You’ve entered the minefield of fertility and are wondering what the first steps should be before you embark on this journey. One of my top tips is to become armed with as much information as you can and then work through that information with your healthcare professionals and your friendly fertility doula (me 🙂 ), to work out what’s best for you to optimize your chances to conceive. The best place to start with that is to read some of the best books for fertility that are out there.

Ten years ago at the tender age of 29 when my husband and I were diagnosed as infertile we fell into a black hole of what to do next. I am an obsessive when it comes to researching and finding out everything I possibly can about everything and so I began searching for books and other resources that could help along the way. The top 3 books I genuinely consider to be invaluable in your fertility journey are:

It Starts with the Egg by Rebecca Fett (in the UK: here)

Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler (in the UK: here)

Is Your Body Baby Friendly? by Alan Beer (in the UK: here)

The best book I ever read (and continue to read) was It Starts with the Egg by Rebecca Fett and it still remains to this day my top tip for anyone trying to conceive, whether through assisted reproductive technologies or without. I have recommended this book countless times to anyone who would listen. Yes, this might seem like an obvious choice since she has been an Amazon best seller since the book debuted almost a decade ago. However, major disclaimer here: Rebecca and I have been friends for over 15 years and while no one wishes infertility on anyone, the fact that one of my closest friends is literally *the* authority on improving egg quality, has made a significant difference to how my husband and I navigated this journey and were able to be successful.

Not only did I read this book many times, but we actually implemented a number of the changes in our lives, the supplements, the reduction in plastics, the diet changes and it definitely made an impact on the quality of my eggs and my husband’s sperm as we navigated our fertility journey.

This book is truly a comprehensive guide that dives deep into the impact of egg quality on fertility and offers evidence-based strategies to improve it, whether you have PCOS, endometriosis, unexplained infertility or otherwise. If you are looking for practical tips you can implement as soon as you finish reading the book this is the book for you, allowing you to make informed choices about everything from food, to environmental toxins, to supplementation.

Update: as of 31 August 2023, Rebecca has now released the third edition of this book. She has a comprehensive list of updates on her website so if you haven’t yet purchased her book, buy the latest version here.

Next up is Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. This is such a comprehensive guide for individuals looking to understand their reproductive health and has become a go-to resource over the last 20 years. This extremely insightful book delves into the intricacies of the menstrual cycle, fertility signs and the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM). If you are searching for invaluable information on identifying fertile days, understanding your cervical mucus (yes, I said it), a deep dive into charting and understanding possible reproductive disorders, this book is the Bible.

Toni’s book provides a real empowering approach to maximising your chances of conception and I would say especially for those who are either trying to conceive without fertility treatments or who may be opposed to fertility treatments on religious (or other) grounds, this book is a fantastic resource to boost your natural fertility.

For Dr Beer’s book, Is Your Body Baby Friendly? I would say that this is highly recommended if you have suffered recurrent miscarriages or have unexplained infertility. Dr Beer examines immune reactivity and its impact on fertility providing a wealth of information on possible diagnoses, various treatment options and lifestyle modifications. If you are struggling to understand why fertility treatments are perhaps not working out for you, this book can really help.

Reproductive immunology is still seen by some as not worth exploring, but optimising your chances by covering your bases on this lesser-known topic has been shown to have some amazing success rates. Many women have been shown to have autoimmune issues that contribute to their inability to get and/or stay pregnant and utilising the knowledge from this book can make a world of difference to your future outcome.

I will say that at times this book can come across as a “bit scientific” but it does its best to explain the complex issues in as approachable a way as possible. Importantly it allows you to be armed with information for additional testing you can ask for from your medical professionals and seek the appropriate interventions that can be the difference between a successful and not successful pregnancy.

Finally I will say that equipping yourself with reliable, tested and up to date information about practical steps to improve your fertility health can only be a good thing on this difficult and often arduous journey to get and stay pregnant. The more valuable insights and practical strategies you can employ to maximise your chances, the better and as you navigate this complex world, remember that knowledge is power and harnessing that knowledge effectively can hugely impact your chances of success.

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases made through the links set out above.