The reproductive rollercoaster

I don’t have children nor have I ever experienced the torrent of emotions that come with this – however, I have seen the effect falling pregnant or being unable have taken on other people in my life.

It is estimated that one in six couples face difficulty conceiving. For these couples, trying to conceive can be an extremely frustrating time full of unanswered questions – Is it you? Is it me? Is it all in my head?

To the rescue of women who are sleeping with their legs in the air, bulk-buying pregnancy tests online and gnashing their teeth through baby showers… is Genevieve Morton – an Australian freelance journalist so determined to have a baby and tired of hearing the word ‘Relax!’, she wrote the A – Z survival guide so every woman trying to get pregnant wouldn’t feel as lost, lonely and confused as she was.

This book has the best book name ever it is called Bump & Grind: The A-Z Survival Guide For When You’re Trying to Get Pregnant and Sick and Tired of Being Told to RELAX! and it chronicles what it is really like trying to conceive.

“Some women – I call them Smug Fertility Goddesses – seem to get pregnant after sniffing their husband’s dirty socks, and then go on to brag about it,” Genevieve says. “Others get pregnant after a few well-timed trysts on holiday.

"The rest of us have to work at it, and do I mean work. Along with charting our temperature, observing our cervical mucus and nagging our partners about their tight undies and fourth beer, there is the emotional rollercoaster of TTC [trying to conceive] which no book I’ve read can prepare you for.

“TTC is hard and lonely work. Most of us don’t share our efforts because we don’t want to jinx our luck. After spending so many lunch hours in the ‘family’ aisle at bookshops only to leave feeling scared, alone, desperate and old, I decided to write Bump & Grind – a book incorporating all of the vital baby-making information such as pinpointing ovulation and fertility-friendly foods with the heartbreaking but sometimes hilarious emotional and social aspects of TTC that not many women confess out loud.”

“I want this book to be your friend – something that you can curl up with in bed that will make you smile, laugh and realise you’re not alone, and of course, help you get pregnant!”

On sale August 2010 for a RRP of $29.95 from your local bookstore or online at www.finch.com.au