Natural Family Planning, More Than Birth Control

I was asked to review and share information about a new method of natural family planning called Creighton Model Fertility Care System with my readers.  Before I delve into the details, I wanted to preface it with a story I like to share with other moms.

When I first became pregnant with baby number four, one of  the first things I did was calculate my due date. I did this from the date of conception. I was able to do this because I had studied Taking Charge of Your Fertility for birth control and pregnancy achievement. I had my due date down pat, August 15th. My  midwife calculated my EDD said that I was due towards the end of July, the beginning of August. Undeterred, I stuck with my August 15th date. When she sent me over to the doctor’s office for a routine ultrasound in June (my LAST ultrasound ever!) the doctor made his measurements and declared that my son, was six pounds and was term. “According to my measurements, you are due on the 20th of July.” I disagreed and explained that I charted my cycle and ovulated on such and such a day. Needless to say he was insistent upon his calculations. 

Then something terrible happened…I believed him. I believed him because my midwife essentially backed him up by saying she had me due a few days after that. So we planned for a July 20th birth. To shorten a very long story full of frustration, and growth… when baby didn’t arrive by the first week of August, I KNEW I was right, and both the doctor and midwife were wrong. My son was born a healthy and HUGE 9lbs. and 11oz. on August 20th, a full month later.  You mommas out there can imagine the potential devastation and problems, that would have occurred if my son was induced a whole month early, because the doctor was too arrogant to receive my intelligence about my cycle. I still kick myself at times for believing “others” about MY cycle. I can’t put full blame on him (or midwife). It IS my body and I did know my due date.

It is because of this experience I fully believe that EVERY woman should know what happens to her when she cycles. My eyes have been opened since reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility. The process that takes place in a woman’s body is simply AMAZING! I’ve been charting my cycle for the last 7 or 8 years. With my most recent birth, I estimated the birth to the DAY! My labor started on the day of my due date.  Imagine… just imagine the drop in rates of  pre-term babies if women had such knowledge of their bodies!

I believe that natural family planning should be studied and learned, even if it isn’t a method of birth control a woman chooses. The knowledge alone could change the way she communicates with her doctor and put her in the driver’s seat of her fertility.

When I was approached with the Creighton Model Fertility Care System, a method of natural family planning, quite naturally my curiosity was piqued. The Creighton Model Fertility Care System coupled with NaProTechnology  (Natural Procreative Technology)  bases its approach on a fertility care perspective as opposed to a fertility control basis. Together, it is based on research, education and service. It proposes to use education to empower the woman to understand, and chart her cycle with what they call “biomarkers” (cervical fluid) and provide service, surgical if needed, if she is experiencing symptoms relating to her cycle/fertility.

There are 17 Fertility Care Centers that provide professional instructions of the Creighton Model Fertility Care System to couples and one in Canada. Some centers provide long distance learning if there is none near your location.  Currently there is a study called CEIBA (Creighton Model Effectiveness Intentions & Behaviors Assessment) that you can participate in as a new or long-time users of the Creighton Model. The objective of this study is to observe the effectiveness of the Creighton Model.

Honestly, I think that the Creighton Model Fertility Care System does not necessarily unravel “the mysteries of the menstrual and fertility cycle” as it says on the website, simply because, various methods of natural family planning has been around for a long time, enabling and empowering women like me, who have chosen the natural method.  However, it is the first that I’ve heard of science working with the natural feminine process, in that essence, there is a “break through'” of sorts. Personally, I wouldn’t choose this method, as I DO have a system that works well for me, but that is just my point in writing this post. This system may be an option that works for you. It’s an option that puts a woman on equal footing with her doctor, if not in the driver’s seat. It’s an option that respects a woman for being a woman, and that reason alone, is why I’m sharing this information with my readers. If you’re interested in participating in the CEIBA study click here or the banner above.

Relating Links: Dating the Beginning of Pregnancy

 

**The links and information in this post is presented on an informative basis, and does not take the place for qualified diagnosis of  a doctor. The reader  is strongly encouraged to research all information on this post.  All opinions and personal experiences are the author’s alone and is no reflection of CEIBA and relating programs. The author of this post is not religiously affiliated with CEIBA and relating programs and/or religious affiliations.