When was the last time your doctor checked your hormone levels before and after ovulation in order to really understand your condition? Yet a movement is growing: more physicians are becoming educated about fertility awareness methods and getting trained to use them for the diagnosis and treatment of women’s health issues.
These doctors work to understand what women’s bio-markers reveal about our health instead of just using symptoms, general data, and drugs. Dr. Martin Owens is one of them.
Dr. Martin Owen, a fellow Canadian who practices in Calgary, is a family physician with a sub-specialty in Restorative Reproductive Medicine and chronic pain. He is a fellow of the Reproductive Health Research Institute and a clinical consultant for FEMM Health, a modern method of cycle charting. He is also becoming the first Canadian distributor of at-home progesterone test strips for family planning. I had the following Q & A session with him.
EK: Could you describe how cycle charting is advantageous for diagnosis and treatment of gynecological concerns?
MO: Cycle charting is the cornerstone of excellent women’s health care. The intricate details of the cyclical hormonal dance reveals a woman’s overall state of health in real time. Diagnosis occurs through a process of discovery, and treatment success can be measured simultaneously.
EK: Could you please share a story that stands out in your mind as a good example of this “process of discovery and treatment success”?
MO: I have been fortunate to have women and couples from far and wide seek out authentic medical care due to my training in reproductive endocrinology. One situation involved an experienced cycle-charting couple who were conceiving more quickly and unexpectedly than desired. Through cycles charting—in this case a lack of fertile signs—we were able to uncover a subtle insulin resistance that was influencing mucous patterns. With treatment, fertile signs improved and the couple has been able to build confidence in spacing their pregnancies.
EK: Insulin resistance tied to fertility signs. I’m all over that as a nutritionist! For that couple, one can imagine a temptation to consider hormonal contraception. Is the Pill ever absolutely necessary to prescribe?
MO: In short, never! Using exogenous hormones should always be done in a way that supports a woman’s cycle health and therefore her overall health. Indiscriminate continuous hormonal contraceptives does not address the needs of women for diagnosis and treatment. Doctors can and must do better.
EK: Why do you think most doctors don’t? What’s missing in most doctors’ education? What should every doctor know if they work with women?
MO: Doctors need to recall their training and get back to the basics. A thorough history, including cycle charting, and physical examination uncovers most causes behind a woman’s concerns with her cycle. This is in contrast to what I call “dismissive prescribing of contraception” for symptoms and not causes.
EK: You’re a busy guy, but if you had time and adequate funding, what would you choose to research?
MO: Given my interest in acute and chronic pelvic pain, I would design a study examining the link between hormonal contraceptives, intrapartum [labor] pain scores and obstetrical interventions in labor.
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