Andy Kauffman faked his own death once. Yet, he appears to have really died in West Hollywood, CA, on May 16, 1984, after a brief, fierce battle with lung cancer. A strong believer in “natural medicine,” Kauffman tried to cure his illness with a strict diet of all fruits and vegetables and other non-medical methods. Then in a desperate attempt to conquer the illness, he flew to Baguio, Philippines, to receive “psychic surgery,” a New Age procedure. It involved a spiritual healer “removing tumors” from Kauffman’s abdomen with his bare hands.
Some people may think that fertility charting-based birth control methods—Fertility Awareness Methods (FAM) or Natural Family Planning (NFP)—belong to the same category as “natural medicine,” along with naturopathy, acupuncture, reflexology, and homeopathy, or even psychic surgery. I don’t mind some natural medicine methods, and I often prefer to try something natural before I take an antibiotic, an antidepressant or a steroid of some sort (not bare hands in my belly, though).
But the reality is that Natural Womanhood and the methods we promote are solidly rooted in science and medicine and supported by traditional medical professionals.
THREE PROOFS that Natural Womanhood is completely in sync with sound medical science:
- The fertility awareness methods are discoveries of medical doctors, not some witchcraft guru in a dark cave of Patagonia. It was a Japanese gynecologist, Kyusaku Ogino, who in 1920 discovered that women ovulated about 14 days after the first day of their period, and proposed the first rhythm method (yes, it’s that old). Then in 1950, Dr. John Billings discovered the relationship between the cervical mucus and fertility and developed the method that’s the basis for modern fertility charting. Billings was the Head of the Department of Neurology at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, and Dean of the Undergraduate Medical School within the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Melbourne.
- Fertility charting is the foundation of specialization of gynecology called NaPro TECHNOLOGY™. It stands for Natural Procreative Technology. It was developed through 30 years of research by Dr. Thomas W. Hilger, a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist who trained at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine and the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo. NaPro is now practiced by a network of ob/gyns all over the world. These medical professionals receive one full year of extra training after completing their residency. They don’t treat ovarian cysts or infertility with herbs or exotic tree extracts (although they may recommend them if they are scientifically proven to help). These doctors use medical treatments that work without harming the rest of the body. None of these doctors prescribe contraceptives.
- Natural Womanhood is proud to have a San Antonio Ob/gyn on our board, Dr. Stephen Pilkington, Board certified Obstetrician Gynecologist and fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. A number of other San Antonio medical doctors also support our work.
The Pill and most contraceptive practices are not good medicine. They function against the body. In fact, the Pill and hormonal contraceptives trick the body into making something that works stop working. In the process, it affects women’s hormonal balance, it changes the cell structure of some areas of the body, it impacts the liver. Some can impact the blood’s viscosity and cause blood clots. Some even thin a woman’s bones.
The other problem with contraceptives is that they are a band-aid that many doctors use to treat symptoms of more serious disorders like PCOS, endometriosis, or simply cramps or irregular periods. Fertility charting-based treatments are better medicine because they allow a trained doctor to assess and diagnose each woman based on her unique fertility cycle and pattern, and to treat the root causes of her individual problem.
Two weeks ago, a young lady who had heard the Natural Womanhood presentation called me anxiously because she was suffering from PCOS. She asked if she could chart and still stay on the Pill, which she obviously couldn’t. After talking a little more, it turned out that she had been seeing the same ob/gyn for the last 14 years and was very afraid to leave him or go off the pill as treatment for PCOS. “Your ob/gyn must be a very nice man, since you’ve been going to him that long,” I told her, “but the reality is that he doesn’t know how to treat PCOS and he put you on a pill to mask the symptoms.” I recommended she at least consider researching how NaPro could help her more.
I believe the day will come soon that people will see the time of the Pill as the dark ages of gynecology. One day fertility charting and NaPro TECHNOLOGY will be a required class in medical schools. In the meantime, let’s help make sure San Antonio doctors are aware of these alternatives. Give them a Natural Womanhood brochure, send them to our website and educate them so that they at least know that NFP and FAM are not the rhythm method anymore, that it works, and that it’s a better option for your health.
