Читать книгу Zita West’s Guide to Getting Pregnant - Zita WEST, Zita West - Страница 6

Planning to get pregnant often follows other life plans – getting a longed-for job, finding a life partner, buying a first home – then comes having a baby. For some there comes a period in their lives where all the pieces of the jigsaw are in place, and the timing is right for having a baby. For others, there is an emphasis on getting everything ‘just perfect’ before ever considering having a baby.

Working with couples who are trying for a baby is multifaceted. Couples trying for a baby have many issues that are unique to them. I try and work with a couple to see their individual and unique whole picture.

Having said this, I believe there is no point in our lives when the timing is just right, and I wish I could encourage more couples not to set themselves unrealistic goals. Now I am a mother with a teenage daughter, it’s only natural that I want her to get a good university degree, find a rewarding job and a steady relationship. I was 27 when I found myself pregnant with her, and was devastated at first. I did six pregnancy tests to check, because I had not ‘planned’ on having children until my thirties. Although I had been married for a while, my husband and I had no money and were working abroad, and I thought the timing was terrible. Now, I wouldn’t have done it any other way!

Having been doing this work for the last 15 years, I found in the first few years that it was very much the woman in a partnership who would come along for the initial consultation; I would never see the partner. Nowadays I am delighted to say that I see couples together all the time – which is only as it should be, as the problem, statistically, usually has to do with women 50 per cent of the time and with men the other 50 per cent of the time.

The majority of couples don’t have a problem conceiving, but if you have bought this book, maybe getting pregnant isn’t happening for you as quickly as you would like and you are looking for some information and answers. No matter what route you take, I believe that you can take control of your own fertility – not hand it over to a doctor or fertility clinic. This is how I work with the women and men who come to see me. I don’t give them a pre-set, ‘one size fits all’ formula. Each couple is unique, and while their emotional and physical well-being is my main concern, I don’t tell them what to do. Together we work out what will work best for them. It is my hope that this book will help you do the same. I am really delighted that more and more clinics are starting to take on my work, particularly as of course not everyone can come to our clinic. My aim in this book is to help you to plan the best course of action for you, and to indicate the kind of treatments you should try to find in your own locality.