Marquette Method

The Marquette Method is a fertility awareness method that tracks fertility with a home hormone monitor. Marquette University's Institute for Natural Family Planning developed it. The method uses the Clearblue fertility monitor. The monitor tests urine for luteinizing hormone (LH) and for a breakdown product of estrogen. It gives objective readings of low, high, or peak fertility. Women can also check cervical mucus if they choose.¹

Hormone readings leave less room for guesswork than methods based on mucus or temperature alone. This advantage matters most for women whose cycles do not follow a typical pattern.

On the days the monitor requests a test, a woman tests her first-morning urine with a test strip. The monitor reads the strip and shows a fertility status. Women can use the monitor alone. They can also pair it with mucus checks and basal body temperature to confirm the reading.

Mucus checks are most often added during times of change. Examples include the time after a birth (postpartum), perimenopause, and the first cycles off suppressive medications. Hormone patterns may be irregular during these times.²

Prospective studies follow women forward in time. They show low pregnancy rates when women use the Marquette Method correctly to avoid pregnancy. These results match other well-studied Fertility Awareness-Based Methods.³

The hormone readings also have clinical value. Absent or weak LH surge readings can flag cycles without ovulation for a closer look. Estrogen readings that stay low may point to a follicle that is not growing normally (follicular insufficiency).

Clinicians trained to read FABM charts can use this data to begin a diagnostic workup. The Marquette Method belongs to the larger family of Fertility Awareness-Based Methods. For its clinical application, see Marquette Method Clinical Protocol.