By Renée St. Martin Wizeman

A project two years in the making has moved closer to fruition. At the end of May, 23 people, including six couples, attended the first fertility awareness training offered by the Pastoral Services office. The training was aimed at both people who want to make use of fertility awareness in their own conjugal life, as well as those interested in becoming trainers of the method.

Along with individual presentations, a panel of experiential witnesses – both couples and single women currently using the Bead Method – and medical experts was featured.

The 16-hour training combined the science and contextual theology of fertility awareness, explained Pastoral Services Director Mark Frei. He said the Church documents Humanae Vitae and Evangelium Vitae are at the heart of the theology behind fertility awareness.

“The life-giving element is not to be separated from the love-giving element, or in the language of Humanae Vitae, the unitive good and the procreative good are not to be separated,” he said. The training also included Pope John Paul II’s book Love and Responsibility, written before he was named pope, which postulates that love is to be a sincere gift of oneself, rather than using another for one’s own pleasure.

The panels medical experts were Mary Beth Adams, FNP, and Dr. George Mulcaire-Jones, MD. Adams said she became aware of fertility awareness and met Dr. Mulcaire-Jones, president and medical director of Maternal Life International, through the parish nurse program at Carroll College in the mid-90s and was hooked on fertility awareness.

“In my practice, I’ve seen an incredible need for fertility awareness. I started St. Catherine Pregnancy Center and the Bead Method is what is taught for family planning; I’m also involved with pre-Cana training at Valley of Flowers,” she explained.

The Fertility Awareness Committee of the Pastoral Office began work on this project late in 2006. The committee is ultimately trying to provide more certified trainers throughout the diocese; both Adams and Mulcaire-Jones are committee members and the two current Bead Method trainers in the diocese.

“We realized there is a need to have a diocesan-sponsored fertility awareness program, with certified trainers available,” Frei said. The manual “The Sincere Gift of Self” is in its first draft and Frei said his office is in dialogue with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth for approval of the program. Pending this review, modifications to the manual may need to be made, he noted.

The fertility awareness method that was presented during the training and in the manual is called the Bead Method; it’s based on the fertility awareness method used by Maternal Life International in Africa. Frei said that MLI’s Dr. Mulcaire-Jones of Butte developed this method, which relies on mucus observation to determine fertility or infertility, and “charting” these observations utilizing color-coded beads. Other sympto-thermal elements like temperature observation and ovulation kits can be added to the basic method.

“We definitely distinguish this method from the “rhythm method.” The rhythm method categorized a certain cycle length that didn’t fit all women, whereas the Bead Method is tailored to each individual woman,” Frei explained.

The committee opted for this method rather than the sympto-thermal, Marquette, or Creighton models because it is more user-friendly.

“We feel that many people choose to not use fertility awareness because of the complexity,” he said.

Adams said that Father Kevin Christofferson spoke about Pope John Paul II’s theology of the body during the weekend training. A key component of fertility awareness is the increase in communication and regard for one another.

“For me to see women become subjects instead of objects has been the most powerful thing I’ve seen, both in my medical practice and personal life. Conversations are happening between couples, marriages become stronger and children are seen as a gift instead of a burden. You can see it in action – these strong families who care about each other because they are talking to each other,” Adams said.

Beth Carrell, a St. Helena Cathedral parishioner, attended the weekend with her husband Nick, and hopes to become a trainer; the couple has been using the Bead Method since learning it during the weekend training.

“It’s so easy and reliable. It really doesn’t leave out the theology, which is so important and so needed, otherwise the husband takes a back seat, she said.

“We are both open to life; my husband is Protestant, so it’s a journey for us. The fruit that we are seeing from incorporating this into our lives is truly beautiful. Learning this method made us feel like we could just breathe,” she concluded.

Frei noted that the committee has made a special effort to address husbands in the manual and the training, teaching that it is also the responsibility of husbands to participate with their wives; for example, a husband can do the charting with the beads, and record other biomarkers, which in turn encourages communication and dialogue about fertility and intention.

The weekend workshop is the first step in become a certified trainer. Frei explained that after the workshop, those interested in pursuing certification would take a written test online, and if they pass, his office issues a temporary certification. At this point, one can then begin training couples with a preceptor (tutor), either Mulcaire-Jones or Adams.

Once the individual has trained six couples with a preceptor, the Fertility Awareness Committe would review their work and then issue permanent certification if deemed appropriate, he explained. An annual continuing education workshop will be part of on-going certification as well, he said. The current plan is to offer another weekend training workshop this fall.

“The biggest obstacle is openness – are people willing to learn about fertility awareness or just pull a pill off the shelf? It’s really a matter of people being open to it, and willing to be intentional about it,” Frei said.


Published in The Montana Catholic Online, Volume 25, No. 7, July 17, 2009.