Page 29 - summer2016

In Pursuit of Healthy Fertility

Via Fertility Awareness

By Victoria Braun

wise man once said: Before you can hope to

change things, you must first understand the way
Athings are. Since beginning almost forty years ago

as a fertility awareness or natural family planning (NFP)
instructor, as well as consulting with thousands of women

for a large NFP provider over the past thirteen years, it has
become increasingly apparent that the “health” of women’s

and men’s fertility has been compromised.

Couples are concerned because they are unable to have babies or they
become frustrated when practicing NFP to avoid a pregnancy, because their
fertility cycles are so irregular and the times of abstinence are inordinately
long. It is correspondingly commonplace for women to suffer from pre-
menstrual syndrome (PMS), polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), ovarian
cysts, heavy periods, endometriosis, menstrual cramps, acne and absence
of periods. Men, too, share in this burden of fertility issues. Even a cur-
sory review of comments taken from the scientific literature supports this
observation:
Wise Traditions SUMMER 2016 Wise Traditions 29