In a country where a new health care law is providing
contraceptives to all women at no charge, it might be hard to
remember that there are many faithful Catholics practicing
natural family planning (NFP) and inviting God to be part of
the process as they plan their families.
While NFP generally requires charts, taking temperatures and
studying mucus, a more “modern” method is often used to
corroborate a woman’s natural signs. The Marquette Method of
NFP uses ClearBlue strips and a ClearBlue Easy Fertility
Monitor to measure hormone levels through a woman’s urine to
more accurately pinpoint her fertility level.
The monitor, with the strips inserted inside, measures a
woman’s fertility at low, high or peak levels.
Richard J. Fehring, director of the NFP Institute in the
College of Nursing at Marquette University, said the
integration of the ClearBlue technology with the more
traditional natural family planning method offers more
“objective and measurable” information when it comes to
fertility.
“Looking at mucus and temperature are secondary signs of
fertility,” he said. “They’re a little bit more fuzzy. (The
Marquette Method) is more of an objective marker, where the
others are more subjective.”
By giving more scientific information, the technology allows
women to be more confident in determining the status of their
fertility.
“I’ve heard women say, ‘It just takes the burden off of us,'”
said Thérèse Bermpohl, director of the diocesan
Office for Family Life. “You’re reading all those signs, and
sometimes they’re readily available, and sometimes they’re
not. With the ClearBlue fertility model … you can use
it in conjunction.”
Bermpohl added that the method, with its online tracking and
message boards, is easy to use and convenient.
“I feel like they’re kind of ‘cutting edge’- using every
means they can to help couples pinpoint ovulation and to feel
confident in using natural family planning to achieve or
avoid pregnancy,” she said.
With so many couples using artificial birth control, Fehring
said that one of the biggest challenges for Catholic couples
is feeling supported. The Marquette Method website
(nfp.marquette.edu) is one way the Marquette Method is
seeking to overcome that challenge.
In addition to providing online charting, women can use the
website as a space to have discussions, and to support and
mentor one another. The site is monitored by Fehring and
other health professionals, who answer questions and offer
guidance to individual women. And, for women constantly on
the go, a fertility monitoring iPhone app is in the works.
The Marquette Method offers a good blend for natural family
planning, Fehring said, and it provides an opportunity for
many interested health professionals and women to work
together.
“We’ve developed a scientific-based, research-based, modern
method of NFP,” he said.
Crowe can be reached at [email protected] or on
Twitter @GCroweACH.
