Rewards of Giving FABMs a Chance: An Interview

Editor’s Note: In family medicine and pediatrics, physicians have the opportunity to educate young women about their bodies, their normal physiology, and the joys and challenges of growing up. Sara Torres, a future pediatrician on the FACTS elective, interviewed a user of the Creighton Model whose life changed when she gave fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) a chance. The Creighton Model was a tool to get to know herself better, monitor her health, and even grow her family!

A Surprising Diagnosis

Upon starting our interview, I could sense Gaby* had a sparkle of hope in her eyes. She started off by saying, “For six years I dealt with infertility, but I am happy to say that I am now pregnant thanks to the Creighton Model!” Optimism set the stage for the rest of our interview, but Gaby endured many vulnerable and trying moments during her fertility journey.

When she married her husband, starting a family was very important to them. However, he was undergoing chemotherapy for testicular cancer, preventing them from conceiving. After his treatment, they were still unsuccessful, which prompted Gaby to seek advice from several Ob-Gyn physicians. After several tests and ultrasounds, she did not receive reassuring news. Through a laparoscopic surgery, her physician diagnosed endometriosis and endometritis.

Although Gaby did not have the typical symptoms of endometriosis such as pelvic pain, she learned that the brown spotting she had at the end of menstrual cycles was most likely indicative of the condition. Although she underwent all the recommended procedures, the couple was left with the news that IVF would most likely be the only way they would conceive. Gaby’s pain was tangible, and I could only imagine the frustration associated with her long journey. She noted it is important to have motivation, support, and purpose while enduring all these challenges.

A Glimmer of Hope

Gaby’s eyes lit up when recounting how she learned about fertility awareness-based methods in 2019. She was living in Mexico and heard someone speak at a community church event about the Creighton Model. Since she was not enthusiastic about starting IVF, she decided to take a chance. Gaby followed up after the presentation and was soon having telemedicine visits with trained Creighton consultants in different areas of Mexico. There were no consultants near her; in fact, she had to fly in order to attend these visits in person.

I was impressed with the access to these services via telemedicine, as this was not a widespread avenue for patient care in the United States in 2019. I also enjoyed learning about the reach of FABMs outside the United States, which made me wonder how common these methods are in other parts of the world.**

Learning the Method

Gaby stated it took practice to learn how to use the Creighton Model, and she felt the model’s visual dictionary was very useful in that process. She first learned to observe the cervical mucus on the toilet paper multiple times per day. She would then touch it to feel its stretchability and level of moistness, and tracked her observations on a Creighton fertility chart.

She recently taught her adolescent niece about the method with great success. This prompted the conversation about how vital it is for a woman to be aware of her body’s physiology. Upon reflection, I realized that even as a medical student, I had very little awareness of what my discharge meant growing up, and even in the present. I remember my friends and I would talk about discharge as if it was a pathology, not having any idea that it reflected our body’s routine way of ovulating.

A Trusted Professional

Gaby’s positive experience with her niece made me think about my future as a budding pediatrician. I am very interested in adolescent health and have a newfound awareness and knowledge about the body’s changes throughout the menstrual cycle. It is important to have these conversations as teens go through puberty and explain the science behind it. I remember I did not have a trusted professional to confide in when I first went through puberty, and I want to be that credible pediatrician to as many adolescent females as possible.

Upon holding her fertility chart, Gaby explained how she knew she was most likely pregnant based solely on her chart. After only one cycle of using the Creighton Model, Gaby confirmed she was pregnant. Amidst many challenges, she beamed with pride and is very happy she gave FABMs a chance. She is now paying it forward by training to be a Creighton Model consultant in Mexico, and cannot wait to spread the knowledge and science behind the method that changed her life!

*A fictitious name was used to protect the patient’s privacy.

**Editor’s Note: Fertility awareness-based methods have been used successfully for decades throughout the globe. To read interviews with users of FABMs from various countries and learn more about research on FABMs from different parts of the world, search the FACTS blog and read Dr. Luis Garcia’s compelling story: Fertility Awareness in the Developing World.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sara Torres

Sara Torres is a fourth-year medical student at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. who plans to pursue pediatrics. Prior to medical school, she spent a year working at an NGO in Quito, Ecuador focusing on providing biopsychosocial resources to victims of child labor. She is excited to gain the trust of adolescents as she uses FABMs to raise awareness of their evolving bodies.