Thank you for your interest in Marquette Fertility Education!
Natural Family Planning (NFP) is a holistic and healthy way of planning a family. Practicing NFP gives you the ability to know when you are fertile. Choosing days for intimacy depends on whether you are planning to achieve or avoid pregnancy.
Easy to use
The Marquette Method (MM) of NFP brings the latest technology to NFP by using at-home fertility monitoring. Tools such as ClearBlue Fertility monitor and/or other devices are advised depending on your cycles. The information from the monitor can be used along with observations of cervical mucus, basal body temperature, or other indicators of fertility. Couples are guided to use “what works best for them” by a MM instructor.
Effectiveness
Published studies show a 97-98% effectiveness of the MM in avoiding pregnancy when taught by a qualified teacher and correctly applied. The method is successful in helping couples achieve pregnancy too. In another study, 87% of couples became pregnant using the Marquette Method (studied over 12 months).
Natural Family Planning is for:
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Spacing pregnancies
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Struggling with Infertility
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Breastfeeding
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Peri-menopause
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Regular or irregular cycles
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Health problems such as hormone imbalance or PMS
Benefits
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Safe and Natural
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Holistic
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Fertility Appreciation
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Increased Communication
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Mutual Decision-Making
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Strengthens Marriages
How Marquette Method Works
Marquette Method is a science-based, research-based,
professionally taught modern method of NFP.
How does the monitor work?
On or after Day 6 of the cycle, every morning the woman collects a urine specimen and then uses a test stick placed into the monitor until the PEAK day (ovulation) is identified.
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The monitor measures estrogen and Luteinizing Hormone (LH) in the urine. The monitor will register a LOW, HIGH, or PEAK reading based on hormone levels.
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The rise in estrogen in the urine is a trigger for a HIGH reading. This happens in the days leading up to ovulation.
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A surge in the amount of LH in the urine is the trigger for a PEAK reading. This happens when the ovary is about to release an egg..
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Once a PEAK reading occurs on the monitor, no more testing is required for that cycle.
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A pack of 30 monitor sticks will last for about 3-4 cycles.
Double Check: Using What Works for You
Many couples like to use a combination of signs!
The Wondfo ovulation stick is a double-check method of monitoring the LH hormone. These sticks are used only for LH but are less expensive ($15-$18 for 50 sticks) than the monitor sticks ($38-$45 for 30 sticks). The LH sticks are to be used with another sign of fertility such as mucus observation or with the Marquette Fertility Formula (Barron et al., 2018).
Hormone monitoring isn’t the only way to determine fertility when using Marquette Method. Mucus readings can be helpful and are a key sign of fertility. Many women track both mucus and monitor readings.
The additional sign made available through the self-monitoring of female hormones gives women and couples greater confidence in crosschecking various signs of fertility using the MM Fertility Formula.
The MM can be simplified. Users can choose to monitor only one sign—they have the option of using additional signs if desired. An app for the I-Phone and Android are available for use.
Below is a sample of charting of a typical menstrual cycle. L=Low (green); H=High (blue); P= Peak (blue)
The pink color is the menstrual period with M=Moderate and L=Light
Effectiveness
All family planning methods are evaluated using "Correct or perfect use" and "Typical use". Correct use is just that...instructions are followed ALL of the time. Typical use is what most human beings do in most of our activities...school, work, hobbies etc. So Typical use means not always following the instructions. For Fertility Awareness Based Methods (FABM, also known as NFP), that means having intercourse on known fertile days when trying to avoid pregnancy.
Below is a table overview of FABMs for avoiding pregnancy.
Peragallo Urrutia R, Polis CB, Jensen ET, Greene ME, Kennedy E, Stanford JB. Effectiveness of fertility awareness-based methods for pregnancy prevention: A systematic review. Obstet Gynecol 2018;132:591-604.
Howard MP, Stanford JB. Pregnancy probabilities during use of the Creighton Model Fertility Care System. Arch Fam Med. 1999;8(5):391-402.
