Five million Americans want children but cannot conceive. One million couples seek treatment each year. Most begin their quest without prior knowledge of the physical, emotional, and financial costs of high-tech conception (which is usually not covered by insurance). They are equally uninformed about the quality of the clinics and practitioners who provide these services -- a $2 billion, for-profit, unregulated industry.This is the book those couples need.Providing lucid, balanced, and forthright critical assessment of the technology, it discusses: -- The techniques that are appropriate for each type of infertility-- The procedures themselves in step-by-step detail (including the latest, much publicized ICSI, the powerful, still experimental technique in which a single sperm is injected into an egg)-- The nature and risks of the highly potent drugs used to assist in fertilization and implantation-- The critically important process of prenatal genetic diagnosis-- How to assess the safety and the claimed success rates of clinicsThis realistic, utterly responsible guide will enable consumers to become informed decision-makers at a time when knowing all the facts can literally make all the difference to their world.