Beyond Fertility: The Power of Understanding Your Cycle

In this episode, Dr. McMinn and Coach Lindsay are visited by Elizabeth Ellison , a Postpartum Nurse & Fertility Care Practitioner. Together we explore women’s reproductive health with a focus on understanding the menstrual cycle as a vital indicator of overall health. 

The episode emphasizes the Creighton Model System.  Elizabeth explains how this model helps women identify patterns in their cycles, enabling them to better understand their bodies, recognize irregularities, and address root causes of health issues such as hormonal imbalances, cycle irregularities, and fertility issues. 

Key Points Discussed:

1. 1. The Menstrual Cycle as a Health Indicator: Tracking a woman’s cycle provides insights into hormonal health, fertility, and other potential health concerns. 
   2. Empowerment through Body Literacy: Women can learn to observe and interpret their cycles, enabling proactive healthcare, and avoiding reliance on symptom-masking pharmaceutical treatments.
   3. NaproTechnology (Napro): This medical approach works alongside the Creighton Model, offering restorative treatments for reproductive issues. 
   4. Effectiveness for Family Planning: The Creighton Model is 99.5% effective for avoiding pregnancy with perfect use, and 96.8% with typical use. For achieving pregnancy, 98% of couples with normal fertility succeed within six cycles.
   5. Holistic and Empowered Personalized Care: The process empowers women to identify irregularities and work with providers to address root-cause issues.
   6. The Downside of Hormonal Contraceptives:  Hormonal contraceptives, like the birth control pill, have been around for many years, and many women seem to do fine with it. However, while this method is quite effective, hormonal contraceptives may have many unwanted side effects. It is important to educate women as to their options,  including more holistic methods, such as the Creighton Model in order to enable them to make wise and educated choices as to what may work best for them. 

In summary, this podcast is about educating and empowering women to become active participants and to take control of their reproductive health.   We hope that you enjoy the podcast.

Elizabeth Ellison Contact Information
elizabeth.flourishfertility@gmail.com
www.flourishfertilitycare.com.
Instagram: @flourishfertilitycare

Chapters

• 0:03 Empowering Women Through Body Awareness
• 10:56 Understanding Cervical Mucus and Health
• 20:37 Understanding Natural Procreative Technology
• 28:59 Understanding Menstrual Cycle Phases and Fertility
• 41:55 Exploring Birth Control Options and Impacts
• 51:47 Understanding Fertility as a Life Skill
• 1:05:34 Body Literacy

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Hello, I'm Dr McMinn and welcome to the Wellness Connection MD podcast. Thank you so much for joining us today. Have you ever been out and about and you heard someone speaking a foreign language and you wish you could understand what they were talking about? Well, your very own body has a language of its own. However, we usually don't take the time to listen and most of us have never learned the language of the body.

Speaker 1: 0:22

Well, on today's show, we're going to visit with fertility care practitioner Elizabeth Ellison, who is going to educate us as to how we can use the Creighton model, a natural method that emphasizes cervical mucus, to interpret the messages that our bodies are sending us, so that these women can better understand their cycles, take charge of their fertility and to improve their overall health. So many women suffer from reproductive health issues, whether it be irregular periods, menstrual pain, pms, heavy bleeding and so many other concerns. So Elizabeth helps us demystify the cycle, empowering women with evidence-based information so that they can identify and get to the root cause of many problems. And if you just take the time to learn the language, our bodies will usually tell us what's wrong with them. I hope you enjoy the show. Will usually tell us what's wrong with them.

Speaker 2: 1:07

I hope you enjoy the show. Welcome to the Wellness Connection MD Podcast with Dr McMinn and Coach Lindsay, where we bring you the latest, up-to-date, evidence-based information on a wide variety of health and wellness topics, along with practical take-home solutions. Dr McMinn is an integrated and functional MD and Lindsay Matthews is a registered nurse and IIN-certified health coach. Together, our goal is to help you optimize your health and wellness in mind, body and spirit. To see a list of all of our podcasts, visit mcminnmdcom. And to stay up to date on the latest topics, be sure to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast player so that you'll be notified when future episodes come out. The discussions contained in this podcast are for educational purposes only and are not intended to diagnose or treat any disease. Please do not apply any of this information without approval from your personal doctor. And now on to the show with Dr McMinn and Coach Lindsey.

Speaker 1: 2:00

Hello and welcome to the Wellness Connection MD podcast with Dr McMinn and Coach Lindsey, the evidence-based podcast on all things wellness, where we bring you honest, commercial-free, unbiased, up-to-date, evidence-based, outcomes-oriented information, along with practical solutions in order to empower you to overcome your healthcare challenges and to optimize your wellness in mind, body and spirit, and to become a great captain of your ship. We thank you so much for joining us today. I'm Dr Jim McMinn. I'm here with our co-host nurse and certified health coach, ms Lindsay Matthews. Good morning, coach.

Speaker 3: 2:32

Good morning, dr McMinn and hello listeners. Welcome back to the show. Today we've got an excellent podcast for you on a topic that affects all women across multiple generations.

Speaker 1: 2:44

That's right, but we're coming at this topic from a different angle than, I would venture to say, most of you have ever heard when you think about this topic.

Speaker 1: 2:50

I can certainly attest that this approach to women's health care was never taught to me in medical school or in residency. So who should listen to this podcast? Well, if you or someone you know is considering starting a family or has fertility concerns, then this podcast is a must listen. If you're hoping to avoid pregnancy or have questions about birth control options, then this podcast will shed some light on this for you. Now, this topic expands beyond fertility conversations, though, and as such, it is also for all women at every stage of life who have concerns about their health or who just want to learn more about their own body and how it works, and to understand more about their cycle and their hormones. So the bottom line is this podcast is for all women and for those who love them, which hopefully would include most men. So I guess, when you add it all up, if you're a human being, then this podcast is for you.

Speaker 3: 3:37

I love it, Dr Mack. It's here to really empower us with the knowledge of our own body and its rhythms. This podcast will equip you to delve further in empowering knowledge of your own body and its rhythms. In one of our most recent episodes, we examined the concept of preconception care care. So that's the idea that men and women can both prepare their bodies prior to pregnancy to achieve optimal egg and sperm health, to therefore achieve optimal pregnancy outcomes.

Speaker 1: 4:12

So today we're going to pivot a bit and delve further into the idea of understanding a woman's cycle and how this serves in many ways as an overall indicator of a woman's health. In the Preconception podcast, we talked about fertility as an indicator of both male and female health. Today, we expand the idea by talking about a woman's cycle and how all aspects of the cycle can serve as biomarkers and measures for overall health. Now you men please don't tune out here I would argue that this topic matters to us too.

Speaker 1: 4:38

Understanding a woman's cycle is more than just a fertility conversation. Today you will hear that in many ways, the status of a woman's cycle reveals a lot about the status of her health and, as a man, if you care about the women in your life, then you'll care about this topic. Understand these concepts can help to support the women in your life as they navigate the fluctuations of their hormones, their cycles and their issues involving fertility over a lifetime. Additionally, we all have family members and friends who might benefit from this knowledge, so please consider sharing this podcast with someone who might need further assistance tracking down issues related to fertility cycles and hormone rhythms.

Speaker 3: 5:13

And I also just want to take a moment here before we jump in to remind you, listeners, that we keep this podcast commercial-free intentionally, because we really want to focus on the content and not interrupt the show. But this does take time and energy and our resources to keep this going. So we'd love to just invite you to help us in supporting this mission, and one of the ways that you can do that is either donate directly to the show, which you can do on our website at the bottom of the page. On our website at the bottom of the page, mcminnmdcom you can find that information, but you can also shop. So if you buy supplements and you're looking for really good, high quality ones, then check out our page with full script to get physician grade supplements to help you, and that helps us too. It's a win-win and we appreciate you considering that.

Speaker 3: 6:05

So, without further ado, we've got the shop talk out of the way and hopefully got you intrigued into this topic. I am so privileged and excited to introduce to you our guest for the show. I get to work with her at a hospital here in Birmingham, and so she's both a postpartum nurse and a fertility care practitioner, and she has her own business called Flourish Fertility, where she works with women and couples to teach them how to track their cycles, naturally using what's called the Creighton model system. She's also my dear friend, and what a gift she is. So, without further ado, elizabeth Ellison, welcome to the show.

Speaker 4: 6:45

Thank you so much. I truly am honored to be here.

Speaker 3: 6:49

Yes, we're so happy you're here with us today, so tell us more about the Creighton model system. What is it? What should we know?

Speaker 4: 6:57

Yeah. So I believe that every woman should have the opportunity to know how her body works, should have the opportunity to know how her body works. Through years of research, this method was developed to help give women confidence in learning what their bodies are telling them. The system relies on standardized observation and charting of biological markers that give understanding to a woman's health and fertility. These biomarkers give information to know when a couple is fertile or infertile, as well as indicating any abnormalities in a woman's health. What makes the Creighton model system unique from other types of fertility awareness methods is that it has an added medical component. Natural procreative technology, or NAPRO technology, is a women's health science that goes hand in hand with Creighton. They provide medical and surgical treatments that coincide completely with the woman's natural reproductive cycle.

Speaker 3: 7:52

Excellent. Well, thanks for sharing that, and I'm excited to delve a little bit more into that. You know, information is power, and when we understand what's happening inside of our bodies, we learn, and we learn how to effectively read them. I believe we really become empowered in our health. We're no longer part of this symptom pill ideology, and so we start to wake up to our own ability to navigate our health, rather than becoming or staying victims.

Speaker 1: 8:18

It seems like women's cycles often feel mysterious, and research shows that most women don't really feel like they know enough about their cycles. Coach, maybe that's because we don't teach them anything about it. I don't know what you're saying right, but understanding how your body functions is a basic, fundamental right, and this knowledge is teachable. Women want to learn it and they can learn it, and they'll all be better off for it.

Speaker 3: 8:37

Right, I agree, dr Mack. One of the things I liked is we were looking further into this topic and just from my own personal research on it, elizabeth, is that the Creighton model uses this languaging of unleashing the power of a woman's cycle. I just love thinking about the cycle in such a positive way, because more often than not, it's discussed cynically and negatively. So tell us more about what you do as a fertility care provider. How do you help women access or unleash this power in their cycles, right?

Speaker 4: 9:08

My role as a fertility care practitioner focuses on women's reproductive health and helping women to understand their bodies more fully in order to meet their fertility health goals, whatever they may be. I give an introductory session to women and couples who are interested in learning and then continue to meet, either in person or virtually, to teach them how to listen to their bodies and track their cycle. This is done in a one-on-one setting, as every woman's body and cycle is so unique. Throughout my training, I learned information that I never learned in nursing school or even once I became a nurse that I wish I had learned a long time ago. My hope is to encourage and empower women with more knowledge about their own reproductive health to help them grow in appreciation of their fertility.

Speaker 1: 9:57

So, elizabeth, let me see if I got this right You're basically an educator in this role, and you help people identify trends so that they can recognize when things are going right or not going right, and then, if need be, you help them escalate their care to a provider like a doctor or an NP who specializes in this approach. Is that the correct way of putting it?

Speaker 4: 10:14

Yes, exactly. I help women learn to observe for biomarkers and place their findings on a chart and we review patterns that may appear with consistent charting. This is more of a longitudinal, long-term view that helps doctors as they make diagnoses and it helps women recognize patterns and accumulate hard data behind symptoms that they may be dismissing as just another part of their cycle. I know lab work can be critical in diagnosing and treating. In the moment, this method serves as a complement to diagnostic testing, offering a wealth of additional information in the forms of patterns identified over time. With the amount of information we can gather from accurately tracking biomarkers, it wouldn't be a stretch to think of the menstrual cycle as another vital sign.

Speaker 3: 11:10

I think so often we just think of our cycle as the days when we have our period and you have this active bleeding, but you're constantly experiencing changes in your hormones throughout the entire cycle, and so your body's telling you things that you may or may not be aware of. And you know, acog, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, put out a statement in 2023, like you're saying, elizabeth and they were advocating for the menstrual cycle to be considered an additional vital sign, just like blood pressure or heart rate or temperature. So I think this is a fantastic illustration of what we're discussing here that assessing the cycle is really a great tool to assessing overall health.

Speaker 1: 11:45

Yeah, so we were talking before we got on air about things like the female athlete triad, which not only affects cycles but affects things like osteoporosis and stuff like that. So this is not just about periods, it's about overall health.

Speaker 1: 11:55

So, anyway, that's all really interesting and I appreciate what you're bringing to us today, Elizabeth. This provides such a unique and important tool to help empower women with so many aspects of their health. Unfortunately, most doctors are not adequately trained in this area, so learning about these concepts can also empower doctors to help their patients who are struggling with these issues and often find nowhere to go to get the answers that they need. In an ideal world, a provider will have the knowledge and skill set to optimize a woman's cycles and hormones, almost like she's tending a garden. To take this analogy just a bit further, a gardener is often an observer, constantly analyzing what is needed to create a healthy environment and to help plants grow and thrive and to be happy and healthy plants. I'm proud to say that my wife, Dr Cheryl, is a master gardener. In fact, she is the queen of the herb army at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

Speaker 3: 12:42

I love that. Queen of the Herb Army, what a title. That's what I want one day.

Speaker 1: 12:46

That's right and she's always checking out the plants and she's able to interpret the signs and symptoms of plant health, just like a doctor would do for a human being. And if a plant's not doing well, she can gather information through her observations which will help her figure out the root cause of the problem. She which will help her figure out the root cause of the problem. She can tell if it needs more fertilizer, more sunlight, more water or the soil is just not right for the plant. And in the same way, a detailed observation of a woman's health, especially her cycle and hormone health, like with this kind of method that you are describing to us today, can provide more accurate information to help the woman and her provider find the root cause of her hormonal and cycle issues and then to make the changes needed to steer her into a healthier direction. But without this type of detailed information from the patient, then doctors really can't figure out or treat the root cause and they're stuck, often covering up the problem with things like drugs which often have untoward side effects.

Speaker 3: 13:38

You know, I also love that this type of approach is so empowering to the patient. You know, I think you know doctors sometimes they're limited to the tools they have and everything, but then they're also limited by the patient's buy-in. So this approach really gets the patients to buy in and be empowered.

Speaker 1: 13:57

I think most patients want to buy in, don't you Lindsay? Yes, I agree, but we have kind of disempowered them all their lives and not invited them to buy in. But I think, kind of disempowered them all their lives and not invited them to buy in.

Speaker 3: 14:06

But I think most of them really want to be involved. Yes, I agree. So let's get a bit more specific, elizabeth, tell us more about what are the biomarkers that Crayton relies on, how does a patient recognize them and what are those signs saying? And then we can progress more into the details of a woman's cycle. But first, what are those biomarkers that they utilize? Because, gosh, there are a gajillion fertility systems out there now apps, ovulation strips, wearable devices, and so some of them, I think, rely on basal body temperature, which is just that temperature when a woman rises before rising. Others look at cervical position, or because that cervix changes position throughout the cycle, and then cervical mucus is a sign. So, and then, of course, we also got to mention that some women experience a whole gamut of body symptoms prior to their periods, like ovulation pain, for example, when the egg is released. But what does Creighton use and why?

Speaker 4: 15:00

You are right. There are quite a few different biomarkers that a woman's body gives us to help determine days of fertility and infertility, and many tools out there to try to learn them. The Creighton model system itself uses one single biomarker, actually, and that is our cervical mucus. This gives us all the information we need. So ovulation occurs on a single day in each cycle, and that egg that's released can only live for 12 to 24 hours if it's not fertilized.

Speaker 4: 15:36

In order to achieve a pregnancy, we of course need a sperm and an egg, but a third component that's just as important is our cervical mucus. This mucus, produced by our bodies, provides the pathway for the sperm to meet the egg. As ovulation is approaching, our estrogen begins to rise and we begin to see this production of cervical mucus. At this point, our window of fertility opens. Typically, a woman would see this mucus over a period of three to seven days but this can vary from woman to woman and then she would have a dramatic change back to dryness, closing that window of fertility within a few days after that change. Sperm without this mucus can die within hours, but with this estrogen-rich mucus, sperm can survive for three to five days, allowing them to be perfectly positioned and ready for when that egg is released at ovulation. So, for example, if a couple had intercourse when she saw this mucus, even if it were up to five days before she actually ovulated, then pregnancy could be achieved, because this mucus is helping the sperm to live, it's providing the nutrients that it needs.

Speaker 1: 16:55

So interesting. But, in summary, this system, when used regarding fertility, can help people identify fertile and non-fertile times and act accordingly, but this could also help people identify problems based on the quality, timing and other characteristics of the fluid. Is that correct?

Speaker 4: 17:10

Correct. Yeah, cervical mucus can also be a huge indicator of our personal health. Some women may observe different variations of mucus every single day, causing confusion in identifying fertile or infertile periods. This is where working with a practitioner comes in, as we can help determine the true window of fertility. If she is seeing mucus every day, continuous mucus like this could indicate that something in the environment could be causing irritation. For example, maybe she's wearing underwear that's not 100% cotton and her body is trying to flush out any toxin that could be there.

Speaker 4: 17:50

Or there could be some inflammation in her body that's causing an increase in mucus that's observed. Or maybe her estrogen is at a higher level than what's considered normal, due to PCOS, for example, and that hormone is causing fluctuations in the mucus she's seeing more than just at the time of ovulation. It's also possible that a woman may not see any cervical mucus at all, but she may not realize this unless she were looking for that sign, unless she were charting her cycle. So a lack of cervical mucus could indicate subfertility or infertility, and there may be a reason that her body is suppressing that production of mucus. There is a lot that mucus can tell us about our bodies, and it's pretty cool.

Speaker 3: 18:37

It is pretty amazing. I think a lot of people might not even be aware of this whole thing. That's happening. Your cervical fluid is telling a story and what is it saying? So just to give our listeners a more concrete idea of what we're talking about, the way one would observe their own cervical mucus through Creighton is by wiping across the vulva both before and after using the bathroom to look for vaginal discharge. So it doesn't involve like some kind of internal exam. Just to make that clear, Creighton instruction includes how to make this observation based on if mucus is present or not, the stretch, the color, the lubricant to the feel of that mucus. It's funny, you know, just to pause and think that we all intuitively, since we're little, observe mucus in our body, like with our sinuses, and we know what's normal and abnormal. But there's definitely, I think, a misconnect or complete lack of awareness for women about cervical mucus.

Speaker 1: 19:34

Yeah, I think mucus kind of gets a bad rap. You know, like when you have a cold you're blowing your nose all the time.

Speaker 3: 19:39

I think about that little green guy on the pharmaceutical commercial, but it's vitally important.

Speaker 1: 19:43

If you think about gut mucus, it's a huge component of gut health. So, yeah, it's really kind of fascinating. But, elizabeth, in one of your previous interviews on a different podcast, you said something to the fact that reproductive health is helpful to know for all women, no matter what season of life she might be in. Can you speak more about that type of information, how Creighton helps provide these women with beneficial information in general?

Speaker 4: 20:07

Sure.

Speaker 4: 20:08

I would say that there are three big applications for tracking your cycle using Creighton. The first would be for health and wellness. This system can benefit single women or any woman truly who desire simply to learn more about her body as a woman. I would say that it's a great way to track your cycle. We have said our bodies are often trying to tell us something, and learning how to track our biomarkers gives us the ability to listen, learn and even take next steps towards healing. Learning this method can help to identify the root cause behind reproductive issues such as PCOS, endometriosis, irregular bleeding, hormonal imbalances and more.

Speaker 4: 20:50

The second benefit of learning to track your cycle would be for planning your family. This system is beneficial for those hoping to avoid pregnancy but who are not really interested in added artificial hormones or barrier methods. It has proven to be 99% effective in avoiding pregnancy naturally when it's used properly. 9% effective in avoiding pregnancy naturally when it's used properly, and even for women who are postpartum learning. This method can help to space or prevent future pregnancies in a way that's most helpful for their families, even predicting ovulation before your first period returns when breastfeeding. This can be empowering, giving confidence in knowing days of fertility or infertility, in order to make an informed decision as a couple whether their goal is to avoid or achieve a pregnancy.

Speaker 4: 21:38

And the third application would be for those struggling with infertility. Too many women feel discouraged, overwhelmed and alone in their fertility journey, and utilizing the Creighton method, paired with the Napro technology that I mentioned earlier, allows us to come alongside these women to provide care, encouragement and deeper understanding. We hope to help find the root cause, the why behind their infertility struggles. Through tracking with Creighton, patterns are seen, which gives the doctors the information needed in order to further diagnose and treat. Again, a woman's chart provides more than just one moment in time like a lab value, but shows months of patterns in their health.

Speaker 1: 22:23

Elizabeth, can you tell us just a bit more about Napro technology, for instance? Who is a Napro provider, what type of credentialing is involved in that, and what sort of interventions are they able to provide that your typical, say, obgyn doctor does not provide?

Speaker 4: 22:36

Right. So natural procreative technology is a form of restorative reproductive medicine. This works cooperatively with a woman's menstrual and fertility cycle. With a woman's menstrual and fertility cycle, napro technology was developed by Dr Thomas W Hilgers, md, at the St Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction. Napro physicians, or even nurse practitioners, are board certified, most often in the OBGYN or family medicine realm, who have been trained and certified by the St Paul VI Institute to offer natural procreative technology care to their patients. In addition to using a Creighton chart to see patterns, these physicians can also utilize imaging technologies, ultrasounds, x-rays. They use blood hormone testing, exploratory surgery and other diagnostic tests to identify underlying reproductive disorders and hormonal imbalances. In order to treat these disorders, including infertility, these physicians may utilize targeted bioidentical hormone therapy protocols, various surgical procedures, diet and lifestyle changes, and more.

Speaker 3: 23:53

I know that you refer your clients sometimes to NAPRO providers, right? So how common is NAPRO technology? If anyone listening were interested in looking into this, could they easily find a provider. What would then also be the differences between this type of provider? And, say, a fertility specialist, that one would most commonly be referred to by OBGYN? I think it's safe to say that traditionally, most doctors would not be tuned in to really understand, like if a patient walked in and handed them a chart, their Creighton chart, so they wouldn't really know what to do with it. So how could people find a provider Right?

Speaker 4: 24:30

I will say. Unfortunately this is not as well known as I wish it could be, but I think it's growing. I know that a list of providers are offered on the website wwwfertilitycareorg slash napro technology. Many providers work with patients virtually if there's not one local to you, which is a benefit, since these providers use more of a restorative approach, as I mentioned, instead of using assisted reproductive technology such as IVF or in vitro fertilization or IUI, intrauterine insemination or even artificial hormones, the goal, as I've mentioned before, is to treat the root causes of infertility. This often benefits the overall health of the woman too. As I mentioned before, there is more of a restorative, holistic approach with a focus on diet and lifestyle changes, bioidentical hormone replacement, supplement support and more. These physicians can also receive specific training for surgical procedures using what's called near-contact laparoscopy. They excise endometriosis, they use wedge resection for polycystic ovaries and more. They just have a lot more specific training in these women's reproductive health areas than I think maybe the general OBGYN might receive.

Speaker 1: 26:00

You know it's interesting. I think we really underestimate the power of diet and lifestyle changes. I had a good friend one time back in the ER. He and his wife were trying to get pregnant for years and nothing was happening. So they finally adopted twins. And then, shortly after adopting twins, the pressure was gone. She got pregnant.

Speaker 3: 26:18

I feel like that story is so common. That's stress. It is so stressful.

Speaker 1: 26:24

Once again, those lifestyle changes like stress reduction and diet and stuff like that can really be powerful.

Speaker 1: 26:30

But, elizabeth, usually we start with the assumption that the cycle is 28 days and the ovulation occurs on day 14. And we get labs at certain points in the cycle based on this underlying assumption. However, there's so much variation in this, but without each woman understanding her own cycles, doctors are limited in making these generalized assumptions. For instance, there's an article in the journal Nature published in 2019 that analyzed over 600,000 menstrual cycles of women, and this is a direct quote from the study to illustrate my point, quote it is a common belief that ovulation occurs on day 14 of the cycle, but our analysis has shown that the majority of women in the real world that this is not the case. End quote. They also said quote anecdotally there is poor understanding of fertility amongst the general population, which can lead to both unintended pregnancies and delayed time of conception, which is associated with psychological suffering for those wishing to start a family. End quote. So this misunderstanding is a big deal and causes real world problems for women and for families.

Speaker 3: 27:31

Speaking of lack of knowledge, I think it's important just to make the point that there's a huge lack of knowledge about the cycle and about hormones and about fertility across the population abroad, and then even among healthcare professionals, and that's what we've been talking about here too.

Speaker 1: 27:45

So I won't go into details, but an article from the peer-reviewed journal Birth found that the vast majority of women didn't know when their next period would be, the average number of days in a cycle, the timing of ovulation and did not know how long an egg or sperm could live in a woman's body, again just reflecting a general lack of knowledge about their people surveyed, both including health care professionals like primary care doctors, et cetera, and just general population.

Speaker 3: 28:17

overall, the health care professionals surveyed did not demonstrate a better fertility knowledge than the lay participants, and I find that to be a kick in the pants for all of us, doctors and nurses here, but you know, I think it also just reflects a system-wide issue. Not, you know, it's not bad on those individuals, but you know, how are we educating our?

Speaker 1: 28:38

whole population about this. So this podcast has always been about empowerment for everybody, but especially for women, and while we won't bore you with all the details, we think that it's important for women to understand the basics of what is going on in her own body. So let's do a brief overview of the cycle and what hormones are coming into play and when. So, elizabeth, would you walk us through the basic main phases?

Speaker 4: 28:58

Absolutely so. We go through four phases of the menstrual cycle that truly can each be so beautiful in its own way. First is what's called our follicular phase. Here a hormone our body produces, called estrogen, begins to rise and this stimulates the growth of a follicle. A follicle is a small fluid-filled sac that holds the egg. During preparation for ovulation, many people are feeling energized, stable, clear-minded, as that estrogen is rising at the beginning of her cycle. Then, as estrogen peaks, we have the ovulatory phase next. So this peak in estrogen causes a spike in a different hormone called the luteinizing hormone, or LH. Here the egg that's been developing is released by that follicle, almost like a little water balloon popping.

Speaker 4: 29:53

Women are feeling good at this time. They're confident, happy, social, comfortable in their skin. So after that egg is released, we have what's called the luteal phase, where your body secretes a different hormone called progesterone, secretes a different hormone called progesterone. For women, energy levels are typically getting a little lower here. So this is a time to take care of yourself, to rest and listen to your body.

Speaker 4: 30:17

And then, finally, we have the menstrual phase. So, without fertilization of that egg that was released, we shed the thickened lining that our body has prepared for gestation all over this past cycle and we bleed. This is a time for continued rest as we allow our body to detox and recover, and then it starts all over again. Our bodies truly are capable of so much, but a few things I want to point out that our bodies can do that are really incredible and unique are first, ovulation, as I've just mentioned. This is the ability to produce and release an egg each cycle that could lead to creating new life if it were fertilized. We also have the ability for gestation. We can carry children and grow a life within us. And then, third, we can sustain this child by producing milk for this new life to thrive through lactation. So really beautiful and amazing what a woman's body is capable of doing.

Speaker 1: 31:23

It's just incredible, isn't it Amazing? I'm blown away by some of this, you know, like just the concept of all this cycle stuff that's going on all the time and then birth. I mean it's amazing that it ever goes right. It's just so complicated, but it does. It's just this miracle it is.

Speaker 3: 31:38

It's an amazing design. Not every woman has the exact same experience with her menstrual cycle. There are many uncomfortable and even painful symptoms that we, as women, can experience, some of which can impact our fertility. A lot of women live with symptoms that they just associate with just being a woman.

Speaker 1: 32:03

And you know, lindsay, over the years I've seen so many women who were miserable with things like painful menstrual periods or emotional swings and stuff like that, and it was really, really tragic and I think we shouldn't discount that. It's a huge issue. So seeing somebody like you, elizabeth, and getting things back on track it can help with all that stuff, for sure.

Speaker 3: 32:18

Yeah, Until we start to quantify the information, we don't have a way of recognizing patterns that lead us to these root cause discoveries of why our bodies may be responding this way. So painful periods, spotting before or after, heavy periods, no bleeding, inconsistent cycles, significant PMS symptoms, acne or just general mental health concerns surrounding the cycle All of these things are just information until, Elizabeth, people come alongside and we start learning a system that gives you more specifics how long are you dealing with these symptoms each cycle, how regular are your cycles, what's the color and the quality of your bleeding, etc.

Speaker 1: 32:58

And all that information helps us to see patterns, like you're talking about this longitudinal picture, so that then we can start to tend the garden, Dr McMahon like you said earlier, dr McMahon, like I said earlier, now let's take a look at all this stuff we've been talking about and discuss how it can help women tend to their bodies, like Dr Cheryl tends to her herb garden, and this can result in better overall health. Elizabeth, can you give us some examples of what a woman's chart may show as far as warning signs that things might be a little bit off kilter?

Speaker 4: 33:24

So through learning to track your cycle, you begin to have information to see what your body might be saying, as you were just mentioning earlier, the PMS symptoms, or premenstrual syndrome symptoms that a woman could be facing. You can identify when that's happening on your chart and truly I've found some clients that have experienced pretty significant symptoms with this that are not normal and I think it's so normalized for women that, oh, before we start our cycle, we're just going to face a tough woman right here. But it's actually there's things that can help that to ease the PMS symptoms.

Speaker 3: 34:07

And so it's not just like oh, it's just your time of the month. Here comes angry woman again, Right.

Speaker 4: 34:13

She might need some supplemental support or some progesterone support for that and I've had clients completely turn around and feel so much better after something like that.

Speaker 1: 34:23

And it's important for her partner to understand that it's not her fault. She's really a nice person. It's her hormones talking right. Yes, it's not her fault. She's really a nice person.

Speaker 4: 34:31

It's her hormones talking right, it's not her talking, but I want to mention this helps you to see what's happening and to get help, because it may not be normal for her, so it may not be her true state of health. Maybe a woman's charting and notices brown bleeding at the tail end of her cycle. This could indicate also a need for progesterone support or for further testing, because actually brown bleeding is not normal or a sign of health. Or maybe you experience bleeding in the middle of your cycle. You have some spotting. I had a client struggling with infertility who had irregular bleeding like this and she discovered that she had polyps.

Speaker 4: 35:11

With further testing, after having these removed and adding in some supplements for further support, they were actually able to achieve a pregnancy. If your cycle is fluctuating in length every month, maybe ranging from 23 to 50 days, that's a good range and it can be hard to know when ovulation is occurring, just like what you were saying earlier, dr McMinn. Your ovulation probably is not on day 14 every month, but with tracking you can more easily determine when you're fertile or not and this could be reason to look into the cause of why your cycle is fluctuating in length. To look into the cause of why your cycle is fluctuating in length. This could be due to stress, because stress can actually delay ovulation. Or it could be due to PCOS.

Speaker 1: 35:59

Some women with which is polycystic ovary syndrome.

Speaker 4: 36:01

Yes, Some women with PCOS or polycystic ovarian syndrome experience anovulation where they don't ovulate at all, or maybe they have long or irregular cycles. Some women with this may have mucus almost every day. As I mentioned earlier. Their estrogen might be a little higher, causing them to see that, while others may have none at all. These are all reasons to learn to chart your cycle to help determine what might be going on beneath the surface. And if I come across a woman like this and I see these patterns, I would definitely refer to a NAPRO doctor or nurse practitioner who can help treat these things. And for those struggling with infertility, the goal of tracking is to help determine the root cause, as infertility in many cases can be a symptom of something else going on that's causing it. I do have some clients who have struggled with infertility, for example, who have had symptoms of painful periods, brown bleeding, decreased mucus, etc. That later learned, after connecting with a NAPRO doctor, that they had endometriosis and this can be a huge cause of infertility.

Speaker 3: 37:18

I think what you're saying here really bears repeating, that our body's fertility is really revealing deeper things about our health, and that's a huge shift of thinking for many people. Mm-hmm.

Speaker 1: 37:30

So on the podcast, we've always been huge advocates of preventive medicine, so if practitioners could tap into these signs and recognize these issues earlier, we could have more opportunities of helping women steer away from or slow down the progression of things like endometriosis or PCOS. We did an entire podcast on the benefits of bioidentical hormone therapy and also we did one on PCOS, which I think were quite good, if I might say so, and you might be interested in going back and reviewing those at your convenience.

Speaker 3: 37:58

Let's talk about the application of this method for family planning. I think in general in the medical world, historically speaking, when someone mentions natural family planning, people assume they're not effectively going to be able to avoid pregnancy. But the research with Creighton shows otherwise, that this method's effective, right Elizabeth?

Speaker 4: 38:17

That's right. It is and I think you're right. There is a stigma surrounding this, unfortunately, but when used properly it can be so effective. So I'm going to throw out some numbers here. The method effectiveness of using the Creighton model system to avoid pregnancy now, method effectiveness means absolute perfect use is 99.5% effective. The use effectiveness of Creighton, which means we are human, we might miss an observation here or there because of life, miss an observation here or there because of life it's still 96.8% effective. It's worth mentioning too that the method effectiveness of the birth control pill, which again is perfect use is 99% comparable there, while the use effectiveness meaning we're human, we make mistakes, might miss a pill or the wrong time of the birth control pill is actually 93%. The use effectiveness of condoms, on a different note, is 87%.

Speaker 3: 39:22

So let me repeat that to you to clarify for our listeners. There's two types of effectiveness ratings that we're dealing with here Method effectiveness and then use effectiveness. The second, the use effectiveness, allowing for human error. So for method effectiveness for Creighton, that accounts for if you charted every day, you never missed sign biomarker, you didn't misinterpret your observations at all. Or with birth control, the method effectiveness is if you never skipped a day, like you said, you're a perfect little robot taking that pill. And then condom effectiveness would be the barrier, never leaked or tore. So let's repeat those numbers. So 99.5 for Creighton and then 99% for birth control pills. Perfect use. Then, if we account for human error when applying those practices, effectiveness for both decreases. For Creighton, 96.8%, birth control pills 93%, 96.8 percent. Birth control pill is 93 percent. So this might help people when they consider going to this type of method but don't trust themselves to do it. So, listeners, statistically the numbers are for you Right.

Speaker 1: 40:25

So what about the opposite? What is the research behind using this method to become pregnant?

Speaker 4: 40:30

Yeah. So on the flip side, for those with the goal of achieving a pregnancy, who have normal fertility, 76% of couples were able to achieve within the first cycle of use because, again, they have the information to see when they're fertile or not. And by the sixth cycle of use, 98% were able to achieve a pregnancy. Percent were able to achieve a pregnancy. Now, for those struggling with infertility, 20 to 40 percent were able to achieve a pregnancy using the Creighton model system alone and up to 80 percent were able to achieve using Creighton plus medical treatment with a NAPRO provider. This method can be used to achieve pregnancy, to avoid pregnancy and to monitor our health and fertility, and it's shown to be quite effective.

Speaker 1: 41:20

And listeners by now. You know we always do our homework for you. However, if you want to take a deeper dive, you can find this data published at wwwcreightonmodelcom. I'm going to spell that out for you C-R-E-I-G-H-T-O-N-M-O-D-E-L dot com. It came from a meta-analysis of data of five separate studies totaling over 1,800 patients, and this study was published in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine. And again as Elizabeth quoted, the study found that the Creighton model has a method effectiveness of 99.5% and a typical use effectiveness of 96.8% of avoiding pregnancy and a typical use effectiveness of 96.8% of avoiding pregnancy.

Speaker 3: 41:55

Let's zoom out for a moment and briefly also talk about birth control methods in general. They can be broadly categorized into hormonal, non-hormonal and natural methods. Hormonal options including pills, patches, implants and IUDs, and then non-hormonal methods including copper, iuds, condoms and then diaphragms.

Speaker 1: 42:15

Hormonal contraceptives work by preventing ovulation, thickening cervical mucus and thinning the uterine lining. They're highly effective when used correctly and, as Elizabeth pointed out, for us the pill has a 99% efficacy rate with perfect use. However, as Elizabeth shared, human error brings us down to as low as 91%, according to the CDC website.

Speaker 3: 42:35

As we're an evidence-based podcast, we do want to discuss both benefits and risks briefly. Benefits for these other uses of birth control would be like efficacy, ease of use, convenience. Those are all big ones for many people, However, the side effects can include nausea, headaches, mood changes and also this can affect your bleeding, causing irregularities too. Another thing to consider was there's a whole lot of different studies that we kind of want to share with you too. An example of that would be a study from 2015. The British Medical Journal found that combined oral contraceptives, especially those containing newer progestins, can double the risk of blood clots compared to non-users.

Speaker 1: 43:19

And, of course, the major risk of blood clots is they go on to cause strokes and heart attacks. In fact, in the 2021 study found that birth control pills can increase the risk of stroke and heart attack by approximately 60%, although, to be clear, when you look at what we call absolute risk, it still remains pretty low, with only about eight out of every 100,000 women taking birth control pills experiencing a stroke each year. Another bummer is the research from the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, following over a million women, which found a 40% increased risk of starting antidepressants among hormonal contraceptive users, particularly teenagers.

Speaker 3: 43:55

That's pretty significant, Dr Mack.

Speaker 1: 43:57

It really is.

Speaker 3: 43:58

There's also, of course, the question of long-term exposure. A 2020 review in environmental research raised concerns about synthetic hormones potentially affecting endocrine function and accumulating in the body. This kind of thing could contribute to inflammation and disrupt your natural hormonal balance.

Speaker 4: 44:16

I want to intersect and say something here. In my training, where I learned all about Creighton we were talking about this and how women taking the birth control pill there is so much estrogen that is being flushed out of our bodies that's actually in the water everywhere. And I learned about this peach farm where the peaches were being affected by the estrogen in the water that they were being watered by. They weren't growing as they used to be because of all the estrogen from the birth control pill out in this water. So kind of crazy.

Speaker 1: 44:52

The hormones in the birth control pill are not really natural human hormones. They are called endocrine disrupting chemicals, which then get into our environment and have effects on wildlife and stuff like that. So, yeah, there's so many angles to this, aren't there? So many ways you can look at it, but certainly a lot of impacts on our environment. So hormonal contraceptives can impact liver function and cholesterol levels in some users.

Speaker 1: 45:12

Also, emerging research points to concerns about the accumulation of synthetic hormones and toxins over time. Studies such as the one published in the Environmental Research have detected trace amounts of synthetic hormones and heavy metals in the bloodstream of long-term hormonal contraceptive users. These toxins can further contribute to inflammation and disrupt endocrine function. And, although this is a topic of hot debate, some experts argue that synthetic hormones in the birth control pills can be classified as EDCs endocrine disrupting chemicals because they interfere with the body's own natural hormone function. And in fact, if you look at the definition of an EDC, it states quote an exogenous substance or mixture that alters functions of the endocrine system. So it seems to me like BCPs or birth control pills fit that definition. I'm just saying.

Speaker 3: 46:00

Right, I hear you.

Speaker 1: 46:01

Yeah, and one more aspect of the birth control pill I'll mention is the impact on the microbiome. A review in Frontiers of Cellular and Infection Microbiology suggests that hormonal contraceptives can alter the vaginal and gut microbiomes, potentially affecting immune response and overall health.

Speaker 3: 46:24

It's also worth noting that hormonal methods can influence nutrient absorption. Even Research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2018 had documented deficiencies in vitamins like B6 and magnesium with long-term use, so there's broader health implications as well.

Speaker 1: 46:38

And these risks underscore the importance of education and understanding the upsides and downsides of hormonal birth control. In an ideal world, each woman would have a comprehensive conversation with a healthcare provider maybe a naprofighter about her options, although the reality of the situation is that in this day and age, when so many OBGYN doctors are seeing 50 patients a day or more, then this kind of comprehensive conversation can be really hard to come by and to be even-handed. Here it's appropriate to say that the pill has been around for many years and we have umpteen million women who have taken the pill, and most of them seem to do fine with it and at least they think that the trade-offs are worth it for them, although many of them have never been really given the option or any information about natural family planning.

Speaker 3: 47:22

And also just to kind of quickly cover non-hormonal options like the copper IUD. They can be an alternative. The copper IUD is over 99% effective and can last up to 10 years, but I think it's worth kind of thinking through how it works, which is by creating an environment that's hostile to sperm.

Speaker 1: 47:40

Yeah, it employs actually several different mechanisms, which I won't go into here, to prevent pregnancy, and it may be quite effective, but it's not without some potential drawbacks. Some users report heavier periods and cramping, especially in the first few months. On the plus side, it's hormone free. Let me be clear there are different kinds of IUDs and of course we have the copper IUD which we're talking about here, but then you also have the kind of hormonally impregnated IUDs, Right, and that's a whole different story. Yes, right, so anyway, but let's not forget the barrier methods like condoms, and their effectiveness is a little bit lower, at about 85% with typical use.

Speaker 3: 48:13

So now let's circle back to the natural methods, which, of course, creighton falls into this category. Just to kind of give us a broad picture, there's the fertility awareness method, fam. That involves charting of three biomarkers your basal body temp, the cervical fluid and then also cervical changes. So this method allows for incorporation of the barrier method for contraception as well. It's method allows for incorporation of the barrier method for contraception as well. It's kind of for during those fertile periods.

Speaker 3: 48:40

Then there's natural family planning, which, creighton, falls into this model, and the main difference between this and the former is just the use of abstinence during fertile times. And then finally, there's just that outdated rhythm method that's really considered ineffective because it doesn't require actual observations and charting. It's based on mathematical computations, which we've already said. Every woman can have a really unique day for ovulation and timing and length of their cycle. So in many ways I feel like that's almost the opposite of Creighton, even though it's put in the same category. So all these natural methods that we're talking about, they're benefits, low cost, hormone free, so really no side effects to consider. And then the whole toxin issue is really a non-issue. But the biggest thing is it does require discipline and for each of us, as a patient, to take an active role in our health monitoring, which may or may not be something that people are willing to do or an option for them at this time.

Speaker 1: 49:37

That's correct.

Speaker 3: 49:38

Right.

Speaker 4: 49:38

Creighton. It takes time and patience and you're really learning how to listen and be in tune with your body. There are many benefits not many side effects, as Lindsay mentioned, but it's not as easy as popping a pill every day, but truly, in my opinion, it's worth the time and the investment to learn to listen and know what your body's saying. There's a lot of value in it.

Speaker 1: 50:03

One of our main blessings in our life is our health and learning about your body, as you pointed out. I think it's quite worthwhile the time you invest in that, but our purpose here on the show is not to bash any particular type of birth control. We're simply trying to share with you the evidence-based information so that you can make empowered choices about your reproductive, hormonal and period health, whatever that choice may be. To summarize the options hormonal methods can be highly effective and convenient, but come with some side effects. Non-hormonal options, like the copper IUD, offer fewer systemic risk but on the other hand, they do have some localized side effects. And the natural methods, like the plan that Elizabeth brings to us today, can provide autonomy and no medical side effects, but do require more education, active management and engagement on the part of the patient. Elizabeth, lindsay and I have been talking so much, and you are the expert here, so what's your perspective on these methods?

Speaker 4: 50:56

Often, women are treated with hormonal contraception in response to many difficult symptoms that they may be facing. This hormonal contraception provides an artificial boost to our natural hormones and can help resolve symptoms that they may experience, but this boost masks rather than addresses the underlying cause behind these symptoms. While this can be helpful for some women, in certain situations, taking hormonal contraception can interrupt or alter your natural menstrual cycle, which can impact your health and body. For this reason, I've become passionate about a natural approach to fertility care and hope to teach and empower women to connect with the wonderful bodies that God has given us.

Speaker 3: 51:44

I love your heart behind that. One of my personal soapboxes is that health and learning about health should be considered a basic life skill, like reading, you know. In the parenting podcast we did recently, we talked about potty training being a basic skill that's taught, in the same way that learning how to eat and care for our bodies should be just a basic life skill, and this information we're discussing today, in my mind, about fertility and our reproductive health, is in the same vein. It's just a basic life skill, life knowledge that we should all have, but that's just really not the case, right?

Speaker 4: 52:16

Right. I really wish that something like this was offered to was really required for teenage girls to learn in school, maybe around the time when they get their first period. I believe there's so much helpful information in learning to listen to your body at such a young age.

Speaker 1: 52:34

So when I was in the eighth grade, they took the boys and took them to shop class or whatever, and they took the girls and took them to a different room.

Speaker 3: 52:41

Yes.

Speaker 1: 52:41

And they taught the girls something right, Right. Well, they didn't teach us this though, but they should be teaching this.

Speaker 4: 52:49

Right, I think that's the time that's what I'm saying.

Speaker 1: 52:55

They should be teaching these two girls at a young age?

Speaker 4: 52:56

Yes, but what are they teaching?

Speaker 3: 52:57

I mean, I think they're teaching Cross your legs At CDs.

Speaker 1: 53:01

As Nancy Reagan said, just say no.

Speaker 4: 53:03

Yeah, I think they touch on hormones and like bleeding, but nothing about nothing at this length of detail, all right.

Speaker 1: 53:13

So that's funny though yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, so anyway. So who does this information apply to? Who can benefit from creighton?

Speaker 4: 53:20

I believe this can benefit any woman, from the time she starts her period to when she may encounter menopause. So if you are married or engaged to be married and hoping to avoid pregnancy, naturally, as I've mentioned, your body can show you when you're fertile or not, giving you greater confidence in making decisions day to day about physical intimacy. Decisions day to day about physical intimacy. Or maybe your desire is to achieve pregnancy and you have experienced difficulty and heartache in the waiting caused by infertility. There is hope that can be found and these signs our bodies can show us over time.

Speaker 4: 53:58

I also want to pause here and acknowledge those of you listeners who may have struggled with, or even are currently facing the heartbreak of infertility. I want you to hear that God sees you. He loves you far more than you could ask or imagine. My heart truly goes out to those who may have felt alone or broken on your fertility journey. You're not alone In all of the hardship we may experience. I want you to know that God has equipped us with incredible indicators to help show what's happening inside our bodies.

Speaker 3: 54:31

I appreciate you pausing to make this acknowledgement. Dr McMahon, you've always had the philosophy of providing loving, kindness and hope in medicine, and this being the most powerful medicine. So our hearts go out to our listeners who are walking through infertility, and we do want to speak hope into that. We're in agreement with you. So the Creighton Method is really beautiful to me because it marries science with faith and spirituality, and Creighton practitioners are out there acknowledging this connection, like you, elizabeth. So tell us about women who are not considering avoiding or achieving pregnancy. How can they benefit from this?

Speaker 4: 55:11

Right. So maybe you're listening and you're a teenager, or you're single in your 20s or 30s, or maybe you're approaching perimenopause and you're not really interested in learning for fertility reasons, but just want to know more about your body, how your hormones fluctuate, why do they cause you to feel certain ways at different times. Tracking can help you feel empowered in your health and can benefit in a lot of ways. Learning these symptoms with your cycle as it's shifting can help give your doctor beneficial information too for how to manage treatment like hormone replacement therapy etc. Or maybe you're like me five years ago. I was single at the time and had serious issues with my cycle and searched for years and was not finding answers. Once I found this method and learned to use it, it truly changed my life. I feel so much healthier and I'm more myself. I have a regular period and feel more prepared for when the time does come around to try to have a baby. Learning our bodies in this way takes time, as I've said, but truly a worthy investment.

Speaker 1: 56:23

Also, I think about the application of your method for younger women who are far from having children. In this case, if there are issues in the cycle, this can be identified and worked through well before fertility conversations come into place. So then, when she's ready, then everything is in good working condition and this can help avoid years of heartache in that journey later on, help avoid years of heartache in that journey later on. And then you have many women who have no issues with their cycles and don't have any specific goals of trying to avoid or achieve pregnancy at this time. But it would still be helpful for these women to learn to tune into their cycles more closely.

Speaker 4: 56:55

Right. I think that 100% this can apply to those women. Learning about your cycle can help you appreciate the gift of your health and the design of your body and to prepare for seasons to come, and also you might be surprised by what you chart.

Speaker 3: 57:12

So we got a little hint about your journey there a few minutes ago. Can you tell us why you decided to become a fertility practitioner? What's your story? Yeah?

Speaker 4: 57:21

I'd love to. I started my period my first time when I was 15 years old, but I actually didn't have another one after that. When about a year rolled around, we were feeling concerned and my mom took me to the OBGYN and I was placed on the birth control pill to help me have a period. I was also a big runner in high school, ran cross country and in college and cared a lot about my health. I thought I was being quote healthy with super intense exercise and a strict diet, but I didn't realize I wasn't fueling my body enough for the amount of energy I was using. I was also under pretty high stress in nursing school and put a lot of pressure on myself to perform well. High stress in nursing school and put a lot of pressure on myself to perform well.

Speaker 4: 58:08

I would come off the birth control pill and see if I could have a period for a year or so, but without any luck, would get back on it in order to protect my bones, which is what the doctor told me I needed to do, and I hoped that maybe a period caused by these synthetic hormones was better than no period at all. This continued on for 10 years and after a while I started to feel pretty concerned, thinking to myself isn't it healthy to have a period? Don't I need to have a period in order to have a baby one day, and I can't be on the birth control pill for that to happen? I realized that the birth control pill was not really treating what was actually going on for me, but was masking it, and I wanted more answers. After being told that I didn't need to worry about it until the time came for me to try to conceive, I decided to take things into my own hands and started reading all sorts of books and doing research to try to determine how to get my period back, but this was with no luck, on my own.

Speaker 4: 59:07

In all my attempts to be healthy, my body was actually showing me that, in fact, I was far from it. I cried many tears and prayed many prayers during that time, wondering what's wrong with me. I'm a woman and women are supposed to have a cycle. Isn't that how God created us to be?

Speaker 4: 59:26

Finally, through the Lord's sovereign hand, I got connected with a NAPRO nurse practitioner. She took a more fundamental approach and looked at my body as a whole. I was diagnosed with something called hypothalamic amenorrhea and was told to slow down to rest amenorrhea and was told to slow down to rest, to go to counseling, to fuel my body that I was under so much stress. My body felt unsafe to carry a baby so it suppressed all the hormones that would allow me to ovulate, so therefore I wasn't having a period. I was also connected with a fertility care practitioner who taught me how to track my cycle even though I wasn't having one yet. So I was learning to look for signs of shifting hormones and things and after only a month I got my period back, which is crazy.

Speaker 4: 1:00:15

Unbelievable One month, and let me tell you I cried some tears of joy that day.

Speaker 4: 1:00:20

I bet you, yeah so, but I had to stop running and to slow down and to learn to listen and care for my body in new ways, and this was a shift for me. I was single at the time of learning all of this, five years ago, and I got married to my sweet husband just within the past year, and I am so thankful that I learned this years before even thinking about growing a family one day. My health and fertility journey has impacted me so much that I decided to become a fertility care practitioner because I want women to help hear this information. I think it's not shared enough and I wish that I could take back those years of heartache that I went through and wondering what's wrong with me. But I think that there is purpose in all of it to lead me to where I am today, so I hope to have an impact on women to help them learn more of these things.

Speaker 3: 1:01:18

Thanks for sharing your story. I know that we share the same faith as Christ followers. I know that we share the same faith as Christ followers and we've often talked on this podcast that health is not just physical, that it also very much intersects with our spirituality as well. So tell us how you integrate faith with your practice.

Speaker 4: 1:01:37

Our bodies truly are incredibly wonderfully made, as we talked about earlier. I love how the Bible shares that in the beginning of time, as God was creating the stars and plants and animals, he actually waited until the very end to create women. He saved us for last. So there's something special there. While our bodies may be complicated, we are truly so intricately made. In understanding more fully the details of how our bodies were created, I think we truly can't help but be in awe with all of this. I'm grateful for the opportunity to care for women in my practice as they walk through various seasons on their fertility journey, and I hope to be a safe place of compassionate guidance and support for them.

Speaker 1: 1:02:19

You know we talk on every podcast about empowerment, taking ownership for your health, about being a great captain of your ship. So if any of our listeners out there are interested or want to learn more about the Creighton, Method.

Speaker 4: 1:02:31

How can they get started? The best way to get started would be to attend an introductory session to learn more. You can sign up by emailing me at elizabethflourishfertility at gmailcom, or find me on my website, wwwflourishfertilitycarecom. I also have a brand new Instagram still in the works, but this could be a landing page and that would be flourishfertilitycare. At flourishfertilitycare, from the intro session, we meet individually for a number of sessions to learn how your body works uniquely, and we work together to meet your fertility health goals, whatever they may be.

Speaker 1: 1:03:14

And so, just to reiterate, you deal with clients remotely as well, right, so they don't have to live in the Birmingham area, right Both in person and remotely Wonderful, wonderful. Well, okay then. Well, thank you so much, elizabeth. It's just been such a joy to spend time with you and get to know more about the Creighton Method, and we appreciate you bringing your expertise and your passion today to our podcast. Do you have any books or resources you'd like to recommend to our listeners on this topic?

Speaker 4: 1:03:38

Yeah, I would recommend reading a book called the Napro Technology Revolution Unleashing the Power of a Woman's Cycle. This book goes so much deeper into all that we've just discussed. It's really informative about all of this. Also, I actually just read a book recently called it Starts with the Egg. It doesn't have quite the same restorative approach as Creighton and Napro Technology, but it gave some really helpful and interesting information about ways to support egg quality that I thought were really good.

Speaker 1: 1:04:09

As far as additional resources on understanding your cycle and further looking into natural cycle management, I would also like to add the excellent book the Period Repair Manual by Laura Bryden and another one called Taking Charge of your Fertility by Tony Wessler. That is also quite good, and so, for listeners, we hope you gain something from this podcast that will be helpful or interesting to you, and this will about wrap it up for this episode of the Wellness Connection MD podcast.

Speaker 3: 1:04:34

Please take a moment to rate us on iTunes. These reviews really do make a difference. And also, if you liked the podcast, then take a moment today to let a friend know about it. Thanks so much for helping us spread the word about evidence-based, holistic, functional and integrative medicine.

Speaker 1: 1:04:49

You know, let's face it, over the half of our population is female and there are a lot, a lot, a lot of women umpteen million women struggling with period issues Again, once again, painful periods, heavy bleeding the list goes on and on and they're desperate and they're miserable and unfortunately, they're not getting answers. So I think this is really timely and important. So we're so grateful for you to come on today and share your thoughts and hopefully many of these women will reach out to you and get the help they need. But if you want to reach out to me to make a comment on the show or to make recommendations for future topics, then you can do so at drmcminn at yahoocom. That's spelled out, dr McMinn. And well, coach Lindsay, can you leave us with another one of your brilliant Coach Lindsay pearls of wisdom?

Speaker 3: 1:05:33

Thanks, Dr Mack. You know, I think I just want to return to that idea of the cycle as like a fifth vital sign and encouraging our listeners to consider tuning in to what their bodies are saying through educating themselves more about their bodies and also just pausing Like Elizabeth, you've been so good to point out the pause to listen to them. Well, you know just this idea. It's body literacy, being able to read your own body language, so to speak, and it's huge and I think it's one that I really hope we can teach the rising future generation to take the time and to learn early.

Speaker 1: 1:06:07

Yeah, coach, I appreciate the passion that you bring to this issue and to women's health in general. It seems to me that we in the medical community and in society in general tend to sweep women's health issues under the rug. We've been doing this for a long time. We do it too often, so we're really happy to do our part, with Wellness Connection MD, to shed some light on some of these issues for you, and again, I thank you both for helping us do that today, and that will about do it for today's podcast. Thank you so much for listening. This is Dr McNinn.

Speaker 3: 1:06:34

And this is Coach Lindsay. Take care and be well, thank you.