Sympto-Hormonal Method: Marquette
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- Tell us a little about yourself.I'm an introvert, work part time as an architect, full time as a mom. I love to read and garden. My husband is also an architect. We have one 3 year old son.
- What effects has fertility awareness had on your relationship?Honestly, I think it's strengthened our relationship. We're currently avoiding due to a cancer diagnosis, which has put us into phase 3 only. Being only phase 3 has been difficult, but it hasn't especially affected our relationship. My cycle is thankfully very regular, so I don't have too much pressure as "gatekeeper." I pretty much do all the charting, and just let him know go day, and when a cycle starts over.
- How did you find your instructor?I found my instructor through our marriage prep in our diocese. It was about $100 for initial instruction, unlimited follow-up, and postpartum instruction. She has since changed her format and charges $100/yr for follow-up. We switched instructors due to issues with response times, and our new instructor took us on at $75/yr since we were already trained and just needed questions answered occasionally. She helped us through charting following cancer surgery. We found her by asking for recommendations from friends.
- Describe your daily charting routine.I test with the Clearblue test strips from day 6. Peak is typically day 13/14. I then test with Proov to confirm after PPHLL. I've tried temps, but they don't seem to work very well since I no longer have a thyroid. I keep an eye on mucus, and chart it, but don't really rely on it. I just make sure I have the usual build-up to peak. I occasionally use OPKs if I get at all concerned about the monitor reading. I like Marquette because it is so low maintenance, and doesn't require constant attention.
- What made you choose this method?We initially went to a Creighton informational class offered by our church, but realized I have mucus pretty much all the time, and I spent one month terrified that we wouldn't be able to effectively use NFP. I didn't know there were other methods until our saturday marriage prep day, when we were introduced to Marquette. That was like a life raft to me! We haven't at all considered changing methods, and like it for the objectivity and ease of use. We're fortunate that cost isn't a concern right now, as that seems to be the biggest barrier to learning Marquette.
- Has charting helped you to understand your overall health?Yes, we're a bit concerned that I have low progesterone based on my spotting patterns (which potentially could be the cause of our first miscarriage), but as we're TTA, we haven't delved to much into it right now. When we get ready to conceive, we'll likely look into that.
