Mucus Only Method: Creighton Model
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- Tell us a little about yourself.Married for 2 years, miscarried first baby, now we have a 1-year-old daughter. I have a M.S. in environmental engineering and work for an environmental consulting company. Husband is also an engineer, but we're definitely more family driven than career driven. I am sanguine/phlegmatic, extrovert who appreciates the occasional alone time. I love having friends over, cooking for people, eating ice cream, singing in my Latin Mass parish choir, and going for stroller walks with my daughter who is the world's happiest baby.
- What effects has fertility awareness had on your relationship?I learned Creighton Model and started charting while I was single (Holy Spirit was calling me to learn! It was definitely part of God's plan for me and my surrender to His will leading up to finding my vocation). Before marriage I saw a Napro OBGYN at my FCP’s recommendation, and I knew going into marriage that I had a higher risk for miscarriage. We did miscarry our first baby, but thanks to Napro we had a healthy 2nd pregnancy. My husband wants ALL THE BABIES, but NFP allows us to share my fertility because it opens the ongoing dialog between us. NFP has helped us be completely open to God's plan and timing. Our experience is that it is an act of faith/love to place our fertility in God’s hands and He is so generous with his grace and gifts in return! I feel like we are the somewhat rare couple who’s been happy continuing to use Creighton while postpartum/breastfeeding. Working with our FCP to find the new patterns made that doable for us (not without sacrifice but totally doable). Also my husband is soo patient during abstinence—and any waiting makes the reunion sweeter for both of us!
- How did you find your instructor?Attended an intro session through the Fertility Care Center of Kansas City. The FCP giving the intro session connected me to a local instructor accepting new clients. She charges $40 per follow up. I received all follow ups according to what Creighton recommends.
- Describe your daily charting routine.I've been charting for almost 4 years. I track mucus only and note any other symptoms that I think might be helpful to track as they come up (breakouts, headaches, etc). I think overall it's made my life better because it's taught me such an awareness about my body and appreciation for God's design, which I didn't have before.
- What made you choose this method?I chose this method because a girl in my Bible study was also using Creighton and she got me connected to the Fertility Care Center of Kansas City when I asked her about how to get started with NFP. I didn't really research the other methods, I just dove in. (I was single at the time so figured I didn't have much to lose!)
- Has charting helped you to understand your overall health?Yes! It gave me a more holistic picture of my health compared to before. I worked with a NaPro OBGYN when I first started charting because my chart had all the signs of low progesterone. OBGYN helped me get started with progesterone support to regulate things. Miscarried first baby despite progesterone support. Continued progesterone and had a full term 2nd pregnancy under care of NaPro OBGYN.
