Mustafa Eric
Independent editor
Regardless of the fact that population explosion has been one of the major problems scientists, politicians and economists have to deal with on an ongoing basis, bringing a new life to the world is a very personal experience: It has its joys, sorrows, obligations and responsibilities that individuals may or may not be ready to commit to at one or other point in their lives.
That makes family planning an important issue not only for the prospective parents, but also for the baby whose quality of life will be determined solely by the ability of parents to own their responsibilities.
But because the sacred process of creation of life is associated with so many religious, cultural and social underpinnings, birth control remains today as controversial as ever.
But a slowly growing international movement appears to be addressing this issue in such a natural, practical and neutral way that even devout Catholics can comfortably use this approach to decide when to have their child.
The method is called “Billings Ovulation Method”, an approach developed by medical doctors as early as 1950s in Australia and along the way, scientifically tested and validated.
LeeAnn Kinderwater, who resides in Stettler, is the only “teacher of teachers” in western Canada, who introduces the method to teachers, who, in their turn, provide services to couples who are willing to make use of the service.
“We teach couples how to understand their fertility,” says Kinderwater.
“We do that with no devices and no chemicals, it is a completely natural method.”
The methodology is based on the development of a woman’s ability to perceive the signals of her fertility on certain days of her cycle.
Once this skill is developed, the woman, alongside with her partner are taught how to accommodate the signals to shape their behaviour.
“At this point, a lot of what we teach is not in medical textbooks and we are working hard to be able to educate and to promote the science behind this method,” Kinderwater says, stressing that 850,000 hormonal essays were compared with charts and urine samples to ensure the scientific quality of the approach.
One significant benefit of the method is that it helps to deal with other important issues pertaining to women’s health.
Once a woman acquires the skills to intercept signals emitted as a result of the hormonal functions of the body, she can use these skills to employ under “special circumstances” as well.
These circumstances may be linked to breastfeeding, post-natal situations, discontinuing contraceptive medication and pre-menopausal phase.
Further, it is said to be helpful to couples with low fertility to achieve pregnancy.
Kinderwater says the training process is taken very seriously.
Despite the fact that teaching positions pay only minimal honorarium, candidate teachers are accepted only after they are seen to fit certain criteria and are asked to commit quite some time to finish their education.
“Whether it takes five follow-ups or 50 follow-ups, we stay with the woman until she is confident that she can properly implement the method,” Kinderwater says.
The approach is being taught in 140 countries across the globe and Canada is affiliated with the international organization.
In Alberta, it is the Natural Family Planning Agency that coordinates the provision of services to couples.
There are currently 12 teachers across the province and 22 trainees.
“Demand is picking up, we have been receiving many e-mails for assistance” says Kinderwater, adding that it is mostly by word of mouth that their services are becoming known in the communities.
“Mostly from friends, it is a grass-roots movement, if a woman is happy and the couples are happy, they tell other people to call us.”
She says three fourths of the demand for their service come “for practical reasons” and only a quarter based on religious concerns.
Extensive information on the methodology and the organization is available at the website www.woomb.ca.