 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
After the birth of their first child seven years ago, Peter and Janel Krull of Logan knew they needed to figure out a new system of birth control. “The pill was not good for my body,” Janel said.
It was at this time that they heard about Intermountain FertilityCare Services, a non-profit organization, through a friend and decided to try it. The program is based on the Creighton Model, a family planning method requiring no internal examinations, no devices and (to Janel’s delight) no pills, and that can be used either to avoid or to achieve pregnancy. The method instead requires an intensive understanding and tracking of the woman’s cycle based on the levels or lack of cervical mucus the woman secretes throughout any given day. This, say belivers of the model, is an incredibly accurate way of gauging when a woman is ovulating, or able to conceive. Theoretically, couples put that information to use by either abstaining from or engaging in intercourse during that time, depending on whether they want to achieve or avoid pregnancy.
But according to a 1998 study involving 1,876 couples, “theory” acutally has little to do with it. As a method of birth control, the “method effectiveness” (or how well a method works when used exactly as directed, with no mistakes) of the model was 99.5 percent and the “use effectiveness” (or how well a method works when used in a “real life” situation with the occasional human error) was 96.8 percent – easily comparable to alternate forms of contraception. The model has also proved to be effective for couples struggling with infertility, with a significant 20 to 40 percent success rate. And that’s without any other medical intervention. With additional medical intervention, that rate jumps to 80.
But its effectiveness at preventing pregnancy and increasing fertility are only the tip of the iceberg, says Kathy Davis , the certified FertilityCare practitioner from Brigham City who covers Cache Valley and worked with the Krulls. “It gives you such an insight into your body,” she said.
Heidi Hatch of Clinton began the program with Davis while she and her husband were USU students in Logan . In the process of examining her cycles she began noticing subtle changes. “When my cycle was off, it was usually when I had been stressed or when I was sick,” she said. “But it also helped me to know that something was going on besides irregular cycles.” Concerned, she went to a doctor who found that she had polycystic ovaries and endometriosis.
Being able to be that in tune with your body signals is something that Davis and Joseph Stanford, a Ph.D. professor at the University of Utah School of Medicine who supports the program and who actually helps train certified practitioners, see as one of the biggest benefits.
“It’s empowering for women,” Stanford said, “It’s important for women to be able to understand their own bodies and how they work.”
Another benefit, Davis says, is that unlike most contraception methods, the couple ideally works together. The woman checks for the mucus each time she uses the bathroom throughout the day and the man records her findings from the most fertile observation of the day into a simple daily log, requiring, of course, that the couple interact daily on the topic.
So what’s this level of involvement like for the man?
“It was good,” Peter Krull said. “Once we started monitoring, I could understand what Janel’s body was doing, I could understand more how hormones work and what’s happening on any given day.”
In addition to accurate observations and charting and following the instructions, Davis says mutual motivation and loving cooperation are vital to the success of the program. Janel says that’s the thing that has ultimately made the program work for her and Peter.
“I haven’t found it stressful, but I would have if I didn’t have his help,” she said. “That makes or breaks it.”
In fact, the cooperation is one of the conditions on which Peter bases a recommendation for the program.
“I would definitely recommend it to other couples,” he said, “but you’ve got to want to do it together. I don’t know how couples do it when it’s all the wife’s responsibility.”
The training for the program takes one year and costs $250. Couples meet with a certified FertilityCare practitioner five times in the first three months and three times over the following nine months, following a free initial slideshow that explains the program and the anatomy involved in depth. The idea, Davis said, is to get couples to the point that they understand and are proficient in the method as quickly as possible.
“After that you are set for life,” Davis said.
There are seven FertilityCare practitioners in Utah , but Davis said it’s still been difficult finding clients. In her eight years teaching the method she’s only worked with about 150 couples.
It’s difficult to get the information out,” she said. “I just want people to know that it exists, that it’s out there. There are options.”
Obviously it’s no quick fix, Davis describes it as a life change that should ideally be practiced throughout a woman’s childbearing years and perhaps even beyond that.
“It takes time, energy and patience,” she said, “but we see it as an investment in the future.”
For Davis, who practiced another natural family planning method for years before first discovering the Creighton Model, it’s become more than just a job.
“This is the greatest work I’ve ever done,” she said.
For more information on Intermountain FertilityCare Services, go to www.intermountainfertilitycare.org or www.creightonmodel.com or call (801) 364-7662.