Creighton Model FertilityCare System

Last updated
Creighton Model / FertilityCare
Background
TypeBehavioral
First use1980
Failure rates (first year)
Perfect use0.5% [1]
Typical use3.2% [1]
Usage
ReversibilityImmediate
User remindersAccurate instruction & daily charting are key.
Clinic reviewNone
Advantages and disadvantages
STI protectionNo
Period advantagesPrediction
Weight gainNo
BenefitsLow direct cost;
no side effects;
in accord with Catholic teachings;
may be used to aid pregnancy achievement

The Creighton Model FertilityCare System (Creighton Model, FertilityCare, CrMS) is a form of natural family planning which involves identifying the fertile period during a woman's menstrual cycle. The Creighton Model was developed by Thomas Hilgers, the founder and director of the Pope Paul VI Institute. This model, like the Billings ovulation method, is based on observations of cervical mucus to track fertility. Creighton can be used for both avoiding pregnancy and achieving pregnancy.

Contents

Conceptual basis

Hilgers describes the Creighton Model as being based on "a standardized modification of the Billings ovulation method (BOM)", which was developed by John and Evelyn Billings in the 1960s. [2] The Billingses issued a paper refuting the claim that the CrMS represents a standardization of the BOM. According to the Billingses said that those concepts are two different methods and should not be seen as interchangeable. [3]

Effectiveness

For avoiding pregnancy, the perfect-use failure rate of Creighton was 0.5%, which means that for each year that 1,000 couples using this method perfectly, that there are 5 unintended pregnancies. The typical-use failure rate, representing the fraction of couples using this method that actually had an unintended pregnancy, is reported as 3.2%. [1] [4]

For achieving pregnancy, no large clinical trials have been performed comparing ART and NaProTechnology. Only observational one-arm studies have been published so far. [5] [6] [7] In the larger of these three studies, 75% of couples trying to conceive received additional hormonal stimulation such as clomiphene. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fertility awareness</span> Methods to determine menstrual phases

Fertility awareness (FA) refers to a set of practices used to determine the fertile and infertile phases of a woman's menstrual cycle. Fertility awareness methods may be used to avoid pregnancy, to achieve pregnancy, or as a way to monitor gynecological health.

Calendar-based methods are various methods of estimating a woman's likelihood of fertility, based on a record of the length of previous menstrual cycles. Various methods are known as the Knaus–Ogino method and the rhythm method. The standard days method is also considered a calendar-based method, because when using it, a woman tracks the days of her menstrual cycle without observing her physical fertility signs. The standard days method is based on a fixed formula taking into consideration the timing of ovulation, the functional life of the sperm and the ovum, and the resulting likelihood of pregnancy on particular days of the menstrual cycle. These methods may be used to achieve pregnancy by timing unprotected intercourse for days identified as fertile, or to avoid pregnancy by avoiding unprotected intercourse during fertile days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">In vitro fertilisation</span> Assisted reproductive technology procedure

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro. The process involves monitoring and stimulating a patient's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova from their ovaries and letting sperm fertilise them in a culture medium in a laboratory. After the fertilised egg (zygote) undergoes embryo culture for 2–6 days, it is transferred by catheter into the uterus, with the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ovulation</span> Release of egg cells from the ovaries

Ovulation is the release of eggs from the ovaries. In women, this event occurs when the ovarian follicles rupture and release the secondary oocyte ovarian cells. After ovulation, during the luteal phase, the egg will be available to be fertilized by sperm. In addition, the uterine lining (endometrium) is thickened to be able to receive a fertilized egg. If no conception occurs, the uterine lining as well as the egg will be shed during menstruation.

Infertility is the inability of an animal or plant to reproduce by natural means. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy adult, except notably among certain eusocial species. It is the normal state of a human child or other young offspring, because they have not undergone puberty, which is the body's start of reproductive capacity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artificial insemination</span> Pregnancy through in vivo fertilization

Artificial insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse. It is a fertility treatment for humans, and is a common practice in animal breeding, including dairy cattle and pigs.

Fertility is the ability to conceive a child. The fertility rate is the average number of children born during an individual's lifetime and is quantified demographically. Conversely, infertility is the difficulty or inability to reproduce naturally. In general, infertility is defined as not being able to conceive a child after one year of unprotected sex. Infertility is widespread, with fertility specialists available all over the world to assist parents and couples who experience difficulties conceiving a baby.

The Billings ovulation method is a method in which women use their vaginal mucus to determine their fertility. It does not rely on the presence of ovulation, rather it identifies patterns of potential fertility and obvious infertility within the cycle, whatever its length. Effectiveness, however, is not very clear.

Insemination is the introduction of sperm into a female's reproductive system for the purpose of impregnating, also called fertilizing, the female for sexual reproduction. The sperm is introduced into the uterus of a mammal or the oviduct of an oviparous (egg-laying) animal. In mammals, insemination normally occurs during sexual intercourse or copulation, but insemination can take place in other ways, such as by artificial insemination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clomifene</span> Infertility treatment for women

Clomifene, also known as clomiphene, is a medication used to treat infertility in women who do not ovulate, including those with polycystic ovary syndrome. Use results in a greater chance of twins. It is taken by mouth once a day, with a course of treatment that usually lasts for five days.

Fertility medications, also known as fertility drugs, are medications which enhance reproductive fertility. For women, fertility medication is used to stimulate follicle development of the ovary. There are very few fertility medication options available for men.

Natural family planning (NFP) comprises the family planning methods approved by the Catholic Church and some Protestant denominations for both achieving and postponing or avoiding pregnancy. In accordance with the Church's teachings regarding sexual behavior, NFP excludes the use of other methods of birth control, which it refers to as "artificial contraception".

Basal body temperature is the lowest body temperature attained during rest. It is usually estimated by a temperature measurement immediately after awakening and before any physical activity has been undertaken. This will lead to a somewhat higher value than the true BBT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human reproduction</span> Procreative biological processes of humanity

Human reproduction is sexual reproduction that results in human fertilization to produce a human offspring. It typically involves sexual intercourse between a sexually mature human male and female. During sexual intercourse, the interaction between the male and female reproductive systems results in fertilization of the ovum by the sperm to form a zygote. While normal cells contain 46 chromosomes, gamete cells only contain 23 single chromosomes, and it is when these two cells merge into one zygote cell that genetic recombination occurs and the new zygote contains 23 chromosomes from each parent, giving it 46 chromosomes. The zygote then undergoes a defined development process that is known as human embryogenesis, and this starts the typical 9-month gestation period that is followed by childbirth. The fertilization of the ovum may be achieved by artificial insemination methods, which do not involve sexual intercourse. Assisted reproductive technology also exists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reproductive medicine</span> Branch of medicine

Reproductive medicine is a branch of medicine concerning the male and female reproductive systems. It encompasses a variety of reproductive conditions, their prevention and assessment, as well as their subsequent treatment and prognosis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John and Evelyn Billings</span> Australian physicists

John Billings, KC*SG and his wife, Evelyn Livingston Billings, DCSG, were Australian physicians who pioneered the natural method of family planning known initially as the Ovulation Method, then the Ovulation Method Billings, specified by the WHO in 1978 and finally as the Billings Ovulation Method.

Pregnancy rate is the success rate for getting pregnant. It is the percentage of all attempts that leads to pregnancy, with attempts generally referring to menstrual cycles where insemination or any artificial equivalent is used, which may be simple artificial insemination (AI) or AI with additional in vitro fertilization (IVF).

In Trinidad and Tobago, abortion is illegal save for few exceptions. The respective laws are in place since 1925.

Religious response to assisted reproductive technology deals with the new challenges for traditional social and religious communities raised by modern assisted reproductive technology. Because many religious communities have strong opinions and religious legislation regarding marriage, sex and reproduction, modern fertility technology has forced religions to respond.

Infertility in polycystic ovary disease (PCOS) is a hormonal imbalance in women that is thought to be one of the leading causes of female infertility. Polycystic ovary syndrome causes more than 75% of cases of anovulatory infertility.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hilgers, TW; Stanford, JB (1998). "Creighton Model NaProEducation Technology for avoiding pregnancy. Use effectiveness". The Journal of Reproductive Medicine. 43 (6): 495–502. PMID   9653695.
  2. Creighton Model
  3. Some Clarifications Concerning NaProTECHNOLOGY and the Billings Ovulation Method Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Pallone, S. R.; Bergus, G. R. (2009). "Fertility Awareness-Based Methods: Another Option for Family Planning". The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. 22 (2): 147–157. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2009.02.080038 . PMID   19264938. S2CID   26459027.
  5. 1 2 Stanford, J. B.; Parnell, T. A.; Boyle, P. C. (2008). "Outcomes From Treatment of Infertility With Natural Procreative Technology in an Irish General Practice". The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. 21 (5): 375–84. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2008.05.070239 . hdl: 10379/13999 . PMID   18772291.
  6. Tham, Elizabeth; Schliep, Karen; Stanford, Joseph (2012). "Natural procreative technology for infertility and recurrent miscarriage: outcomes in a Canadian family practice". Canadian Family Physician. 58 (5): e267–74. PMC   3352813 . PMID   22734170.
  7. Stanford, Joseph B.; Carpentier, Paul A.; Meier, Barbara L.; Rollo, Mark; Tingey, Benjamin (2021). «Restorative reproductive medicine for infertility in two family medicine clinics in New England, an observational study». BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth21 (1): 495. ISSN   1471-2393. PMC   8265110. PMID   34233646. doi : 10.1186/s12884-021-03946-8.

Further reading