The Marquette Model brings 21^st-century technology to NFP by using urine fertility biomarkers collected at home that measure hormone levels.  These biomarkers can be used in conjunction with cervical mucus or basal body temperature and an algorithm  to confidently determine the woman’s fertile window.

Who can use the Marquette Model of NFP?

• Couples seeking to space pregnancies
• Couples struggling with fertility
• Breastfeeding women
• Perimenopausal women
• Women with irregular cycles
• Women interested in health monitoring

How can you learn more about NFP?

The Marquette University Institute for Natural Family Planning provides professional services for those who wish to practice NFP. Professional nurses who are specialists in teaching natural family planning provide couples with beginning educational sessions held monthly or longer as needed. Couples also meet with the nurse individually to discuss their unique needs.

Classes

Professional innovative NFP services

The Marquette University College of Nursing Institute for NFP has been providing professional services since 1985.  In 1999 a new method of NFP was developed that used the ClearBlue Easy Fertility Monitor.  Today the method has advanced to include several different biomarker devices to detect urinary biomarkers (estrogen, LH and progesterone).

Ongoing Natural Family Planning Research

In April 2007, a pilot study to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of an online NFP education and service program for couples administered by professional nurses at Marquette University began and is ongoing.

Publications: Richard Fehring, Ph.D., RN, FAAN

Marquette e-publications: https://works.bepress.com/richard_fehring/

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Richard_Fehring

In June, 2019 the CDC cited a 2018 analysis of Fertility Awareness Based Method research that reveals the Marquette method of natural family planning could result in as low as a 2 - 6.8% failure rate. According to the agency's data, the Marquette Method is at least as effective as the Pill, patch, ring, or injectable birth control methods -- and it helps couples achieve pregnancy. Other studies have shown that FABMs such as the ovulation method and the sympto-thermal method can claim comparable effectiveness rates.  

Benefits of NFP

Biological

Women and couples who practice NFP chart important menstrual cycle signs that can be used to identify serious health problems.  Subcommittees of both the American Pediatric Association (APA) and the American Academy of Obstetrics and Gynecology (AAOG) have recommended monitoring the menstrual cycle as a vital sign for adolescents and young women. Others have recommended that women of all reproductive ages monitor their menstrual cycle to identify potential health problems. Studies have shown a link between indicators of the menstrual cycle with cardiovascular disease, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), metabolic syndrome, gestational diabetes, anorexia, unusual uterine bleeding, and sub-fertility.

Philosophical

The practice of NFP and periodic abstinence, far from harming married love, confers upon married life a higher human value.  The many positive benefits of being chaste within marriage and practicing NFP includes a better understanding of ones fertility, increased communication, self-mastery of one’s sexual desires, a greater generosity toward new human life and an openness to God’s will.