Pathways to
Conception
Pathways to conception
The questions fertility medicine leaves people asking.
For more than a decade, Chrystal has heard the same questions asked in consulting rooms, laboratories, online forums and quietly between appointments.
What does this result actually mean?
Did my embryo stop developing because of something I did?
Should we have another test?
Does this add-on actually work?
Why did IVF work for someone else but not for me?
What about sperm?
What should we do before IVF?
When is enough, enough?
Then:
Pathways to Conception brings these questions together with the science behind them — drawing on clinical embryology, andrology and contemporary evidence while making space for the complexity of the people asking them.
And then your broader thesis:
It is also an exploration of what happens when fertility becomes medicalised, commercialised and increasingly individualised — and what it means for women and families to retain agency within that system.
For people building families. For organisations shaping fertility care.
What should we know about this product? How is it made, how much does it cost, what color and size is it? Better descriptions result in more sales.
Pathway to Conception is written by an experienced embryologist and feminist advocate to give you what the fertility industry won't: clear, science-backed pathways to conception-before, during, and beyond IVF. With mapped decision trees, critical insights, and practical next steps, this book helps you reclaim agency, ask better questions, and move forward with confidence.
believe that knowledge empowers. My aim is to guide you through the fertility process with clarity, compassion, and confidence-so you always feel informed, supported, and respected.
ethical care
informed consent
patient rights
how systems shape outcomes
unspoken pressures women face
questions you should be asking (but probably aren’t told you can)