Testimony from a FertilityCare Student

Why teaching the Creighton Model FertilityCare System and providing professional FertilityCare services is important to me.

Below we share the story of Wendy, a Registered Nurse who will be attending the Educational Program at St Gianna in February.  Please pray for Wendy and our other students as they learn the language of Fertility Appreciation.

The methods of Natural Family Planning are a relatively new concept to me. Honestly, I didn’t understand it much more than just as an option to avoid or achieve pregnancy. Little did I know that the Creighton Model FertilityCare System is so much more. As I read through the list of diagnoses that can be identified with the Creighton Model charting, I realized that so many of the menstrual and pregnancy abnormalities I had experienced in my life could have possibly been treated naturally. With my first pregnancy, I had preeclampsia. During my second pregnancy, I had preeclampsia and abruptio placentae, which resulted in hemorrhage and near death for myself and a brain injury to my daughter. Because doctors had no explanation of why this happened nor could they give me any hope that it wouldn’t happen again, we felt we had no other choice but sterilization. We made a decision out of fear and one we would later regret. For the next 20 years, my hormonal abnormalities continued to worsen, including multiple breast and ovarian surgeries, severe PMDD, and eventually a hysterectomy due to adenomyosis. I wonder
if there had been a CFCP or a NaProTechnology Medical Consultant available to me at any time in my journey, would we have made different decisions? Even though these events have affected my life greatly, I do believe God uses all things for His glory and His purposes.

One of the reasons I became a nurse 25 years ago was to help people feel better and
improve their overall health. After my experience with my daughter’s birth, I developed a
heightened awareness of prevention and safety for my patients. It made me research for myself and think ”outside the box” when it comes to medical issues. This is one of the reasons the Creighton Model Fertility Care System is so appealing to me. What is exciting about this approach is that it focuses on the naturally occurring phases of fertility and infertility and enables a woman to monitor her own gynecologic and reproductive health every month. In this way, the woman can better understand how her body is functioning and what are normal and abnormal signals. When abnormalities are observed, they are identified early and the use of natural hormones can treat many of these issues. In addition to having a Fertility Care Practitioner to consult with regularly, the clients also have referrals to Medical and Surgical Consultants trained in the practice of NaProTechnology. This collaborative approach makes this more than just a Natural Family Planning technique but a life-affirming and possibly life-changin approach to women’s health.

Working in many different settings over the years, I find the most rewarding and helpful roles as a nurse are when I have time to listen to and observe my patients. It is then that the education and resources provided are focused on achieving the most important goals for each patient. The clients that I see now at the Pregnancy Resource Center and the ones I will have as a FertilityCare Practitioner, will all have different goals. Some to achieve pregnancy and some to avoid pregnancy. Some to gain a greater understanding of their menstrual cycles and others to find answers to why they are having reproductive and gynecologic dysfunction.  Regardless of their individual goals, the Creighton Model along with NaProTechnology can address each of these issues.  The fact that this approach respects the dignity of life and the integrity of marriage, and it does not suppress or destroy a women’s fertility, is a vital part of why I want to learn and teach this system.  I would consider it a privilege to become a Certified FertilityCare Practitioner to teach and walk alongside my clients as they achieve their goals and take better control over their reproductive and gynecologic health.

To learn more about becoming a FertilityCare Practitioner, click here.