FertilityCare System is a Life-Long Approach to Women's Health
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Oct. 1, 2007) - Are you… not ready to get pregnant? Frustrated because it's taking so long to get pregnant? Dreading painful cramps each month? Struggling with the changes of perimenopause? Whatever your stage in life, Avera McKennan FertilityCare Services can help.
"This is fertility care in the setting of taking care of a woman through all the stages of her life," said Dr. Jane Gaetze, obstetrician/gynecologist with Avera Women's Specialty Clinics and medical director of FertilityCare Services. The program is based on the FertilityCare method developed by Dr. Thomas Hilgers through the Pope Paul VI Institute in Omaha, Neb., and has been used by women and couples successfully for 25 years. It's a system of simple charting which takes only a few moments each day - without ovulation prediction kits, internal self-exams or thermometers.
Women using the system chart their monthly cycle by evaluating cervical mucous collected on a folded piece of tissue paper every day to predict ovulation.
When charting is done correctly, the method is up to 99.6 percent effective for family planning.
And it's 98 percent effective for conceiving within six months, as long as there are not significant underlying issues causing infertility. "If that is the case, we can go into a far more in-depth analysis and consultation to find out what we can do to help couples," Gaetze said.
Kari Dahl Condezo and her husband, Gus, tried to conceive using ovulation predictors with no results. They learned of Avera's FertilityCare program in the Marshall, Minn., area and were referred to Dr. Gaetze. Charting and blood tests showed that Kari had a low progesterone level. After building up her levels through timely injections and medications, she was able to conceive and gave birth to their first child, Tate. Almost 18 months later, daughter Alana was born.
Condezo remembers the frustration of trying to conceive. "For women going through it, it can be very sad and emotional time," she said.
Charting can help physicians care for women with other reproductive health concerns.
If PMS or menstrual cramps are the issue, charting helps doctors know the best days for women to take medications. By taking medications such as ibuprofen a day or two before period pain begins, pain can be effectively blocked by 85 to 90 percent. "The key is knowing what your system looks like. You can predict when your period will begin based on when you last ovulated, as recorded on your chart," Gaetze said.
Charting can also help doctors more effectively treat conditions such as ovarian cysts, cervical polyps, bleeding between cycles, endometriosis, repeat miscarriages or even post-partum depression. "When a woman brings in her chart to her doctor's appointment, she's telling the physician a book-load of information, just by having two to three months of charting," Gaetze said.
Dr. Hilgers is the author of a book on the medical and surgical practice of NaProTechnology surrounding this concept. The surgical approach stresses the preservation of the architecture of the pelvis, such as the tubes, ovaries and uterus.
FertilityCare can be used while breastfeeding, and eliminates the need for hormonal birth control pills or patches, which can have side effects. Relationship building between couples is an important side benefit. The system encourages communication, respect and understanding. Among couples using the FertilityCare method, the divorce rate is 2 percent, compared to the national rate of over 50 percent.
"I think it's the most wonderful thing a woman can do for her life, her family, her relationship with her spouse," Gaetze said. In Sioux Falls, Avera McKennan's FertilityCare Services offers a free introductory session the second Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. at the Avera McKennan Fitness Center. Couples can then opt to attend eight private follow-up sessions over the course of the next year. The program is taught by Barb Giles, RN, with 10 years of experience in FertilityCare. For more information, contact Giles at 322-4434.
