On Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, the priest will often ask the mothers or fathers in the congregation to stand for a special blessing. Blessings are, of course, great, but I want to speak to those who feel like they can’t stand up or who stand and feel a pang of grief as they do. The ones who long for biological motherhood or fatherhood. The ones whose children are already in Heaven. The ones whose families are split between earth and eternity. For many, hearing phrases like

Before starting this blog, I want to wish you a very happy Independence Day to you and your family. As I was reflecting on what a July 4th blog post would look like, it struck me that, as Americans, we understand and embrace a culture of independence. It's written in the core of our country and drives everything from bucking political systems to striving for individuality in our clothing, technology, and work. After further reflection, I really started to understand how Ferti

Dryness. The lack of any discharge. Not a single bit of anything. It is just the desert down there... I think you get what I am talking about. Being dry or seeing a lack of cervical mucus can be a good thing or sometimes a sign of an underlying issues. There are certain times in the cycle where we want to see no discharge and there are other times where we really need to have it present. So let's talk dryness! When Should You Be Dry? Having no discharge at all should/can occ

Using natural methods of fertility regulation (aka, "NFP", e.g., "Creighton") makes marriages stronger. You've probably even heard some people go so far as to say it's one way to "divorce proof" your marriage. That's a pretty extreme statement but statistically couples that use NFP do have a significantly lower divorce rate than the general population . It should follow then, that if you're using NFP, your marriage should be thriving, right? Dandy? Amazing? Passionate? Bette

Difficult conversations are that: they are difficult. A conversation about infertility, in its reality, can be very difficult. The road...

Modern fertility treatment often uses medications designed to assist with ovulation. While these medications are helpful for many women,...

It’s Spring, which means wedding season is upon us! And when it comes to a wedding, most women can probably tell you exactly what they...

The Creighton Model System is all about charting mucus . But what is mucus and why does it matter? Why do we care so much about charting it? Buckle up for a mini anatomy and physiology lesson as I nerd out about mucus. First off, what is mucus? Mucus is a hydrogel (a water based gel). It contains a lot of water, by a lot I mean 92-95%. Once we get to ovulation, that water content increases to 98%. Mucus is produced in the cervix. The cervix is part of the uterus. If we think

So you're finally ready to learn a method to learn more about your fertility. You're excited and also nervous. You finally receive all of...

We all know estrogen is a very important hormone when it comes to the female reproductive system. But, did you know you can have too much...

On this cold rainy spring Tuesday (at least if you’re reading this in real time in mid-Michigan), I have a little history lesson for you....

I hate using NFP. It's true. I also hate eating an alternative diet , exercising, cleaning my house, and giving birth. I could pretty much live very contently without ever doing one of these things ever again. I'm sure you can see where this is going. Clearly each of these things, while difficult, painful, and simply un-fun (exercise and eating well are not fun for me, no), are important and dare I say, essential. The benefit of going through the birthing process and holding

There are so many biomarkers that a FertilityCare practitioner can see on a client's chart. and sometimes it can seem impossible to figure out what they are or how to treat them. One vital sign that can be seen is unusual bleeding and brown bleeding, which can be caused by several different things. When a practitioner sees these markers on a chart, we want to get you into see one of our NaPro physicians. They have the ability to conduct a larger variety of tests than a non N

By the grace of God, we have made it through another Lenten season. We have journeyed forty days through the desert of fasting and...

As we enter in Holy Week, I want to share some reflections on suffering. Suffering is present in many stages of the fertility journey,...

When it comes to waiting, there are very few things that compare to what can be the agony and anxiety induced by waiting. Having some end...

As a practitioner I have been asked many times, "is this a good reason to avoid?" And for a long time I did not know if I could really give a great answer. I know for myself it took me discerning and praying with my husband to make our decision to avoid, but that process may not be as clear cut for everyone. Fo awhile my simple answer was "that is between you (the couple) and God". Honestly I did not feel this was a good enough answer nor was I qualified enough to answer it.

I sat in the gathering room at the Ronald McDonald Apartment in Ann Arbor, Michigan looking out the window. It was cold outside, the air was crisp and the sun flickered off the autumn leaves in a magnificent display of red, orange, and yellow. It was beautiful. But I couldn't enjoy it. My 4 day old son was in the NICU on another floor of the building - dying. My 17 month old daughter was somewhere with my mom. I hadn't seen her in days, and I didn't really know where she was.

We're well into Lent now, and I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but it seems to me that life always feels a little extra "hard"...

I first heard of the Creighton Model Fertility Care System in April of 2019. At that point in our marriage, my husband and I had three children. With my youngest turning one and breastfeeding officially ending, my menstrual cycle was back in full force with an a vengeance that had become the new "normal" after weaning my second baby over 2 years. For one week each month I would become an anxious, weepy mess, barely able to keep up with the demands of my life as a stay-at-h