The Ecology of the Body

When we were preparing for marriage some decades ago, we undertook training in Fertility Awareness Methods (FAMs). As graduates in biological science, we got right into the study and application in anticipation of beginning married life.  

Five years and three children later, we took up a leadership role in the fertility awareness space and Francine completed training as a fertility educator. At the time, urine testing to monitor fertility status was under development and we looked forward to innovations in technology that would make FAMs easier to use. 

In 1968, Pope Paul VI published Humanae Vitae – a landmark document affirming the teaching on the regulation of births. In short, FAMs (and not those that interfered with body’s natural workings) were accepted as moral and therefore legitimate means of regulating births. 

Humanae Vitae was not universally accepted in the Catholic community. Many people, including theologians, religious and priests, had concluded in the years prior to publication that the Church should – and would – change its position. 

Some became outspoken critics of the teaching, while others promoted dissent through the confessional. Others sought to faithfully respond to it, including a number of medical professionals who heard the call for more research and quietly got to work. 

Their work produced modern FAMs, which had reliability rates similar to hormonal contraceptives. Even so, over the following decades, many couples abandoned the teaching such that, today, a Catholic couple is no more likely to use a FAM than the general population.  

Disinformation 

In our decades of work in the area, a key concern was marketing: how do we overcome the ignorance about the reliability of FAMs? We saw FAMs as the church’s best kept secret, but misinformation was rife and resistance was fierce. 

The contraceptive industry had invested years and billions of dollars promoting fertility as a problem that needed to be supressed, and peddling disinformation about the reliability of FAMs despite their scientifically established effectiveness. 

For decades, women had been convinced that their fertility was a danger to their fulfilment; that their bodies couldn’t be trusted; that technology, particularly pharmaceutical options, were the superior way to regulate births. 

By 2018 – the 50th anniversary of Humanae Vitae – we observed a shift; smartphone fertility apps were gaining traction. In that year, fertility related apps had been the fastest growing class in the health category. There were hundreds of them in the app store. 

Moreover, fertility tracking features were already incorporated into the Apple Health app as a standard feature. If you own a smartphone, you already have a fertility tracking app on it. 

In a matter of just years, the culture went from a mindset that fertility awareness was too hard and of no use, to its being standard practice. School girls were using apps to predict their period and single women, tired of contracepting in anticipation of romance that didn’t eventuate, used them to monitor fertility health. 

Simultaneously, humanity was waking up to the ecology crisis. Human contraceptive metabolites discharged into sewers were impacting the fertility of aquatic species.  

For many, it was inconsistent to be campaigning for cleaner rivers and the protection of native habitats while polluting their bodies with hormonal contraceptives.  

Data Overload 

Meanwhile data scientists were crunching vast data sets to develop algorithms to more accurately monitor, and predict, the fertile window. Hitting the market were connected devices to assist in the collection of fertility data such as wearable thermometers, urine monitors and even home sperm analysis kits. 

We love this new tech, not because they are making FAMs more effective   – they were already pretty good anyway – but because they normalise fertility awareness as a standard health practice.  

As our civilisation rediscovers the beauty of our natural world, FAMs are poised to play a crucial role. What can be more natural that working with the rhythms of our fertility as an integral part of our love life? 

With our scientific training we are constantly awestruck by the complexity and fine-tuning of human fertility. The Divine imprint in this aspect of our humanity is truly wonderous.