As many more women ages 45 and older are getting pregnant, some people have come to expect that medical advances have made getting pregnant easier. That is not true for all women, and Kittel (The Hormone Connection) says that women need to be careful about their health before trying to get pregnant. Some of her advice—stop smoking, eat healthily and reduce stress—is obvious, though still helpful. Kittel, writing with medical adviser Metzger, also advises prospective fathers to be more aware of their health and if they're ardent cyclists, to reduce their mileage and change the type of bicycle seat they use. This book offers a good deal of solid nutritional and medical information in a comfortable, easy-to-understand fashion. There are bulleted lists including ways to reduce stress and infections, questions to ask before having surgery and a body/mass chart. Especially useful is the author's ability to synthesize complex information; a one-page box on "High-Tech Fertility Treatment" for older women is excellent. This is a solid summary of fertility issues that will be especially valuable to readers unfamiliar with medical terminology. (June)
