Mu, Q., Fehring, R. J., & Bouchard, T. (2022). Multisite Effectiveness Study of the Marquette Method of Natural Family Planning Program. The Linacre Quarterly, 89(1), 64-72. https://doi.org/10.1177/0024363920957515
Mu Q, Fehring RJ, Bouchard T. Multisite Effectiveness Study of the Marquette Method of Natural Family Planning Program. Linacre Q. 2022;89(1):64-72. doi:10.1177/0024363920957515
Mu, Qiyan, et al. "Multisite Effectiveness Study of the Marquette Method of Natural Family Planning Program." The Linacre Quarterly, vol. 89, no. 1, 2022, pp. 64-72.
Marquette Method users had 6.7 unintended pregnancies per 100 in a year
Among 1,221 women taught by ten trained teachers in the United States and Canada, Marquette Method users had 6.7 unintended pregnancies per 100 women over twelve months, in a retrospective cohort. Women with regular cycles had 2.8 per 100, and women with irregular cycles had 4.3 per 100.
Key Findings
The 1,221 women contributed 9,060 documented months of use, and forty-two unintended pregnancies gave a typical use unintended pregnancy rate of 6.7 per 100 women at twelve months.
Correct use of the method accompanied eleven of the forty-two unintended pregnancies.
Women with regular cycles (402 women) had a total unintended pregnancy rate of 2.8 per 100 over twelve months, and women with irregular cycles (68 women) had 4.3 per 100.
Over twelve months, the rate was 8.1 per 100 women using the electronic hormonal fertility monitor only and 4.1 per 100 using LH tests with cervical mucus monitoring or the monitor.
Over twelve months, the rate was 15.6 per 100 women using cervical mucus monitoring only and 14.1 per 100 women using both cervical mucus monitoring and the electronic hormonal fertility monitor.
Interpretation
The study is a retrospective longitudinal cohort of anonymized records from ten trained teachers, who collected the data prospectively as they taught. Kaplan-Meier analysis produced typical use rates for 1,221 women, and 60.7 percent of the women were postpartum and breastfeeding. The authors view the results as matching or exceeding earlier Marquette Method studies. In the authors' view, the lower rates with the monitor alone or with LH tests most likely reflect its more objective biological indicators. The authors note that months of correct use went unrecorded, so only typical use rates were calculated.
RRM Context
The Marquette Method began in 1998 at the Marquette Institute of NFP. Its core is a fertility monitor, with mucus and temperature signs added as the woman and her teacher decide. Fertility awareness-based methods such as this one align with restorative reproductive medicine, as they follow the woman's own cycle.
Our editorial summary of this paper, not the article's abstract.
Abstract
Women of reproductive age need reliable and effective family planning methods to manage their fertility. Natural family planning (NFP) methods or fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) have been increasingly used by women due to their health benefits. Nevertheless, effectiveness of these natural methods remains inconsistent, and these methods are difficult for healthcare providers to implement in their clinical practice. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Marquette Model NFP system to avoid pregnancy for women at multiple teaching sites using twelve months of retrospectively collected teaching data. Survival analysis (Kaplan-Meier) was used to determine typical unintended pregnancy rates for a total of 1,221 women. There were forty-two unintended pregnancies which provided a typical use unintended pregnancy rate of 6.7 per 100 women over twelve months of use. Eleven of the forty-two unintended pregnancies were associated with correct use of the method. The total unintended pregnancy rate over twelve months of use was 2.8 per 100 for women with regular cycles, 8.0 per 100 women for the postpartum and breastfeeding women, and 4.3 per 100 for women with irregular menstrual cycles. The Marquette Model system of NFP was effective when provided by health professionals who completed the Marquette Model NFP teacher training program.
Summary
This study involved determining whether healthcare professionals at ten sites across the United States and Canada trained to provide the Marquette Method NFP services can replicate the effectiveness demonstrated in previous studies of the method. We found a high level of effectiveness (i.e., very low pregnancy rates) in using the Marquette Method among women from various regions across North America with diverse reproductive backgrounds and in particular when using hormonal fertility marker. Healthcare providers who have been trained to teach NFP can successfully incorporate NFP services in their practice and assist their clients in choosing appropriate family planning methods.
Clinician-reviewed comparison of fertility awareness-based methods (Billings, Creighton, Sensiplan, Marquette, Standard Days, apps). Every effectiveness figure cited and labeled by metric.
