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Time and energy focused on understanding basic infertility concepts
will allow many infertile partners to become more active in decision
making regarding fertility care.
Understanding the basics may have many rewards, including
- * allowing you to communicate more effectively with
your physician,
- * deciding to accept a previously misunderstood diagnostic
or treatment plan,
- * becoming capable of proposing or discussing reasonable
alternatives to a suggested plan,
- * mentally juggling several different alternative but
reasonable medical plans and deciding which makes the most sense
for you when you also factor in your own set of values and fertility
goals,
- * improving the outcome of your fertility efforts since
many fertility related tests and treatments require precision
in timing and/or recording and your attention to detail will improve
as you understand the importance of you precision, and
- * allowing each partner to regain a sense of control
since they will help to decide the fertility management
These benefits may go largely unrecognized but are emotionally
very significant.
My goal in preparing each section is to present current medical
information in a way that is understandable without sacrificing
the content.
This information is not a substitute for the medical education
that doctors have obtained in medical school. You will not become
an infertility specialist even if you master all of the enclosed
information, but you should be able to gain considerable insight
into the diagnostic and therapeutic plans that your doctor proposes
and decide for yourself whether those plans are "best for
you."
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