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My husband, Justin, and I were married in May 2017. Just five months into marriage, I was found to have a 13 cm teratoma mass attached to my ovary. This mass was causing torsion and blood supply loss to my fertility organs, which required that an emergency surgery be performed. The mass was removed: along with 2/3 of my ovary. After this diagnosis and treatment, every physician told us I would need to be on birth control for life, or I would need to get pregnant right away to prevent ovulation and avoid future teratoma development. We welcomed our first child, Louis, into the world a year later. Through many meetings with Father Darrell Kempf and devoted prayer, we were led to the decision to not use birth control, and have faith and hope that another teratoma, and potentially infertility, would not occur.
We knew that using a successful method of natural family planning (NFP) would be necessary to allow us to track my cycles and determine when I am most fertile throughout my reproductive years. This led us to the Marquette Method. We started the Marquette Method after having Louis when I was postpartum and breastfeeding, and were amazed by the ease of use and confidence it brought our family. Frequent night nursing complicates accurate basal body temperature testing, and the cervical mucus sign only matches underlying fertility about one-third of the time when breastfeeding (1). With the Marquette Method, a morning urine sample is tested with the Clearblue Fertility Monitor, and simple rules are applied to determine when to abstain to avoid pregnancy. It is so easy, so effortless, so reassuring!
After falling in love with the Marquette Method, I enrolled in Marquette University to become an instructor. The program is 18 months long, but I was so passionate about the material that I was able to finish sooner. I have been actively teaching clients since 2019. Due to the personal experience with special circumstances that arise in women’s cycles, and the education from Marquette University, I have been able to flourish as an instructor. Justin and I have used the Marquette Method both to prevent pregnancy, and to conceive our second child, Adelina, who was born July 2020.
My goal is to provide married and engaged couples with the best method to achieve or prevent pregnancy, for their situation. The Marquette Method is 98.4% effective in preventing pregnancy, when used correctly by the clients (2). There are 3 protocols; postpartum breastfeeding, breastfeeding with cycle return, and regular cycle. The Marquette Method has special circumstance instructions for clients with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, irregular cycles, hormonal imbalances, fertility difficulties, medical considerations such as chemotherapy and thyroid disease, and perimenopause.
As a practicing RN for 6 years at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan and as a Clinical Instructor for nursing students at LCC, I advocate for people of all different realms. I chose to be trained in the Marquette Method, which is backed by evidence-based, peer-reviewed research, as is consistent with my professional values. We know the typical vital signs observed by a primary care physician include blood pressure, pulse rate, respiratory rate, and temperature. Fertility is a vital sign, and should be monitored by a healthcare professional to provide optimal health for the rest of your life. Wherever you are at in your fertility journey, if you would like to have the health of your cycles reviewed and start an easy, effective method of NFP, taught by doctors and nurses, you can connect with me!
To find more information about booking a class with Ashley, visit www.mmnfp.com/ashleyklein
1. Bouchard, T., Blackwell, L., Brown, S., Fehring, R., & Parenteau-Carreau, S. (2018). Dissociation between cervical mucus and urinary hormones during the postpartum return of fertility in breastfeeding women. The Linacre Quarterly, 85(4), 399-411. https://doi.org/10.1177/0024363918809698
2. Fehring, R., & Schneider, M. (2017). Effectiveness of a natural family planning service program. MCN: American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing, 42(1), 43-49. DOI: 10.1097/NMC.0000000000000296