Some couples embracing natural method to aid with their conception

Aiden Francis, 6 months, cooed as his mother, Cindy Francis, 35, rocked him and talked about the joy and the surprise she and her husband, John, 37, experienced when she learned she was pregnant.

Jennifer Daly, 29, and her husband, Jerry, were about to accept a life without children when a 1957 Pontiac Star Chief and an Oklahoma City obstetrics/gynecology doctor changed everything.

These women are among many Oklahoma women cuddling babies they thought they never would have.

Cindy Francis was having trouble conceiving. She and her husband, John, 35, wanted a family, but she said they didn't want to bankrupt themselves financially, physically and emotionally by going through in-vitro. They made up their minds not to push the issue.

"We didn't want our lives to revolve around the desire to have a baby at all costs,” Cindy Francis said. "We thought if it was meant to be, it would be. In this society, we think a pill can cure everything.”

Three years ago, she was referred to Dr. Mary Martin, M.D., specializing in obstetrics, gynecology and infertility at St. Anthony Hospital.

"She sat down with me and John and talked to us,” Cindy Francis said. "I was very thankful she didn't start out by prescribing pills. Dr. Martin is very thorough, and she asked lots of questions, and she didn't rush in. I think some doctors are so quick to put a person on drugs without getting to the root of the problem.”

Cindy Francis learned about the Billings Ovulation Method, a natural form of family planning used throughout the world since 1953 and taught by Martin since 2003. This method involves the use of a menstrual calendar using stickers to identify physical changes that occur on a day-to-day basis in a woman's body. When a woman uses the Billings Method, she learns how to become familiar with the natural rhythms of her body, when estrogen level is low and when it is high. There is no need to take a temperature, and there are no fertility drugs.

Led by her Catholic faith, Martin said she stopped prescribing birth control pills in 1999 and began studying the Billings Method.

Some women who come to her are motivated by their faith. Others are inspired by the "green” movement to be free of chemicals in their body and in tune with nature, Martin said.

"This method is based on science, and women who don't read or write can use it,” Martin said.

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