Article by Peggy Haslar
Perhaps
timing isn't “everything,” but it sure can't hurt. Michelle Valdez, a local women's health nurse
practitioner since 1996, wasn't expecting issues surrounding the practice of
artificial contraception to make headlines when she stopped prescribing it in
her medical practice last spring. She
saw it as an issue of conscience. “I
wanted to live consistently with my faith,” she says. “I could not practice in a manner I no longer
believed was right, or in the best interest of my patients.”
But
the US Department of Health and Human Services mandate for contraceptive
insurance coverage has revived public debate concerning both the morality and
medical risks of contraception. It's possible
that the expertise Valdez has acquired to help women avoid or achieve pregnancy
naturally may be in greater demand, thanks to the ongoing national discussion.
Last
winter Valdez began studies with the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of
Human Reproduction in Omaha, Nebraska. She is now trained to instruct couples
and individual women in the Creighton FertilityCare natural family planning
method. Developed by Dr. Thomas Hilgers,
clinical professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Creighton
University School of Medicine, the method helps women understand their
menstrual cycles which have naturally-occurring phases of both fertility and
infertility, in order to to make decisions regarding avoiding or achieving
pregnancy. But this is not the “rhythm
method,” developed in the 1930's and often criticized for its ineffectiveness
at preventing pregnancy, assures Valdez.
The result of 30 years of fertility research, the Creighton Model is an
integrated educational system with a 96.8 % effective use rate.
After
resigning her position as a nurse practitioner earlier this month, Valdez
launched Servant Song Women's Wellness, where she is available to advise women
and train both individuals and couples in the Creighton FertilityCare System. Her services are reimbursable by many
insurance plans, and grant monies are available for couples without
insurance. She will soon have office
space at the parish hall at Sacred Heart Church in Alamosa. But Valdez says her services are not
restricted to Catholics. “Natural family planning benefits all women,” she
says.
How? Couples who use natural family planning often
come to a new respect for each other as they accept and work with the
biological reality of the fertility of both the man and the woman, says
Valdez. Their divorce rate is estimated
at between 2 and 5%, substantially lower than the rate among couples who use
artificial methods of contraception.
“When women take the entire burden of contraception on themselves, men
aren't included in some very basic understandings that they could have with
their spouse. Working together to
understand each other's needs helps men value their wives on a level not often
acknowledged in a culture where artificial contraception is pretty much a
given.”
Extended
use of the birth control pill also carries health risks including blood clots,
heart attack and stroke. Natural family
planning supports health-conscious women who dislike the idea of taking
medication to prevent ovulation. “The Creighton FertilityCare System is not
appealing to all women,” Valdez acknowledges, “but it is now available as a
viable option to those women searching for an alternative to artificial
contraception.”
The
Creighton system also can be used to achieve pregnancy. Valdez can help couples understand how to
time when pregnancy occurs and can refer women who have difficulty conceiving
to Integrated OB/GYN, a clinic with expertise in Creighton's NaPro
technology. And while Valdez is launching
her business by offering expertise in natural family planning, she has bigger
plans for the future of Servant Song Women's Wellness.
Valdez
hopes to expand her services after receiving additional training. Creighton has developed alternative treatments for
endometriosis and other medical issues treated with birth control pills. Teenage girls who are prescribed artificial
contraception for these issues are at greater risk for long-term side-effects
of the pill than women who start these treatments later in life, but without
alternative interventions, these young women and their parents may believe that
artificial contraception is their only choice.
For
women in the San Luis Valley, that may not be true for long.
Michelle
Valdez may be reached at 588-9432.
