Nobody's Child, Everybody's Children:

A Critique of NRGTS that Examines Issues of Safety, Informed Consent, Reproductive Health, and Prevention

Sympto-thermal charting methods like FAM offer a safe, affordable approach to reproductive health management that can lower the risk of potentially unsafe or unnecessary medical intervention; save time and money; and reduce stress, disappointment, and discomfort.

FAM Educators recommend that NRGTs be reserved for those fully-informed patients who are properly diagnosed candidates. First line reproductive health care should give women the opportunity to learn fertility awareness, acquire body literacy, and explore health and wellness as a preliminary step in pregnancy planning.

Family Physicians treating reproductive health problems require support from FAM Educators because they generally lack the training and the time required to use the menstrual cycle chart as a diagnostic tool. Clients report troubling experiences in the family practice: invasive diagnostic procedures, inappropriate use of fertility drugs, negative side effects, and time-consuming delays. With fertility awareness education, women gain the knowledge and confidence to get more from the diagnostic process and give truly informed consent to drug therapies. Charting also increases the chances of regaining reproductive health and achieving conception.

Using sample charts, Leger reviews specific examples of fertility problems that can be identified by the menstrual cycle chart alone: irregular cycles, menstrual disturbances, limited mucus, luteal phase defects, endocrine disorders, post pill complications, and even disorders of the cervix.

Lisa Leger presented a brief to Canada’s Royal Commission on NRTs in 1990 recommending less reliance on technology and more emphasize on FAM and other educational strategies that promote reproductive health. She argues that issues of choice, safety, and informed consent should be in the forefront of any discussion of NRGTs.