In the world of reproductive health and family planning, the landscape is constantly evolving with new developments. One such development...

Anxiety is one of the most common problems I see when I work with couples, especially in women. Daria previously discussed how anxiety can affect charting and gave tips on how to overcome those struggles. Today, I want to share my story and talk about the link between anxiety, depression, and hormones. I was standing in a K-Mart (that tells you how long ago this was) when I suddenly got light-headed and started having tunnel vision. A little while later I was being transport

Pills in a cup I'm a little granola crunchy. Ok. I lie. I'm a lot of granola crunchy . Western medicine has failed me so many times that I could dedicate an entire website to it. But Western medicine is the reason my son is alive and I'm a HUGE fan of NaPRO Technology , so I'm not anti-Western medicine. I just tend towards going a natural route first. I completely understand why women turn to dietary changes (for the record I am 100% on board with that) and supplements to cu

Starting to observe and chart can be overwhelming. It is can feel impossible to keep charting especially when life gets busy or something...

It's no secret that when using any type of NFP, a period of abstinence is used during the fertile time of a woman’s cycle if the couple...

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,...