Learning How to Talk to Your Daughter About Fertility Awareness

add to outlook add to google calendar remind me

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

Young women old enough to conceive and bear a child have a right to know about the gift of their sexuality and fertility. They need to know what is normal as they mature into motherhood and what damages their fertility. Dispelling the myths, typical, short, long and anovular cycles, pretence and the "pill" are all topics she covers. Knowledge is empowering and helps your daughter to resist peer pressure to experiment with sex.

Merrilyn Currie is the guest speaker. She has been teaching fertility awareness for many years in high schools in Toronto, notably a boys only high school, St. Michael's. She is an executive director of Natural Family Planning Association, Toronto. Her knowledge and experience comes from thirty-six years of helping Drs. John and Evelyn Billings spread their safe and effective Billings Ovulation Method around the world. A great deal of information is contained in an article in "Australian Doctor" which can be found as a download on http://www.billingsmethod.com and clicking on the circular diagram or going to http://www.woomb.org. However, here is some information on how this Method helps those who are trying to conceive as well as avoid becoming pregnant in a simple, natural and effective, as well as cost-free, way.

"It is better than 99% effective when used to avoid becoming pregnant or delaying
pregnancy. It has been validated by the published works of Odeblad and Brown and
verified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in a five-nation trial and many other
published trials. It is used by millions of women around the world. The benefits are
many. It is safe, cost free, culturally acceptable to all, able to be used by poor and
illiterate women, even blind women, and has no bad side effects because it is entirely
natural. Women are learning that what they have often noticed for themselves just as
they go about their normal daily activities, a special cervical secretion that looks a little
like raw egg white, is the sign of their health and fertility and not a condition to be
treated. If used to achieve pregnancy it is extremely successful in helping couples
pinpoint the day of maximum fertility and helping those who are experiencing extreme
difficulties in conceiving.
Couples and families benefit greatly when the woman takes charge of her fertility. A
very great advantage of the Billings Ovulation Method�is that it fosters communication
and understanding between the man and the woman, develops co-operation between them
and a sharing of the responsibility in this important matter of their children. Knowing
which act of intercourse may lead to pregnancy and which one cannot possibly do so is
empowering knowledge. As a result problems of alcoholism and sexual abuse in the
family are often reduced and marital fidelity is strengthened safeguarding their fertility
from an ever increasing number of sexually transmitted diseases.

Infertility is a big problem in western countries and indeed around the world. Dr. Mary
Martin of Oklahoma, USA, changed the whole way she practises obstetrics and
gynaecology after becoming an accredited Billings teacher in order to help her so-called
�infertile� couples. She even started a credit bearing training course for medical students
through the university based on the Billings charting system. She finds that charts
display the development of hormonal patterns which help her diagnose disease and
infertility at a glance whereas lab tests, effective as blood tests are, are a slower, more
invasive and more costly way. A soon to be published five-year study by the Ovulation
Method Research and Reference Centre of Australia Ltd., found that sub-fertile women
achieved a known pregnancy rate of 65% using the Billings Ovulation Method. The
study involved a total of 449 participants, of which 207 women had previously been
classified as sub-fertile. Twenty couples in the study had been unsuccessful with In Vitro
Fertilisation (IVF)/Artificial Insemination (AI). Seven of these couples achieved a
pregnancy using the Billings Ovulation Method. Significantly, 66% of over-38-year-olds
in the study also achieved a pregnancy using it.
Another recent study which will be published shortly in the Oxford medical journal,
Human Reproduction Update is entitled, �Types of ovarian activity in women and their
significance: the Continuum (a reinterpretation of earlier findings)� as studied by
Professor James Brown. The Continuum has helped us to understand hormonal patterns
in normal fertile and infertile cycles: cycle variants at times of irregularity that occur
normally throughout a woman�s reproductive life such as adolescence, breast feeding,
pre-menopause, and recovery from emotional and physical stress. The Billings charting
system alerts the doctor to early diagnosis and treatment of infertility and early disease
when use of contraceptive medication masks the underlying conditions. They worsen
and often lead to incurable infertility and disease. The Australian �The Record� regards
this study as being so significant that it will �revolutionise woman�s health.�

Merrilyn will be giving a full Mother/Daughter Program on Sunday after her talk if you would like to bring your Grade six and up daughter to participate. Communication will be enhanced and your daughter's self estime will go up you will find! Please contact Sue [email protected]