Mary G Bruno

Many months ago, a woman wrote into an extremely popular and credible Catholic question and answer podcast frustrated about her feelings of guilt and confusion when daily conversing with her husband and praying about avoiding another pregnancy. She was struggling specifically because she was having difficulty identifying her days of fertility and infertility with her continuous mucus.

The woman explained that she had been married for 8 years, has 4 children, and has had several miscarriages. She was using the Creighton Model System with yellow stamps, which she had not yet mastered, and had a history of low progesterone (hence the miscarriages) which required her to use supplementation to sustain her last 3 pregnancies. She sought spiritual advice and direction.

This episode welcomed a very good and pretty well known Catholic professional guest (whose expertise is outside the realm of Fertility Awareness) who had the task of answering the questions in this particular hour. Before he gave her the spiritual advice, this is what he said:

“Practically speaking, the Creighton Method of Fertility Awareness, or Natural Family Planning, only looks at mucus signs as the metric to be able to determine a woman’s fertility. Remember, a woman is only fertile 7-9 days…And so I would say to certainly continue to talk to your Creighton Practitioner, but at the same time, maybe explore other options– the symptothermal method looks at the mucus signs as well as the basal body temperature and maybe having another metric data point to be able to see if your fertility would help there…

…so you’re not just relying solely on mucus, which the gift of Creighton is that it has as a sophisticated way of being able to determine and evaluate mucus signs to see if its fertile or infertile, but if you only have that and you have a lot of that…then I would say you have to look at other data points (methods) as well to be able to determine your fertility…”

Although I very much appreciate his use of the term “Fertility Awareness” in addition to NFP and his encouragement to speak to her Practitioner, there are multiple problems with this response:

• The message implied about the Creighton Model (and in some part about Sympto-thermal) is inaccurate; wrong
• The message was delivered to a large amount of people
• It highlights the problem holding back the progression of NFP/Fertility Awareness in the Church

Like any other person trained to become a Creighton Practitioner would have heard it, those words hit my ears like the hood of a car ugly crashing into a Lamborghini. In slow motion. There are countless women successfully using Creighton to chart continuous mucus, some of which are my own clients. Research has shown that there is a very distinct change that occurs in mucus during the time of fertility. It takes some work, but women can be taught to confidently distinguish this change using the Creighton Model.

That being said, it is true that the same method doesn’t fit into everyone’s personality and lifestyle. It is good for each woman/couple to research individual methods to find the one that works best for them. It is also good for those who are not trained in specific methods to avoid giving such details about things they don’t understand- especially when so many people are listening.

The other problem with this inaccuracy is that the woman shared that she has confirmed low progesterone (which any trained instructor will agree can cause infertility or miscarriage) and needed supplementation. The Creighton Model is the only method with a medical extension (NaProTechnology) supplying the added benefit of a physician or nurse practitioner who can read a Creighton chart, draw blood during the appropriate time of the cycle to confirm hormonal abnormalities, and prescribe bio-identical progesterone. How might a change in method affect her ability to supplement time targeted Progesterone?

I sent a friendly email to the podcast to simply alert them of the inaccuracies and many months later, no corrections were issued. I sent another friendly email to the guest who made the comments and he received my corrections kindly, but excused them because he had discussed his answer with an “NFP-only doctor” prior to recording the show. (Because a doctor does not prescribe birth control does not mean that he or she understands the depths of each individual method. When looking for information on a specific method, ask a trained professional in that method.)

I felt hurt and, honestly, rejected by 2 people who represent the Church -publicly- in some form or fashion. For me, this went beyond false information about a specific method and continuous mucus, serving as a painful reminder of my path to infertility. As most of you know, I experienced about 12 years of physical pain before getting diagnosed with endometriosis at age 24, ultimately rendering me infertile. Women’s health is an essential aspect of Natural Family Planning (I prefer the more encompassing term of Fertility Awareness) for all women of reproductive age and although it transcends religion, the Catholic Church has been one of the few (if not the only) organizations to consistently encourage its use, and has had a responsibility to do so, but its efforts have been extremely limited within the context of the fullness of what NFP/Fertility Awareness is and has to offer.

 

BUILDING A BRIDGE

The Creighton Model and NaProTechnology were born more than 30 years ago, inspired by Pope Paul VI himself. I am a cradle Catholic whose family was very active in church at least weekly, meeting multiple different priests and Catholic professionals, and not one time did anyone counsel me on my options for fertility awareness to relieve pain and preserve fertility. My experience has motivated me to improve education and increase exposure to authentic and restorative women’s healthcare that will improve outcomes and quality of life for women, but also help us to appreciate God’s design and plan for our lives. In 2019, my message of concern and truth of Fertility Awareness was ignored by multiple different Catholic professionals.

If we desire and expect to effectively communicate the infinite beauty of Christ Himself through our church, we have to pay closer attention- especially those who hold the attention of such a vast audience. Understanding the morality of contraception and IVF and making decisions which reflect that is crucial to every human, Catholic or not, leader or not. The beauty of fertility awareness is that the science, benefits, and practicality exist whether the morality is understood or not, thereby making it an excellent bridge into deeper communion with Christ and His Church. If leaders and professionals in our Church hope to keep birth control on the shelves and out of our homes (for the good of each individual), a deeper and more encompassing understanding of Fertility Awareness must by embraced.

The language of the body goes beyond the act of intercourse itself and is intrinsic to the daily understanding of the health of each individual woman. The intricacies and beauty of God’s designs are limitless. A couple is more likely to effectively continue using a method of Natural Family Planning if they understand each method well and have found the one that fits them best, and if a woman/couple understands their quality medical and surgical alternatives.

This is good news. It is an honor that God has communicated such beauty and hope to us and has done so in large part through the Catholic Church. And like Peter Parker says in Spiderman: “With great power comes great responsibility.” It is crucial for Catholic professionals to understand morality, but it does not guarantee an understanding of science. There is hope to marry the two (understanding of both morality and science)! I believe the professionals I encountered are very good and are making a positive impact in their fields, even at many times when it comes to Fertility Awareness. As with my own expertise, there is always room for improvement. Many of peoples’ initial impressions of NFP will be from Catholic leaders and professionals. Let’s give them information that is accurate, and let’s be excited about it!