Maybe if I put this journal article from the American Board of Family Medicine up in a weather balloon and claimed a child was in it, it would get a little more press and recognition. (H/T to Birth a Miracle blog for the journal link.)
It’s one of the better articles I’ve read, refuting point-by-point the major objections to Fertility-Based Methods of Family Planning (FABM’s) as a legitimate method of family planning and fertility treatment.
One of the strengths of the article–and NFP fans may disagree–is it’s honesty about the lack of data on the benefits of FABM’s: increased communication, enhanced intimacy (the honeymoon effect), increased respect for their partner and other psycho-spiritual effects. While there’s loads of anecdotal evidence, it’s true that the statistical evidence is lacking. This doesn’t mean that the positive effects don’t exist; I believe they do. However, as I stated in a previous piece on promoting NFP, more studies are needed, and those studies need to be published.
I might know statistics and a fair study when I see one, but I don’t know the name of the grants and publication game. Any med students, doctors or academics out there who have any suggestions?
One small step for NFP, one giant leap for NFP-kind. Keep it up, Drs. Pallone & Bergus!
5 Responses to Journal Article: Physicians should offer NFP
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Excellent! I love seeing Natural Family Planning getting any publicity. I recently wrote a post (“Green Sex, Anyone?”) on my blog responding to a Time Magazine article that discussed NFP (yes, a national magazine!). The article was a bit of a mixed-bag, but it did describe NFP for the masses to read.
And I totally agree that the medical community needs to conduct and publish more studies on NFP to help bring it into the mainstream among OB-GYN docs.
I was so excited to see this article! I agree that we definitely need more peer-reviewed evidence to share and get the word out. Or maybe that’s just because I’m in grad school? Either way, the more scientific research on it, the better!
Basically there needs to be a researcher out there in the right field who wants to pursue this topic. Preferably many of them!
And unfortunately, though I’m currently an “academic,” I don’t know that I have any suggestions offhand for increasing these types of studies through grants and publications. I’ve never gotten a grant
Dustin, thanks for the tip on the article! I’ve been waiting for it…Katie Kingsbury called me on the article after seeing my “Go Organic brochure” from the Diocese of Madison. I was a little disappointed because I had the impression it would focus more on Fertility Awareness than on sex toys, but glad to see at least a mention for NFP in general. Needless to say, I *won’t* be sending this article to my Grandma!
Yeah, I suppose “mixed-bag” was a bit generous in my description! Like I said in my blog post, I wasn’t thrilled with some of the article (especially the tone of the final input from a climate change “expert”) but it was cool to see NFP in a mainstream article. We have to start somewhere!
No, I def think we need it regardless. NFP needs good press no matter the origin, but considering the the golden calf science has become (science is good, it’s just that science evidently trumps reason and metaphysics in the last hundred years), it doesn’t hurt to get the peer-reviewed journal pieces. The more the better.
This is where the popular press comes in–reporting on the academic stuff. Unless people are reading my little ‘ol blog (numbers are up, but I’m not exactly in the big time), more publicity needs to be given in the media. It starts at your diocesan paper (any lay person can offer to write a piece usually), goes to a Catholic web site (think catholicexchange.com), or perhaps is featured in a small pub or women’s wellness web site….(and goes from there).