Infertility Treatments: A New Era

Disclaimer: I am the Vice President for Planning & Development for the American Academy of FertilityCare Professionals. I do NOT benefit financially from them in any way by posting this blog

Last week I attended the 43rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of FertilityCare Professionals. The three day conference hosted expert speakers throughout the country (and even one from Nigeria) with topics ranging from the psychological impacts of pregnancy loss to new surgery techniques developed by NaPRO TECHNOLOGY (NaPRO). One of my main takeaways was that there is a new era in infertility treatments.

Fifteen years ago, when my husband and I were going through infertility, there weren't a lot of options. IVF was the main form available. We chose not to go that route due to the moral problems and because of the costs, but there were no other options for us. By chance (or more likely providence) we happened across the Creighton Model FertilityCare System (CrMS) and NaPRO. While we owe our 4 beautiful children to CrMS and NaPRO, the treatments available then are nothing compared to what is available now.

I watched Dr. Francis Achebe, MD, DFM, CFCMC, CFCP, CFCE (look at all those letters!) analyze several research papers from 2023 on women's health concerns and how those studies can be used by NaPRO Physicians to assist women in optimizing their fertility and reducing infertility. OBYGYN, Christine Hemphill-Jones, MD, CFCMC, FCI, presented on Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) and Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) which is correlated to infertility. Her presentation was fascinating as she discussed new frontiers in the use of pharmaceuticals and supplements to treat PMS, PMDD, and causes of infertility such as low or poor cervical mucus quality. Specialized uses of Naltrexone, a pharmaceutical, and boron (found in raisins, dates, and hazelnuts) can both be used in treating gynecological problems depending on the causes. It's impossible for me to take these two one-hour presentations and do them justice. They both discussed dozens of ways NaPRO physicians can use various treatments for infertility and other gynecological problems. The most important thing I noted from both of these physicians was that they were looking for the root cause of fertility issues and then using innovative treatments to heal and treat those causes.

One of the most important presentations for me was by Dr. Teresa Hilgers, MD, MS, CFCMC, FCP, daughter of Thomas W. Hilgers, MD, CFCMC, CFCE who developed both the Creighton Model FertilityCare System and NaPRO TECHNOLOGY. She discussed pelvioplasty (invented by NaPRO) as a way to prevent pelvic adhesions that develop as a result of endometriosis surgery. This one-of-a-kind surgery is only available through specially trained NaPRO surgeons and greatly improves endometriosis surgery outcomes which improves the odds of conceiving and maintaining pregnancy, and it improves quality of life by reducing pain.

Creighton training was intense. But I appreciate it even more after attending this conference. I was in awe of the NaPRO physicians, their combined expertise, and their true love of furthering women's reproductive care. They seek to heal and optimize the whole women, body and soul, and I am proud to be a part of that. If you want to learn more about your health, contact one of our practitioners to begin charting!