Creighton Model FertilityCare System (CrMS)

The Creighton Model FertilityCare System (CrMS) is a method of tracking fertility by charting cervical mucus each day. The woman observes the mucus at the vulva. She records each observation with a set of standard codes. The codes describe the color, stretch, and texture of the mucus. The method grew out of early research on the Billings Ovulation Method at St. Louis University. Dr. Thomas W. Hilgers and colleagues then developed it further at Creighton University Medical Center and the Saint Paul VI Institute in Omaha, Nebraska.¹ Couples use CrMS to achieve or avoid pregnancy. With NaProTechnology, the chart also helps identify cycle problems. Those findings guide targeted medical and surgical care. The CEIBA study followed couples at 17 CrMS centers in the USA and Canada. With correct use to conceive, the highest 13-cycle pregnancy rate was 89.6%. That rate came with intercourse on days of peak-type mucus.² CrMS differs from other fertility awareness-based methods. Its developers classify it as a natural family planning (NFP) method. Its standard charts give NaProTechnology the data it uses to time blood tests and treatment to the cycle. The Peak Day marked on the chart is a key reference point for NaPro hormone testing.