What We Have Here is a Failure to Educate
For those of you who know that I am an educator, you’re probably thinking this blog post is going to be about slacker students, No Child Left Behind, or the state of our educational system in the United States, but it’s not. This blog post is about birth control. Over the past few weeks, I, and many of you, have been closely watching the debate over the Health and Human Services decree that all employers must provide free birth control and serialization coverage for all of their employees despite the fact that Catholic and other religious employers are morally opposed to providing these services for their employees. In the case of Catholic organizations, they are prevented from providing these services as a matter of Catholic doctrine–the very core beliefs of the Church. I want to be up front about a couple of things here: I’m a Catholic, I’m a Liberal, and my husband and I practice Natural Family Planning (NFP).
Now, I’m not going to debate the HHS’s ruling in this post or state which side I’m on; however, I will tell you that the ruling prompted me to exercise one of our most cherished rights as a democratic nation, and I wrote the president an email about my feelings regarding this ruling. My purpose here is to discuss how woefully ignorant most women are about their own reproductive system.
This morning, February 11th, I was watching a news program that I regularly watch on Saturday mornings on MSNBC called Up with Chris Hayes. I respect Hayes and his program and think he does a good job of presenting a balanced and objective side to the news. This morning among his guests were a Catholic priest from Notre Dame University and a panel of liberal journalists from Salon.com, The Nation, and The Economist as well as a professor from Columbia University. The priest patiently and very articulately argued the Catholic side of the issue while the women liberal journalists in particular discussed women’s rights and the role of being able to control one’s fertility by using birth control pills and, if necessary, abortion. But what I couldn’t help but wonder was: “What about the ability to control your fertility using natural methods such as Natural Family Planning or, as it is now widely referred to, Fertility Awareness.” However, even by introducing such an argument, I would be patently shouted down as “ignorant” and “naive.” I would counter that argument by saying those who think you cannot accurately and effectively manage your fertility using Natural Family Planning are “Ignorant” and “naive.”
As a culture, we are extremely ignorant about how our bodies work, and the medical profession, by and large, contribute to this ignorance. We rely too heavily on prescription medications versus old fashion good health. We’d rather go to a doctor and get a prescription than watch our diets, lose weight, or keep track of our fertility. The majority of doctors perpetuate this ignorance for a multitude of reasons; they would rather prescribe the pill than spend time educating patients on natural methods. The medical profession and, in turn, American society, treats fertility and pregnancy as a disease that must be managed. A pill needs to be prescribed, drugs must be administered, labor needs to be monitored from start to finish, and even due dates and when a baby naturally decides to come is no longer respected. More and more women are being coerced into and even asking for their labor to be induced because it is more convenient than waiting for their bodies to naturally go into labor.
Therefore, for the most part, a woman interested in learning about Natural Family Planning/Fertility Awareness would not be able to go to her OB/GYN or even her midwife to learn about it because the majority of these healthcare providers don’t know anything about it. I remember as a young married woman going to my OB/GYN and asking about Natural Family Planning. First she scoffed at the idea that a college educated woman would be asking about such an archaic method of controlling her fertility, and then she mentioned something about thermometers. Two months ago I visited an OB/GYN for my yearly checkup. It was a doctor that I’d never gone to before since I have recently moved. Prior to the exam, the nurse asked what type of birth control I used because, of course, it is just assumed that I use birth control. When I told her I practiced Natural Family Planning, she scrunched up her face confused for a moment, then said, “Oh, the Rhythm Method.” I firmly replied, “NO, the Rhythm Method was a useless method practiced in the 1950s and 1960s that no longer exists. I practice Natural Family Planning, a scientifically proven method based on a woman’s cycle of fertility.” The Rhythm Method has not been taught by the Church or practiced by Catholics for more than 30 years. Yet, this ignorant perception is still present not only in society but in the medical community.
After I discovered that I couldn’t rely on my doctor to teach me about NFP, I tried on my own to figure it out but was unsuccessful because I lacked the basic knowledge and the tools to make it work. It wasn’t until a few years later that I came across a secular book that took the stance of why would a woman choose to put chemicals or unnatural devices into her body when she could choose a natural method to be aware of when she was fertile that my husband and I were truly able to begin practicing NFP. Then a year later we attended a once a year NFP training at our church that further solidified what we were doing. We’ve been married twenty years and have been using NFP for twelve of those twenty years. We find that NFP does have the purported 98% effectiveness rate. During those twelve years, we have had one miscarriage and one child; however, both of these pregnancies were planned and dearly wanted. On top of gaining the benefits of not putting added hormones and chemicals into my body, we have deepened and enriched our marriage.
The thing that I continue to scratch my head about are those people, mostly Catholics, who say, “I tried Natural Family Planning and it doesn’t work.” Well, sure, if you don’t follow the rules of your body and have sex during the approximately seven day window of fertility that every woman has a month, then yeah, you’re probably going to get pregnant. The thing I don’t understand is that when women forget to take their birth control pills or don’t take them in a timely manner and get pregnant, they don’t blame the pills and say they didn’t work. Therefore, don’t blame the method if you can’t faithfully practice it.
Some women say that it’s too much to deal with, that NFP requires too much time per day. Nonsense! It takes about 1 minute per day to practice–taking your waking temperature and/or checking your cervical fluid (depending on the method of NFP you’re practicing) and charting your results–and yes, there’s an app for that. I know at the very mention of cervical fluid some readers will respond with a squeamish “Ewwww!” I would argue that checking your cervical fluid is less disgusting than changing a baby’s dirty diaper. And guess what, NFP costs practically nothing to practice, a ten dollar digital Basil Body Temperature thermometer and a free app on your smartphone, tablet, or computer, or a good, old fashioned paper chart.
My overall point is: why doesn’t the debate over a woman’s right to control her own fertility ever include a woman’s right to choose and educate herself about natural, noninvasive, and non-harmful methods for controlling her fertility? Why are women such as me seen as ignorant and backwards for not wanting to put chemicals into our bodies that don’t necessarily block conception but instead blocks implantation of a zygote or for not wanting to put chemicals into our bodies that in the future may impede our ability to get pregnant when we want to or that might cause cancer later in our lives? Are those ignorant and backwards concerns and arguments?
Frankly, I would say that someone like me who has educated herself on how her body works and actively participates in the natural processes of my body is more enlightened than someone who takes a pill or inserts a potentially harmful device such as Nuvo ring or an IUD into her uterus. Have you ever listened to the side effects listed on some of these commercials or read the drug information that comes in the drug packaging?
I think the Church should seize up this moment to educate Catholics and, in turn, the public at large about NFP and Fertility Awareness. Even Catholics who are interested in learning more about NFP would be hard pressed to get training or information through the Church. Frankly, I’d love to see Planned Parenthood and other secular outlets teaching NFP methods as well. This debate should be seen as a teaching moment to open people’s minds and expand their knowledge–not as a divided pro/con intractable, immobile debate. I pray that perhaps in the future, a woman’s reproductive rights won’t be narrowly defined by her ability to purchase a pill.
Tags: Birth Control, Catholic, Fertility Awareness, HHS Ruling, NFP
February 11, 2012 2:19 pm 5 Comments
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By Jove, February 13, 2012 @ 7:38 pm
Well argued. nFP seems consistent with the values of our bodies ourselves. And for noncatolics there is nothing saying you can’t combine it with condoms
By glenna, February 15, 2012 @ 5:45 pm
I agree. I think American’s in particular need to strive for noninvasive methods to manage their health whenever possible, instead of relying on prescription meds.
By Dr. Barbra, April 4, 2012 @ 11:32 pm
Yea and I bet you don’t believe in self medicating for postpartum……..
By glenna, April 10, 2012 @ 2:51 pm
I’d need more information than just a vague “I bet you don’t believe in self medicating for postpartum” before I could comment. I’m not sure what you’re getting at.
By Cindy, June 21, 2012 @ 8:06 pm
Very well written, Glenna. As a labor and delivery nurse, I am amazed at how uneducated women are about their bodies and how eager they accept medical treatment, whether it be birth control or control over their labor and delivery experience. I try to do my best in educating whenever opportunity arises and encourage women to do their own research regarding their care. And after many years of research, it is still suggested that we eat right, exercise and get plenty of rest for our health. I agree with you, education on many levels is the key.