support, and improving patient satisfaction. It offers physicians and all health professionals involved in treating these patients (andrologists, pediatricians, endocrinologists, psychologists) a comprehensive overview and a useful tool for their daily clinical practice.

Fertility is one of the major health and wellbeing issues for modern women, and Emma Cannon's Total Fertility offers clear, warm and supportive advice to help you on your own unique fertility journey. This book will help you get pregnant now, whether you are going for natural or assisted conception, and also focus on fertility preservation to help you stay fertile longer so you can get pregnant in the future. Emma Cannon answers the many nagging questions women have about fertility and conception; questions such as: How can I get a sense of my fertility? Can I preserve my fertility? When exactly should we be having sex? Does my diet really matter? Does stress lower my chances of conceiving? What exercise should I be doing? Reducing stress and approaching fertility with a calm and positive attitude is central to her approach to getting pregnant, so Emma also helps you develop a 'fertile mindset' with a toolbox of simple suggestions to cultivate emotional wellness for your particular fertility 'type'. Written in Emma's trademark optimistic, warm and non-judgmental tone, Total Fertility is a book for anyone who is thinking - or has ever thought of - getting pregnant.

Strive for health equity and surmount institutional oppression when treating marginalized populations with this distinct resource!This unique text provides a framework for delivering culturally safe clinical care to LGBTQIA populations filtered through the lens of racial, economic, and reproductive justice. It focuses strongly on the social context in which we live, one where multiple historical processes of oppression continue to manifest as injustices in the health care setting and beyond. Encompassing the shared experiences of a diverse group of expert health care practitioners, this book offers abundant examples, case studies, recommendations, and the most up-to-date guidelines available for treating LGBTQIA patient populations. Rich in clinical scenarios that describe best practices for safely treating patients, this text features varied healthcare frameworks encompassing patient-centered and community-centered care that considers the intersecting and ongoing processes of oppression that impact LGBTQIA people every day--particularly people of color. This text helps health providers incorporate safe and culturally appropriate language into their care, understand the roots and impact of stigma, address issues of health disparities, and recognize and avoid racial or LGBTQIA microaggressions. Specific approaches to care include chapters on sexual health care, perinatal care, and information about pregnancy and postpartum care for transgender and gender-expansive people. Key Features: Emphasizes patient-centered care incorporating an understanding of patient histories, safety needs, and power imbalances Provides tools for clinician self-reflection to understand and alleviate implicit bias Fosters culturally safe language and communication skills Presents abundant patient scenarios including specific dos and don'ts in patient treatment Includes concrete objectives, conclusions, terminology, and references in each chapter and discussion questions to promote critical thought Offers charts and information boxes to illuminate key information

Random Families is about the unprecedented families that have grown up at the intersection of new reproductive technologies, social media, and the human desire for belonging. Children of the same donor and their families, with the help of the internet, can now locate each other and make contact. Based on over 350 interviews with children (ages 10-28), their parents and related donors from all over the U.S., Random Families chronicles the chain of choices that couples and single mothers make from what donor to use to how to participate (or not) in donor sibling networks. Children reveal their understanding of a donor, the donor's spot on the family tree and the meaning of their donor siblings. Through rich first-person accounts of network membership, the book illustrates how these extraordinary relationships-woven from bits of online information and shared genetic ties-are transformed into new possibilities for kinship. Random Families offers down-to-earth stories from real families to highlight just how truly distinctive these contemporary new forms of family are.

Surrogacy is India's new form of outsourcing, as couples from all over the world hire Indian women to bear their children for a fraction of the cost of surrogacy elsewhere with little to no government oversight or regulation. In the first detailed ethnography of India's surrogacy industry, Amrita Pande visits clinics and hostels and speaks with surrogates and their families, clients, doctors, brokers, and hostel matrons in order to shed light on this burgeoning business and the experiences of the laborers within it. From recruitment to training to delivery, Pande's research focuses on how reproduction meets production in surrogacy and how this reflects characteristics of India's larger labor system.

Pande's interviews prove surrogates are more than victims of disciplinary power, and she examines the strategies they deploy to retain control over their bodies and reproductive futures. While some women are coerced into the business by their families, others negotiate with clients and their clinics to gain access to technologies and networks otherwise closed to them. As surrogates, the women Pande meets get to know and make the most of advanced medical discoveries. They traverse borders and straddle relationships that test the boundaries of race, class, religion, and nationality. Those who focus on the inherent inequalities of India's surrogacy industry believe the practice should be either banned or strictly regulated. Pande instead advocates for a better understanding of this complex labor market, envisioning an international model of fair-trade surrogacy founded on openness and transparency in all business, medical, and emotional exchanges.

To Pee or Not to Pee? provides women with the information they need to reduce and stop their bladder leak for good. Shelia Craig Whiteman PT DPT, CLT is a pelvic health physical therapist who has successfully treated hundreds of women with urinary incontinence. Within To Pee or Not to Pee?, she helps women discover the tools needed to stop leaking and start living life again without worry or embarrassment of leaking in public. In To Pee or Not to Pee?, women learn: How to identify their type of urinary incontinence to personalize their program for success How to find and effectively strengthen their pelvic muscles The right exercises to do to stop their type of leakage Simple lifestyle changes to help produce big results How to stop bladder leaks for good

Mind Over Bladder is a trusted and informative guidebook for bladder control, written with respect and humor by a nationally known urogynecologist, revised and expanded for the 21st century woman. Urinary Incontinence plagues millions of women worldwide, vastly more women than men. The reasons for this are many, including we have children, go through menopause and our anatomy is pretty different. Since these issues affect approximately 30-40% or greater of all women, can include issues with prolapsing organs (bladder, uterus, rectum) and can limit a woman's freedom and ability to live a full and active life, an actual guidebook seemed not only necessary but overdue. Mind Over Bladder answers this need. Informative, respectful and written with humor by a leading urogynecologist, Mind Over Bladder asks and answers the question of "What is incontinence and what can I do about it?". This unique approach begins at the beginning takes women through basic bladder and pelvic plumbing to getting a diagnosis and formulating a treatment plan. Mind Over Bladder arms women with information and practical solutions to help lead better, drier and happier lives.

Challenging Concepts in Obstetrics and Gynaecology is a case-based guide to difficult scenarios faced in both fields, covering many of the major sub-speciality areas of each. The 24 cases have been selected to cover a spectrum of challenges in obstetrics and gynaecology. Recognising that any attempt to cover the whole curriculum is impossible, the authors have instead chosen specific, challenging scenarios that are commonly encountered in clinical practice, but by no means have simple answers or outcomes. Complex cases are examined from a multidisciplinary approach with consideration of diagnostic procedures, practical skills, evidence base, and the application of national and international guidelines. There is also a summary of evidence from the medical literature in various subspecialty areas of obstetrics and gynaecology, alongside current controversies in management. Cases are punctuated by easy-to-read "Learning Points", "Clinical Tips", and "Evidence Base" boxes, speeding the learning process as well as providing a handy dip-into guide for those just refreshing their memory. Each case is set off by an 'Expert Commentary' written by an internationally-renowned expert in each field, leaving the reader with both a solid base of knowledge and a nuanced view of current challenges in obstetrics and gynaecology. This collaboration between trainees and experts provides a unique insight into the management of complex and often rare but important obstetrics and gynaecology cases, within a highly user-friendly format and a ready-made means of self-learning and self-testing. Challenging Concepts in Obstetrics and Gynaecologymakes a useful, relevant and interesting read, enabling the reader to readily transfer the knowledge gained to everyday clinical practice.

Human Placental Trophoblasts: Impact of Maternal Nutrition explores the vital roles of trophoblasts play in fetal growth and pregnancy, giving you new insight into the modulation of placental trophoblast functions by nutrients. It also reviews the role of fatty acids, folic acids, and specific vitamins in this aspect. The book highlights the critical role of nutrients on human placental development and its' in utero programming effects on the development of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and obesity in later life. The book begins with discussions of the central process of placentation and its regulation on size and growth of the fetus. It also covers the effects of key macronutrients on placental growth, metabolism, transport, and secretory function. The text details important vitamins and few micronutrients and their roles in the feto-placental growth and development. It includes information on the influence of maternal lifestyle and environmental factors on regulation of the growth, metabolism and gene expression in the feto-placental unit. A review of the genes linked to the process of placentation rounds out the coverage. An examination of a broad range of evidence in the areas of placental growth, function, and its impact on feto-placental outcome, the book presents new knowledge on nutrition and its relevance with early human development. This includes not only the effects of maternal nutrients on possible neonatal growth and development but also their regulation by maternal lifestyle associated factors. A fine blending of epidemiology, clinical nutrition, perinatal and neonatal medicine, and biochemistry and molecular biology areas of research activities, the book helps you to understand the impact of maternal nutrition on placentation and its relevance with pregnancy outcome and fetal programming of adult health and disease.

For around half of the couples who have trouble conceiving the cause of infertility is sperm-related. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is the most common and successful treatment for male infertility. Here, the pioneers for the technique, along with authorities in the field, describe the underlying science of ICSI and other micromanipulation techniques. Practical advice for performing the techniques is covered in depth, including sperm selection, laser-assisted ICSI, and the use of piezo in ICSI. Examining the safety of ICSI in animal models as well as the impact of ICSI on the health and well-being of the children conceived through the procedure is discussed. This manual is an essential resource for clinical embryologists and laboratory personnel wishing to refine or develop techniques and improve outcomes.

A powerful, personal reflection on miscarriage from an acclaimed health and science journalist, drawing on original interviews and ground-breaking research to offer fresh insight into this underacknowledged subject. After losing four pregnancies with no obvious cause, Jennie Agg set out to understand why miscarriage remains such a profoundly misunderstood, under-researched and under-acknowledged experience. Part-memoir, part-scientific investigation, Life, Almost documents Agg's path to motherhood and her search for answers. Tracing each tentative step of her fifth pregnancy - as her body becomes a creature she does not wish to spook - Agg dismantles the myths that we unquestioningly accept about our reproductive lives- Why are we told miscarriage can't be prevented when half of all miscarriages are of perfectly healthy embryos? Why is it normal not to tell anyone you're pregnant for the first three months? Why don't we know why labour starts? Drawing on pioneering research and interviews with world-leading experts, Life, Almost is a ground-breaking book that will change how you think about miscarriage, and a moving reflection on grief and love at the edge of life as we understand it.

Cloning, genetic screening, embryo freezing, in vitro fertilization, Norplant, RU486--these are the technologies revolutionizing our reproductive landscape. Through the lens of procreative liberty--meaning both the freedom to decide whether or not to have children as well as the freedom to control one's reproductive capacity--John Robertson, a leading legal bioethicist, analyzes the ethical, legal, and social controversies surrounding each major technology and opens up a multitude of fascinating questions: Do frozen embryos have the right to be born? Should parents be allowed to select offspring traits? May a government force welfare recipients to take contraceptives? Robertson's arguments examine the broad range of consequences of each reproductive technology and offers a timely, multifaceted analysis of the competing interests at stake for patients, couples, doctors, policymakers, lawyers, and ethicists.