Book Description
"Throughout the entire history of world armed conflict, the proportion of battle injuries involving the genitals was minimal--rarely above 5%. But sadly, by the end of 2007, this statistic was no longer valid for the U.S. military. While standard-issue body armor protects the torso, some lower extremity wounds are so severe that all or part of the reproductive organs are obliterated." --E Scott Sills, MD PhD As America picks up the pieces from more than a decade of war, a caliper has never been laid across one critical casualty--the long-term consequences of military service on the fertility of those in uniform. Written for a general audience, "Fighting At The Fertility Front" includes separate chapters for men & women and follows their journeys from reception & basic training to far-away places like the open burn pits of Afghanistan, and back. The list of ingredients here is provocative: Sex, soldiers' fertility, overseas service, and the "military-industrial-congressional complex" that funds it all...or, in the case of fertility treatment for Veterans, paradoxically denies funding. This one-of-a-kind book confronts some deeply unsettling questions from our armed service members and their loved ones: Should I be worried about fertility if my partner is in the military? How can hazards of defense work diminish future reproductive capacity? Is it true that the Army's standard combat uniform is coated with a potential reproductive toxin? The answers may surprise you. Before deciding on a fertility attack plan, you need credible intelligence about the target. Until now, there has never been any field-book outlining maneuvers to maximize the chances of a military patient growing his or her family. Recognizing that fertility after deployment is another "unknown unknown" of military service, this book helps guide a clear way to bring back baby.