Director’s Note: Dr. Danielle Dowell, an internal medicine resident and former FACTS elective student, interviewed Laura,* a woman who uses a fertility awareness-based method (FABM) to both avoid and successfully achieve pregnancy. In discussing how Laura learned...
“Women are no longer looking for ways to solely track their menses or ovulation; they want to understand the holistic nature of the human body in terms of fertility, menstruation, lifestyles, and systemic symptoms.”
“The Billings Ovulation Method proved to be useful to the India Family Planning Program with its low use failure rate and higher continuation rate than other birth control options.”
“My doctor explained that the beauty of FABMs is that they focus not only on getting pregnant, but first and foremost on making the woman’s body ready to nurture a growing child. We had to optimize my health before I could have a healthy pregnancy.”
“The finding of increased cortisol levels only in subjects with FHA may support the hypothesis that elevated cortisol is unique to the etiology of decreased GnRH secretion in FHA compared to other causes of anovulation.”
“Women in an active flare of IBD have a higher risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, and small-for-gestational-age infants.”
“Prolactin release inhibits gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion by the pituitary gland and decreases luteinizing hormone (LH) pulse frequency… These effects can be beneficial, … but hyperprolactinemic states are also a cause of infertility.”
“The TwoDay Method is a fertility awareness-based method (FABM) in which users ask two questions: (1) Did I note any cervical secretions today? (2) Did I notice any secretions yesterday?”
“Among participants who reported their intention multiple times, approximately half of those initially contemplating pregnancy altered their intention within a year.”
“This study demonstrates that using transvaginal sonographic cervical length to identify … at-risk patients and administering vaginal progesterone gel from mid second trimester until term can decrease preterm birth rates before 33 weeks and reduce respiratory distress syndrome in preterm infants.”