Creighton Model Effectiveness, Intentions and Behaviors Assessment (CEIBA)

Thanks to everyone's hard work we now have more than 250 participating couples!

2011-06-09T12:11:00.001-07:00

See Our Article on Healthy Lifestyle

2011-05-19T13:23:00.000-07:00

Check us out on Healthy Lifestyle!

We now have more than 220 couples enrolled in the study! Thank you all for your hard work in making this happen. You are really making a difference! Keep up the good work!

2011-04-28T11:21:00.001-07:00

Find us on Modern Alternative Mama!

2011-04-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

Click here to read our article on Modern Alternative Mama!

More than 200 couples!

2011-04-08T17:42:00.001-07:00

‎34 new participants in the last 31 days! Good job to the CEIBA team and our FertilityCare practitioners!

2011-04-01T12:46:00.001-07:00

FertilityCare Video

2011-03-22T21:54:00.000-07:00

Take a look at this video from FertilityCare to learn more about the Creighton Model.

Have you read about us on EngagedMarriage.com?

2011-03-18T12:44:00.000-07:00

Check out our article here!

Great Week!

2011-03-04T12:11:00.001-08:00

It was a good week with 10 more couples entering the study! Keep spreading the word to family and friends!

Jenny Hatch Youtube Video

2011-03-01T13:38:00.000-08:00

Here is the youtube video of Dr. Proucznik's interview on the Jenny Hatch Radio Show.

Involving your man in learning and charting Creighton

2011-02-16T11:06:00.001-08:00

I grew up talking to my mother, aunts, and grandmother about the birds and the bees. Being raised in a family of strong women I had never been bashful about talking about my body's interesting quirks. I knew that talking to the Creighton Model instructor would not be a big deal. However, I underestimated my husband's ability to sit in a room and discuss my cervical mucus. The first couple of meetings where we learned the process together, my husband sat stone faced and cross armed. I worried that I was pushing him to do something he was uncomfortable with and that because he was so uncomfortable with the class that this couldn't work for us. But when we would get in the car for the drive home, he opened up to me. It was in the car that he would discuss what we were learning. My husband started to take an active interest in the charting as he grew more comfortable with talking about our fertility. Now he and I are equals in charting knowledge. He still goes to the follow-ups with me, but he still won't talk much.

My advise for the ladies with men who are reluctant with the meetings, would be to just give them time. Something we have been talking about since we were girls is new territory for our men, they have a steep learning curve to catch up on. Once my husband grew comfortable talking about charting (with me) it has changed the way we deal with our fertility. It has certainly been a blessing to me and our marriage.

- Stephanie from North Carolina

Listen to Our Recent Interview!

2011-02-08T11:48:00.000-08:00

Click here and listen to Dr. Porucznik's interview about CEIBA on the Jenny Hatch Radio Show!

Enrollment Update

2011-02-03T10:56:00.000-08:00

We are now at 156 participants! Thank you to all participants and practitioners for being a part of the study! We are still enrolling, so please share this page with your friends!

Managing PCOS and how Green Day got its name

2011-01-31T13:26:00.000-08:00

When I was 18, I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), and promptly put on birth control to control my symptoms. Later, I was inspired to do some research on the pill I was taking (I am a scientist, and so I rarely take what people say as fact without doing some research on it first), and I discovered that it does thin the lining of the uterus to prevent implantation. I immediately stopped taking my pill, and started researching natural family planning programs. Since I have a history of PCOS, I went to some forums and searched the best methods, and Creighton Model was consistently the most trusted. I attended the introductory session a few weeks later and was on board with my wonderful Certified FertilityCare Practitioner Elizabeth. I'm still learning how to manage my PCOS, but I really love charting and knowing exactly what's going on in my body. My husband was reluctant (but supportive) at first, but he is slowly starting to participate in the process ("Is today a green day?!"...he is now convinced that that's how the band "Green Day" got their name). I find it hard to contain my enthusiasm about it, and so almost everyone I work with probably knows a little too much information about my cycle! We have thus far been using Creighton Model to prevent pregnancy, but are getting excited to use it to achieve pregnancy. A couple we met at our church actually told us that they had been struggling for years to get pregnant, and that it wasn't until they started Creighton Model that they made their beautiful baby girl!

- Stephanie from Texas

Using Creighton, instead of the pill, to address health and plan a family

2011-01-25T11:29:00.000-08:00

I had been on birth control since my teenage years because of issues with my menstrual cycle (irregular, heavy bleeding, unbearable cramping, mood swings, etc) and I had seen a lot of the side effects it had on my body. As we began looking into it, we learned that using the Creighton Model would help me figure out some of my female issues as well as provide a way to avoid pregnancy. I quickly realized that birth control was just a band-aid solution. Through learning to chart from a nurse (and having a good doctor), we would be able to figure out exactly where the issues stem from so we can fix it naturally rather than putting synthetic hormones into my body. My husband and I started learning the Creighton Model a few months before our wedding and it was not hard, it's just a commitment. We always felt extremely supported! We couldn't be happier knowing that we are preventing pregnancy naturally and when the time comes for us to have children, we are confident that this model will help us achieve pregnancy just as easily as we were able to prevent it. Being a part of the CEIBA study is very important to us, as well. We want to show others that Natural Family Planning is a healthy and effective way to avoid pregnancy. We just wish that more people knew about it!

- Sarah from Missouri

A Personal Story about Using the Creighton Model

2011-01-14T16:06:00.001-08:00

My parents used Natural Family Planning when they had my brother and I, and it worked like a charm for them. As I got older and most of my friends began taking the pill, I always held off because I knew there were better options. When my husband and I got engaged, we began talking about the Creighton Model and went to our area facilitator to set up meetings. As a Catholic, I appreciate that it helps me and my husband understand and work with the natural cycles God gave me. As a hippie, I appreciate that I'm not putting any foreign chemicals or hormones in my body that don't belong there. And as a broke grad student, I appreciate that it's one of the cheapest (successful) options out there!

So far, using it has been difficult for my husband and me. For months, my cycles have been abnormal and haven't developed any kind of pattern. While this has been frustrating, it has alerted me that I may need to seek medical attention to determine whether or not there's something I should be worried about. We're contacting a local doctor who's familiar with the Creighton Model to go over my charts with me and run some tests. If I hadn't been charting my cycles, I might never have known something was off until it was too late.

--Emily from South Carolina

Check out a new Creighton Model video!

2011-01-13T12:19:00.000-08:00

Over 100 Participant Couples!

2010-11-04T13:10:00.001-07:00

We just want to announce that we are now at 108 couples in the study. Thank you to all participants and practitioners for your involvement! We would like to encourage all of you to share your enthusiasm for the Creighton Model by talking to your friends and family about it! We would love to have more participants.

Check this out!

2010-09-24T10:49:00.000-07:00

Hello Folks!

Here is an interesting video that we would like to share with you.
Please click on the link below to view it:

http://www.5min.com/Video/Natural-Family-Planning-427016389

If you find the clipping informative and useful, get your family and friends to watch it.

We're in the news!

2010-08-30T10:47:00.000-07:00

Couples sought for family-planning study

The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated Jul 16, 2010 05:08PM

University of Utah medical researcher Joseph Stanford is looking for couples to participate in a national study into the Creighton method of Natural Family Planning (NFP).

Stanford is the lead researcher for the study, which is being funded by the U.S. Office of Public Health and Science. It will be conducted at 13 centers that teach couples to use the Creighton method, including the nonprofit that Stanford is involved with, Intermountain FertilityCare in Salt Lake City.

The Creighton method teaches couples how to know when the woman is ovulating and likely to get pregnant through charting of her vaginal discharges.

Though the method also can be used by those trying to get pregnant, researchers are looking for 300 couples who are beginning to use it to avoid pregnancy.

It has been 11 years since the last in-depth study, and the data need refreshing, Stanford said.

Plus, this study will look specifically at a dynamic practitioners have noticed: that 20 percent of the couples using the Creighton method to avoid pregnancy will at some point in the first year begin, instead, to use it to conceive.

So far, 50 have signed up, none of them in Utah.

Participants will need to get training in the Creighton method, which costs about $295 in the first year depending on how many times the couple meet with a trainer, and roughly $30 to $60 each year after that.

Most of the data will be gathered online and participants will be paid a small stipend, Stanford said.

Kristen Moulton

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/49935011-80/method-couples-creighton-information.html.csp

50 Couples (100 Participants)!

2010-07-08T13:48:00.000-07:00

We are steadily increasing our numbers and we want to thank the practitioners for recruiting and the participants for their willingness to be a part of the study. Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

Meet Daisy, the Study Participant Coordinator!

2010-06-04T14:54:00.000-07:00

Daisy Krakowiak has recently completed her Master of Public Health degree at the University of Utah School of Medicine. She is on the study team for the Creighton Effectiveness, Intentions and Behavior Assessment (CEIBA), where she communicates regularly with study participants. Her career goals are to work in the areas of Global Health and Epidemiology. This summer, Daisy will be leading a public health trip to Ghana and will be assessing reproductive health near Kumasi.

Daisy graduated summa cum laude from the University of Utah with a triple bachelor’s degree in Political Science, Sociology, and Behavioral Science & Health as well as a minor in International Studies. In her spare time, she likes to travel, hike, and ski.

40 Couples (80 Participants)!

2010-06-04T14:51:00.000-07:00

We would like to recognize all the hard work of our participating FertilityCare Practitioners who have worked hard to recruit more participants for our study. We would also like to thank all of our participants for keeping up with their questionnaires. However, we still need more participants -- we'd like to get 300 couples by December. Let's continue to work hard to make this happen!

Doubled our participants!

2010-04-27T11:40:00.000-07:00

We now have 50 participants in our study (25 couples)! We want to give a special shout out to Nancy Matteoli in Sacramento for her hard work in enrolling clients this month!

Online consent has now been approved. This will allow potential participants to give their consent to participate right from our website!

In other good news, participants will now be reimbursed up to $40! Participants who have already joined will be reimbursed retroactively. We will be contacting you soon to get you your checks :)

Best,

Daisy Krakowiak
CEIBA Participant Coordinator

2010-03-05T12:09:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody,
The CEIBA study is rollin'and kicking! We have 26 participants(13 couples). We find this opportunity to thank the participating centers in their continued efforts to make the study a success and special round of applause to the participants for enrolling and completing the questionnaires.

Cheers

Ceiba Team
ceibastudy@gmail.com

(801) 231-6434

Participant Update!

2010-01-15T14:03:00.000-08:00

Hello CEIBA Team and Participants!

I just wanted to update everyone that we now have 8 couples participating in the study, including a new couple from Duluth, MN. Team, thank you for your continued effort in recruitment. Participants, thank you for enrolling and completing your questionnaires!

Best,

Daisy Krakowiak
CEIBA Participant Coordinator
ceibastudy@gmail.com
(801) 231-6434

More participants!

2009-12-17T11:39:00.000-08:00

We just wanted to announce that we have a total of five couples participating in the study -- 4 from Kansas City and 1 from Lincoln! Thanks to the practitioners for recruiting and thanks to the participants who are completing questionnaires!

More participants!

2009-12-11T12:39:00.000-08:00

We are excited to announce that we have 2 additional couples who are participating in the study! We want to thank Kansas City for their recruitment!

Meet the Creighton Model Practitioners/Coordinators

2009-11-02T10:49:00.000-08:00

Meet the CreightonModel Practitioners/Coordinators

for the CEIBA study at different centers through out the country.

2009-10-21T13:27:00.000-07:00

Hello Ceiba Team!

We have just enrolled our first participant from the Kansas City area! We are very excited about this and for upcoming participants in the near future. We appreciate all of your hard work in the study thus far.

Thank you!

2009-08-27T13:33:00.000-07:00

It's time to get started

Catch the opportunity to participate in the CEIBA study

Contact your FertilityCare Practitioner

2009-04-20T15:11:00.000-07:00

Discover.What every couple needs to know.What every woman has a right to know.

The CEIBA study is being conducted through the University of Utah,Department of Family and Preventive Medicine with the collaboration of 12 FertilityCare Centers of America.

Contact your FertilityCare Practitioner to learn more about the CEIBA study or to enroll.

2009-04-20T14:57:00.000-07:00

C REIGHTON MODEL
E FFECTIVENESS,
I NTENTIONS, AND
B EHAVIORS
A SSESSMENT

If you are learning the Creighton Model for the first time and are using it to avoid pregnancy,you can contribute to the important research that will help future users of the Creighton ModelFertilityCare System.

To participate,you must also have the following qualifications:

Be able to read and communicate in English
The woman must be between the ages of 18-40
The man must be over the age of 18
The woman must have a regular menstrual pattern
No history of infertility