I'm Too Young to Get Old: Health Care for Women After Forty

Reichman is a renowned gynecologist and frequent contributor to the Today show. Here she discusses in friendly "girlfriend" language the issues that confuse and worry women ages 40 and older. The book starts with asubject that women in this age range usually don't concern themselves with--contraception--and includes some shocking statistics (half of all pregnancies in women older than 40 are unintended; the abortion rate in this age group is only second to that of teenagers). Reichman explains the pros and cons of different forms of contraception, including the mini-pill and surgical options; she omits natural family planning, but she does include 10 methods that are in development and awaiting government approval.

For women having difficulties becoming pregnant, Reichman details a dozen tests that hopeful couples can use to pinpoint the problem; the stages of the procedures, costs, and potential complications are included in down-to-earth, nonintimidating language. The true value of this book, though, are Reichman's answers to scores of questions that nervous patients might be too upset or too afraid to ask--or might not even consider--as well as those that physicians might forget to address or lack time to fully explain.

The chapters on menopause and cancer, and the lucid and lengthy explanations of risk factors, treatments, and side effects, are the most useful parts of the book. Who knew, for example, that living at altitudes above 10,000 feet can cause menopause to begin as much as two years earlier than normal? Reichman also includes clear explanations of--and prevention tactics for--scary health problems that commonly affect women in this age group, including bladder-control problems, heart disease, and osteoporosis.

For those women who have trouble communicating with their physicians, Reichman will provide much-needed answers and advice.