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Over the past (almost) decade, I've heard the question "is NaPRO real medicine?" It also has a near cousin "is this real science?" The short answer to both is "yes," but that would be a pretty lame blog if I ended it there so I will explain.
NaPRO, short for NaPRO TECHNOLOGY, is real medicine founded in real science and research. In 1985, Dr. Thomas Hilgers founded the St. Paul VI (Then Pope Paul VI) Institute for reproductive medicine, science, and research with the goal of developing an evidence-based, medical-surgical model of women's health and human reproduction that honors the dignity of the human person and marriage. Using discoveries from the Creighton Model FertilityCare System (CrMS), Dr. Hilgers began to focus his research on developing a medical model that utilizes CrMS tracking to assist in diagnosing and treating gynecological conditions. Over the past nearly 40 years, NaPRO has grown into an extremely advanced medical model that uses specialized robotic surgeries and medical protocols to identify underlying medical conditions and treat them.
I often hear people say things such as "if it's so good, then why doesn't my doctor use it?" The sad truth is that our current medical system is not in the business of identifying underlying medical conditions and treating them. This is evidenced by the multi-billion dollar IVF industry that bypasses medical conditions instead of fixing them. But even well meaning doctors are not taught to search for underlying conditions, rather, they are taught to prescribe medications to treat symptoms. There are doctors, however, that truly wish to treat medical conditions rather than symptoms, but constraints placed on them by insurance companies (such as only paying for certain amount of time spent with a patient or specific treatments) make it difficult to keep a medical practice afloat. NaPRO is unique. The additional NaPRO training is a specialty that requires additional training after medical school. NaPRO, like other specialties isn't taught in medical school, it is learned afterwards. For these reasons, most doctors don't use NaPRO protocols.
I also frequently hear "if NaPRO is real science, then why isn't it published in peer reviewed journals?" It is. The Journal of Gynecologic Surgery, Biomedicina, Clinical and Experimental Obstetrics & Gynecology, The Journal of Perinatal Medicine, are just a few peer reviewed journals. The protocols have been researched, studied, and published. Here are a couple for your reading pleasure: Here, here, and here. There are more on PubMed and Google Scholar.
NaPRO is real medicine, researched and studied by real researchers, and performed by real physicians. But sometimes the question about what NaPRO is has more to do with what NaPRO is often considered to be - integrative medicine. Many women come to NaPRO because traditional Western medicine has failed them or because they are looking for healing without pharmaceutical drugs. The reality is, while NaPRO does seek to find underlying conditions, it utilizes traditional Western medicine principles (such as being evidence-based and founded in research), pharmaceuticals, and surgeries. But because NaPRO seeks to treat underlying conditions, it is often viewed as integrative. There are many NaPRO doctors who utilize integrative medicine, supplements, diet, etc..., but most of the NaPRO protocols (with the exception of a few supplements that have been studied) are Western in nature. But fear not my fellow granola crunchy ladies, NaPRO and integrative approaches compliment each other. At Groesbeck, we know that many women come to us looking for healing, not symptom management, so we work with NaPRO doctors who are sensitive to integrative approaches. Contact one of our Practitioners today to get started.