My Intro to NaPro Technology... the bioLOGICAL path for those struggling to concieve.
A few weeks ago I randomly met a woman who may potentially change the course of my 'trying to conceive' journey.
After I got done working at the farm, I decided to go to the MedExpress because I hadn't been feeling good all day. I checked in and waited for an eternity to be called back. Finally a smiling and friendly nurse called me back to begin my exam. She asked me about my symptoms and took my vitals. She was intrigued when I told her I was having pain that was either my kidney or my ovary. She asked me why I thought it was that. I told her I have many instances of either kidney stones, kidney infections, or ovarian cysts rupturing. She started to ask me about my cycle to see if she could rule that out. I showed her my ovulation tracking app, and she asked me how long I had been tracking. I told her 2.5 years of tracking and TTC, so thus my cycles are pretty regular and I'm kinda due to ovulate sometime around... NOW. She was taken aback at the confession that we had been trying for 2.5 years. She asked me what kind of tests and labs my Drs had run, and basically inquired about my fertility as a whole. I mentioned how I was getting ready to go see a reproductive specialist and to ultimately do IUI... and that was when her whole demeanor changed. She seemed concerned and upset, FOR ME. Then she told me that she's a practitioner of the Creighton model system, and that they help women gain better knowledge of their body and cycle (because knowledge is power)... and in turn, help people trying to conceive achieve it. Interestingly enough, they also use the model/system to help people trying to avoid pregnancy achieve that as well. She explained to me that it's not mumbo jumbo, but it is less invasive, there's less throwing your hormones out of whack for the sake of forcing ovulation or conception, and that overall their success rates are higher than that of IUI and IVF. She stated that many of their clients come to them after failing IUI and IVF and are able to conceive. I agreed to meet with her to do an introductory session to learn what this option was all about.
When I met with her, she explained that the whole model was created by Catholic doctors who were looking for an alternative to artificial birth control- since the Catholics believe that life begins when egg and sperm meet... not when the heart begins to beat, not when a face and fingers and toes are visible, not when the first breath outside the womb is taken. Since they wholeheartedly believe that conception =life, they do not consider the pill to be a viable form of preventing pregnancy... they consider it a form of abortion. This is probably because the scientific way the pill works is that it manipulates the hormones so that they are in imbalance and will not allow a fertilized egg to implant into the uterine lining, and thus any fertilized egg is swept out of the body. Knowing this is how the pill works, the Catholic doctor decided to find a natural way to keep pregnancy from occurring. The program has women harness the power of their cycle- by completely understanding all of the workings. Cervical mucus is a huge indicator to the fertile status of the body, and that is the main tracking method.
Now, mind you- my GLOW app has a cervical mucus logging section- as this is a huge biomarker for fertility or place in cycle- where it asks for texture and amount. I showed my practitioner this and she said that even though that is highly intelligent and moving in the right direction, it leaves out some key factors that allow you to analyze and understand better. 3 steps are needed to make a good observation: sensation, stretch-ability/consistency, and color. They sum it up as "SOFT"- Sensation (feeling of the discharge as you wipe for observation), Observation (see if discharge is present or absent), Finger (discharge present is lifted off tissue and finger tested between thumb and index fingers for stretch-ability **THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!**), Test (finger tests also reveals consistency and true color). The mucus should be checked more than once a day, both before and after you go #1 (or #2 for that matter). For women, the act of bearing down to excrete pushes out the mucus... the mucus that is seen on underwear is not to be tested, it's not fresh and it's not reliable.
OK SO. This sounds pretty gross, pretty in depth, pretty time consuming... and then you add to it that you need to do this tracking for like 2 months before a Dr reviews it and begins diagnostics and starts you on any sort of corrective or 'treatment' plan. Now, I have a relatively scientific background, in both my schooling and career sense. I studied breeding, for God's sake. I know plenty about the female "menstrual" cycle, about sperm and eggs, about the miracle of conception which leads to the miracle of a new human being. I know that there is a 10-20% chance of getting pregnant during any cycle, so thus it is actually 'hard'(ish) to actually achieve pregnancy IN GENERAL. You take away from your personal percentage when you add certain things to your life, health, etc. You used certain types of birth control for a certain amount of years? Lower your percentage. You drink heavily, you smoke heavily, you partake in other 'drugs'? Lower- or raise- your percentage. Your age? Lower or raise your percentage. The amount of unprotected sex you have? Lower or raise your percentage. ETC ETC. SO for me, at this very moment, I know that any month I have at least 10% chance of conceiving. This is a dismal number. This percentage is pretty proven, it is definitely a reality... it seems like 0%, it feels like 0%, I fear 0%. But what I KNOW... is that my body is meant to accept sperm, to channel the sperm toward the egg, to facilitate conception, and then to nurture an embryo to fetus, and to finally birth the fetus and the full circle is the creation of a new human being to continue the species. Any woman who says that's not the ONLY thing they as women are meant to do are wrong and right at the same time. But that's a conversation for another time.
SO WHAT NOW? Now I made a decision. I canceled my traditional fertility specialist appointment (at Reproductive Medical Associates), which when I booked it, they already noted I was interested in IUI as my 'end goal'. So I canceled that appointment and booked the appointment with the RN/BSN/MS/FCP fertility care practitioner that offered me an opportunity. This model, this system has done effectiveness studies showing that when using it to actually achieve pregnancy, normal fertility of couples being evaluated, 76% success rate is seen during the first cycle after establishing the the women's cycle through the system (tracking and charting). For couples with infertility, to pregnancy rate with the system is 20-40% within the first 6 months- and that number can be increased with medical assessment and treatment. The numbers themselves are not what caught my eye. I do not want to be jacked up on hormones, 'hyper-ovulated', artificially inseminated, poked and prodded and not find any answers as to why my body that should naturally do this IS NOT. I do not want my husband to feel it's his fault, to feel that his life givers aren't viable. It takes one sperm. ONE SPERM to make a baby. One well placed sperm, in good conditions- not perfect, just good enough- deposited into a healthy female reproductive tract where a healthy ovulated ovum has been released... has 10-20% chance of producing an embryo on any given day. I hope (and pray) that this system, this model, this FERTILITY CARE will help me to better identify my peakest peak day, so that I can engage in sexual intercourse with my loving husband, and that we can ultimately 'set ourselves up for success".
The reason I am writing this is to update on my fertility struggle, to show people there is an alternative to the mainstream and huge money making conglomerates that dominate and dictate our families, our bodies, and our opportunities. I hope this is helpful. I hope, that this gives someone hope. I hope that this breaks the fertility stigma, the stigma that we need a DR to create us a child if we can't do it by our own conventional (and potentially uneducated) means. Knowledge is power ladies and gents, knowledge of our body, our wonderful intricate bodies where each one is actually very different and yet in basic terms is the same. I hope that this may open eyes and help people reach their reproductive goals. Help people achieve their desired family. FAMILY is the most important thing to anyone facing this struggle. Cheers to creating a family.
A few weeks ago I randomly met a woman who may potentially change the course of my 'trying to conceive' journey.
After I got done working at the farm, I decided to go to the MedExpress because I hadn't been feeling good all day. I checked in and waited for an eternity to be called back. Finally a smiling and friendly nurse called me back to begin my exam. She asked me about my symptoms and took my vitals. She was intrigued when I told her I was having pain that was either my kidney or my ovary. She asked me why I thought it was that. I told her I have many instances of either kidney stones, kidney infections, or ovarian cysts rupturing. She started to ask me about my cycle to see if she could rule that out. I showed her my ovulation tracking app, and she asked me how long I had been tracking. I told her 2.5 years of tracking and TTC, so thus my cycles are pretty regular and I'm kinda due to ovulate sometime around... NOW. She was taken aback at the confession that we had been trying for 2.5 years. She asked me what kind of tests and labs my Drs had run, and basically inquired about my fertility as a whole. I mentioned how I was getting ready to go see a reproductive specialist and to ultimately do IUI... and that was when her whole demeanor changed. She seemed concerned and upset, FOR ME. Then she told me that she's a practitioner of the Creighton model system, and that they help women gain better knowledge of their body and cycle (because knowledge is power)... and in turn, help people trying to conceive achieve it. Interestingly enough, they also use the model/system to help people trying to avoid pregnancy achieve that as well. She explained to me that it's not mumbo jumbo, but it is less invasive, there's less throwing your hormones out of whack for the sake of forcing ovulation or conception, and that overall their success rates are higher than that of IUI and IVF. She stated that many of their clients come to them after failing IUI and IVF and are able to conceive. I agreed to meet with her to do an introductory session to learn what this option was all about.
When I met with her, she explained that the whole model was created by Catholic doctors who were looking for an alternative to artificial birth control- since the Catholics believe that life begins when egg and sperm meet... not when the heart begins to beat, not when a face and fingers and toes are visible, not when the first breath outside the womb is taken. Since they wholeheartedly believe that conception =life, they do not consider the pill to be a viable form of preventing pregnancy... they consider it a form of abortion. This is probably because the scientific way the pill works is that it manipulates the hormones so that they are in imbalance and will not allow a fertilized egg to implant into the uterine lining, and thus any fertilized egg is swept out of the body. Knowing this is how the pill works, the Catholic doctor decided to find a natural way to keep pregnancy from occurring. The program has women harness the power of their cycle- by completely understanding all of the workings. Cervical mucus is a huge indicator to the fertile status of the body, and that is the main tracking method.
Now, mind you- my GLOW app has a cervical mucus logging section- as this is a huge biomarker for fertility or place in cycle- where it asks for texture and amount. I showed my practitioner this and she said that even though that is highly intelligent and moving in the right direction, it leaves out some key factors that allow you to analyze and understand better. 3 steps are needed to make a good observation: sensation, stretch-ability/consistency, and color. They sum it up as "SOFT"- Sensation (feeling of the discharge as you wipe for observation), Observation (see if discharge is present or absent), Finger (discharge present is lifted off tissue and finger tested between thumb and index fingers for stretch-ability **THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!**), Test (finger tests also reveals consistency and true color). The mucus should be checked more than once a day, both before and after you go #1 (or #2 for that matter). For women, the act of bearing down to excrete pushes out the mucus... the mucus that is seen on underwear is not to be tested, it's not fresh and it's not reliable.
OK SO. This sounds pretty gross, pretty in depth, pretty time consuming... and then you add to it that you need to do this tracking for like 2 months before a Dr reviews it and begins diagnostics and starts you on any sort of corrective or 'treatment' plan. Now, I have a relatively scientific background, in both my schooling and career sense. I studied breeding, for God's sake. I know plenty about the female "menstrual" cycle, about sperm and eggs, about the miracle of conception which leads to the miracle of a new human being. I know that there is a 10-20% chance of getting pregnant during any cycle, so thus it is actually 'hard'(ish) to actually achieve pregnancy IN GENERAL. You take away from your personal percentage when you add certain things to your life, health, etc. You used certain types of birth control for a certain amount of years? Lower your percentage. You drink heavily, you smoke heavily, you partake in other 'drugs'? Lower- or raise- your percentage. Your age? Lower or raise your percentage. The amount of unprotected sex you have? Lower or raise your percentage. ETC ETC. SO for me, at this very moment, I know that any month I have at least 10% chance of conceiving. This is a dismal number. This percentage is pretty proven, it is definitely a reality... it seems like 0%, it feels like 0%, I fear 0%. But what I KNOW... is that my body is meant to accept sperm, to channel the sperm toward the egg, to facilitate conception, and then to nurture an embryo to fetus, and to finally birth the fetus and the full circle is the creation of a new human being to continue the species. Any woman who says that's not the ONLY thing they as women are meant to do are wrong and right at the same time. But that's a conversation for another time.
SO WHAT NOW? Now I made a decision. I canceled my traditional fertility specialist appointment (at Reproductive Medical Associates), which when I booked it, they already noted I was interested in IUI as my 'end goal'. So I canceled that appointment and booked the appointment with the RN/BSN/MS/FCP fertility care practitioner that offered me an opportunity. This model, this system has done effectiveness studies showing that when using it to actually achieve pregnancy, normal fertility of couples being evaluated, 76% success rate is seen during the first cycle after establishing the the women's cycle through the system (tracking and charting). For couples with infertility, to pregnancy rate with the system is 20-40% within the first 6 months- and that number can be increased with medical assessment and treatment. The numbers themselves are not what caught my eye. I do not want to be jacked up on hormones, 'hyper-ovulated', artificially inseminated, poked and prodded and not find any answers as to why my body that should naturally do this IS NOT. I do not want my husband to feel it's his fault, to feel that his life givers aren't viable. It takes one sperm. ONE SPERM to make a baby. One well placed sperm, in good conditions- not perfect, just good enough- deposited into a healthy female reproductive tract where a healthy ovulated ovum has been released... has 10-20% chance of producing an embryo on any given day. I hope (and pray) that this system, this model, this FERTILITY CARE will help me to better identify my peakest peak day, so that I can engage in sexual intercourse with my loving husband, and that we can ultimately 'set ourselves up for success".
The reason I am writing this is to update on my fertility struggle, to show people there is an alternative to the mainstream and huge money making conglomerates that dominate and dictate our families, our bodies, and our opportunities. I hope this is helpful. I hope, that this gives someone hope. I hope that this breaks the fertility stigma, the stigma that we need a DR to create us a child if we can't do it by our own conventional (and potentially uneducated) means. Knowledge is power ladies and gents, knowledge of our body, our wonderful intricate bodies where each one is actually very different and yet in basic terms is the same. I hope that this may open eyes and help people reach their reproductive goals. Help people achieve their desired family. FAMILY is the most important thing to anyone facing this struggle. Cheers to creating a family.
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ReplyDeleteYour post is intellectually dishonest bullshit. You can pretend that it's just "disagreement" all you want but your guy Shapiro sure as hell has been defending right-wing threats as freedom of speech.
ReplyDeleteSo, the trans woman was just exercising that too, right?