A standalone illustrated guide to sperm, tests, everyday health and treatment options, for men and the people supporting them.
91 pages · 22 chapters · 3 worked examples · 7 worksheets · evidence ratings throughout
Explore three pages from the first review draft below. The examples are fictional teaching examples. Medical content and illustrations await Kara’s review and clinical approval before publication.
Book One ends where you may be ready to see someone; Book Two starts at your first consultation. Each book can also be read on its own.
Book OneReview draft
The Basics
How fertility works, and how to look after yourself
Where to start. How your cycle, eggs and sperm work, what changes with age, when it is reasonable to ask for help, and what the evidence says about lifestyle, supplements and emotional health.
12 chapters
Fertility: The Basics Everyone Should Understand
Understanding the Menstrual Cycle
Ovulation and Your Fertile Window
Fertility and Age
Eggs: Quantity, Quality and Ovarian Reserve
Male Fertility and Sperm Health
Why Pregnancy Sometimes Takes Longer
When Should You Consider Seeking Fertility Help?
Lifestyle, Nutrition and Fertility
Fertility Supplements: Questions to Ask
Emotional Health During a Fertility Journey
Common Fertility Myths
Book TwoReview draft
Tests & Treatment
Understanding your results and your options
For when you are ready to see someone. What each fertility test measures and what it can’t tell you, PCOS and endometriosis, semen analysis, your first consultation, and how IUI, IVF and egg freezing work.
13 chapters
Understanding Fertility Blood Tests
AMH, FSH, LH, Estradiol and Progesterone Explained
Ultrasound and Fertility Assessments
PCOS and Fertility
Endometriosis and Fertility
Understanding Semen Analysis
Preparing for Your First Fertility Consultation
IUI Explained
IVF Explained From Beginning to End
Eggs, Embryos and the Laboratory
Egg Freezing and Fertility Preservation
Understanding Fertility Treatment Terminology
Questions to Ask Your Fertility Team
Book ThreeIn first draft
The Evidence
What the research really shows
A deeper look at the research behind the guide: how to read a fertility study, what is known about egg and sperm quality, what happens in the IUI and IVF laboratory, which add-ons have evidence, what success rates really mean, and fertility care in South Africa.
9 chapters
How to Read a Fertility Study
Egg Quality: Chromosomes, Mitochondria and the Claims
Male Age and Sperm
Sperm DNA, Varicocele and “No Sperm Found”
Inside the IUI Laboratory
Inside the IVF Laboratory
Add-ons: Paying for Extras
Success Rates, Honestly
Fertility Care in South Africa
Book FourReview draft
Male Fertility
Understanding Your Sperm, Tests & Options
A standalone illustrated guide for men and partners: 91 pages, 22 chapters, three fictional worked examples and seven printable worksheets, with an evidence rating on every key idea and boxes that show where the guidelines disagree. Medical content and illustrations await Kara’s review and clinical approval.
22 chapters
Sperm and the reproductive system
Hormones and sperm production
Male age in context
Male age and your child’s health
Seeking an assessment
Giving a sample
Reading semen measurements
Reference values and repeat tests
Extra tests and what they change
Sperm DNA: what the tests can and can’t tell you
Everyday health
Heat, illness and exposures
Medicines and supplements
Testosterone, steroids and recovery
HIV and conception in South Africa
Emotional health and shared care
Understanding possible causes
No sperm found: first steps
Genetics and “no sperm found”
Assisted conception
Retrieval, freezing and decisions
Cancer and sperm banking
Not a normal ebook
Recurring boxes make it interactive
Books One and Two use the recurring boxes below. Book Three uses them too, apart from the test-results box, and adds a “Reading the Study” box. Book Four adds key-idea summaries with an evidence rating (strong, moderate or limited), “Where the guidelines disagree” boxes, fictional worked examples and seven printable worksheets for appointments, test results and shared decisions.
Kara Explains
A simple explanation of a complicated concept
Ask Your Healthcare Professional
Questions to take to your healthcare team
Myth vs Reality
Common claims, checked
What Does This Test Mean?
Results, decoded
Words You May Hear
Terminology in plain language
Watch with Kara
A QR code in each chapter of Books One to Three, for that chapter’s topic page on this website, where Kara’s videos will appear as they are released
Editions
Premium PDF, then Kindle and paperback
All four books are in draft and await Kara’s review and clinical approval. Books One and Two are planned as premium designed PDFs first, followed by Kindle and paperback editions. No publication date has been confirmed.
