True women’s choice, or rather, informed consent, starts with a woman understanding how and why her body works through learning how to observe specific signs and symptoms. By establishing the difference between healthy and unhealthy patterns in her cycles, a woman will be equipped with the knowledge of God’s beautiful design for her body. Women’s healthcare should be restorative and cooperative with the natural function of her body. How many women, then, truly know their bodies well enough to give informed consent in regards to healthcare choices? How many women understand that ovulation should be protected as much as blood pressure and oxygen levels?
Charting Cycles As a Vital Health Sign
When does a woman need to start paying attention to her cycles to monitor her overall health? Now. Now is the time to help your daughter learn the beauty God created in her body’s design. Now is the time to help her heal, uncover the cause of her acne, moodiness, and painful cramps. Now is the time as a single woman, to figure out if there is a connection between your headaches, sugar cravings, anxiety, or sleeplessness and discover true healing without compromising ovulation. Now is the time as a married woman to discover the peace and joy of being able to receive your husband without worry of another pregnancy. Now is the time to uncover the root cause of your infertility without compromising your dignity and the fidelity of your marriage.
Regardless of your personal motivations to chart, all women have the right to better understand God’s design of their bodies to become a better stewards of the gift they have been given. With this knowledge, women can create a partnership with their healthcare providers. The reality is that only 4-6% of physicians understand the importance of ovulation in regards to a woman’s overall health, despite the decades of research proving that the rising and falling of certain key hormones throughout a woman’s cycle affects her bone formation, brain, heart, mood, digestive and immune system. Sometimes healthy ovulation can be restored through diet, exercise, and sleep adjustments. Other times more thorough medical investigation may be required, but could also be as simple as cycle timed blood lab work for answers.
Fertility Awareness Is Pro-Life
As pro-life Catholics, we have a special obligation to understand the importance of healthy ovulation. A newly formed baby in his/her embryonic stage is dependent on his/her mother’s healthy ovulation and the formation of a healthy corpus luteum to make enough progesterone to sustain a pregnancy to full term. If a mother waits to be pregnant before determining if her body is making enough progesterone in the first trimester, her child’s life is at risk for miscarriage or premature birth in the later trimesters.
Become an Advocate
If you feel called to serve women in this way through education or healthcare, please contact me today. If you’re uncertain as to what method of charting is the best fit for you, please contact me to discuss your options. There may be a learning curve for some, but like all good habits, establishing the practice serves us (and potentially our future children) for a life time. If you’re new to NFP/Fertility Awareness, expect to take 3-6 months to gain confidence in your observations and to establish the patterns unique to your body. If you’re looking for a solution that hormonal birth control won’t address, please contact me or anyone listed on the teacher contact list to learn a method and transition back to regular cycles, freeing your body to reach optimal health. If you’d like to host a class for your youth group, friends, or school, please contact me to find a teacher (nfpc@bhmdiocese.org), or learn more by exploring the website alabamanfp.org.