Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month
Creighton Model: Using It, Teaching It, and the Future of It
By: Simrun Uppal, DO
Director’s Note: Fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) are growing in popularity both for their family planning and clinical applications. Through this interview, FACTS elective student Dr. Simrun Uppal spoke with a couple working in the medical field who were never exposed to these methods during medical school. Eventually, a friend introduced Lily* and her husband to the Creighton Model, and that conversation inspired them to learn to use the method and teach it to others. After experiencing a miscarriage, the couple successfully used the Creighton Model to support subsequent pregnancies — they are now expecting their third child. During this Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month, we highlight the critical importance of educating more students and clinicians about these methods in order to help couples prevent pregnancy loss and manage many common reproductive health concerns. With your support during our fall fundraising campaign, we can impact even more lives. Please make a contribution today to help us give the gift of knowledge and support the gift of life. Thank you!
As both a user and a teacher, Lily’s* experience with the Creighton Model is a special one. She previously practiced as a physical therapist and now has become a Creighton Model practitioner. As a mom of two with another on the way, this enables her to teach other women about their cycle while still enjoying time at home with her kids.
Lily was introduced to fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) around the time of her engagement. Although she uses Creighton now, she first learned the Family of the Americas method. The Family of the Americas Foundation, founded in 1977, is a non-profit organization devoted to helping individuals achieve their family-planning goals by learning to track cervical fluid observations, similar to the Billings Ovulation Method. Lily learned to chart with this method, and she and her husband then used the method to conceive. Unfortunately, due to complications, Lily’s first child was born prematurely and passed away shortly thereafter. However, Lily then got pregnant again without using any specific family-planning method. After the birth of their daughter, Lily’s husband — a medical doctor — was introduced to the Creighton Model by a colleague. Following that conversation, he shared the information with Lily. And thus began their journey with the Creighton Model. Although he had never been taught this method in medical school, Lily’s husband expressed a desire to incorporate it into his own practice. Eventually, both Lily and her husband completed training to become Creighton Model instructors.
When asked why she made the switch to the Creighton Model, Lily explained that she wanted to space out her pregnancies. She specifically appreciated the standardization of Creighton observations and the medical protocols. She found it fascinating that she could examine the chart of a woman who lives halfway across the world and understand it perfectly. Given her own background in the medical field, Lily emphasized the value of the method as a medical tool.
“She found it fascinating that she could examine the chart of a woman who lives halfway across the world and understand it perfectly.”
I asked Lily about how she utilized the Creighton Model in her own life, and she excitedly shared how she and her husband had decided to start trying for pregnancy. On the very first cycle that they utilized the fertile days, she was able to conceive. Furthermore, thanks to her personal charting with the Creighton Model, she was able to recognize and obtain support from medical professionals to maintain a healthy pregnancy by supplementing with progesterone throughout the entire course of the pregnancy. Lily is currently pregnant and again her charting was invaluable to guide the use of supplemental progesterone in her first trimester.
Lily has now been teaching other women to use the Creighton Model since 2019. Most of her clients hope to start families, making her the perfect consultant given her own success story. She also talked about how she works with her church to teach young men and women about the Creighton Model to better understand women’s bodies and cycles. For young women just beginning menstruation, she is excited to offer them a way to track their cycles and understand their bodies. Lily also described “light bulb moments” with clients and how checking for biomarkers and charting has become second nature to many of them.
“For young women just beginning menstruation, she is excited to offer them a way to track their cycles and understand their bodies.”
As Lily and I discussed the younger generations’ use of the Creighton Model, we also discussed the role of technology in their charting experience. Although many people are quite dependent on technology, Lily recommends clients begin with paper charting first. She requires her clients to chart five cycles on paper before they are given the option of switching to an app on their phone. However, one of the benefits of an online charting portal is that young women can chart without the added stress of purchasing additional materials.
As we concluded our conversation, I asked Lily for her final thoughts regarding FABMs. She emphasized that each method of fertility awareness is different. None of the methods are perfect; the perfect method is simply the one that meets the needs of the client. If a woman wants a better understanding of her body or experiences abnormalities or irregular cycles, Lily stated that the Creighton Model is a great choice.
“Each method of fertility awareness is different. None of the methods are perfect; the perfect method is simply the one that meets the needs of the client.”
My conversation with Lily gave me a greater appreciation for the Creighton Model, particularly hearing how she was able to use the method to conceive and maintain healthy pregnancies despite the previous loss of a child. I imagine that learning from a teacher like Lily might enable her clients to more meaningfully connect with the lessons. I also enjoyed discussing future applications of the model. We spoke about the generations to come and how charting may change with the times: It is possible that charting will eventually be entirely online, with younger generations choosing apps over paper charts. Lily also highlighted the value of introducing the method to young men as well. Talking with Lily gave me wonderful insights into the life of both a user and teacher of the method.
*Name has been changed to respect the privacy of the interviewee, and all information is shared with permission.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Simrun Uppal, DO
Simrun Uppal, DO is a PGY2 at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. She is a graduate of the Nova Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-KPCOM in Fort Lauderdale, FL. She graduated from Emory University in Georgia with a B.A. in Biology and Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Simrun has always shown a great interest in empowering women and children of the community and plans to focus her medical career on working with adolescent women. She strives to build strong relationships with her future patients as well as provide holistic preventative care, including reproductive healthcare. She enrolled in the FACTS elective to better serve this demographic by familiarizing herself with natural family planning methods as well as empowering young women to understand their own bodies.
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