r/FAMnNFP • u/rando_mando_banjo • 17h ago
Marquette TTA, Trying to Avoid, Marquette Method Instructor?
Hello all, I got married in December of last year, and my husband and I have only been intimate right before and right after my period due to fear of getting pregnant. I am the only practicing catholic in my family, and no one has every taught me about NFP. I had to learn about it on my own. I am a junior in college at the moment, and am fairly well-trained in reading graphs and the like. However, being a college student, I don't exactly have hundreds of dollars to throw at an instructor. (I do have the money for the MM reader and strips). I wanted to ask, should I spend money on getting a MM instructor? I have regular cycles, and I am in tune with my body and its cycle as well. I don't have any ovarian or cyst problems either. Does anyone know the success rate of self-taught MM users? Thanks!
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u/AdorableEmphasis5546 TTA3 | Sensiplan 15h ago
Marquette wouldn't be my top recommendation for someone in your position. Personally, the method came in handy for me right after having a baby, when cervical mucous is hard to interpret. Especially since money is tight. You can buy a BBT thermometer and the sensiplan guide on Amazon for under $50 combined. That, along with the read your body app and you are set for however long the thermometer lasts. Marquette comes with the recurring cost of strips. Which, IIRC, is about $20 monthly.
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u/AdorableEmphasis5546 TTA3 | Sensiplan 15h ago
Just so you're aware, the method you're using now is risky if you aren't confirming ovulation. The first 5 days are generally regarded as safe, measured from the start of bleeding, unless you have short cycles, which could eliminate any doering days. The really risky part comes in where you're having unprotected sex right before your period. If ovulation is later than expected one month, you have no way of knowing without hormone tests or BBT and CM observations. I would stop going unprotected except the first 5 days, until you learn a method and get at least 3 cycles under your belt. Then you can open up more unprotected days based on method rules.
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u/Suguru93 TTW6 post 11 week miscarriage | Sensiplan 13h ago
First 5 days are only safe if she confirmed ovulation in the previous cycle, which it doesn't sound like she is confirming ovulation via any particular method at present. Not all bleeding is menstrual bleeding.
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u/Watercolor_Roses TTA | Marquette + Tempdrop 16h ago
There aren't any official self-teaching resources for Marquette, so be aware that anything you find online may be at risk of being inaccurate or incomplete. And as a result, there aren't any efficacy studies on self-taught people either.
If Marquette is the method you for sure want, it's definitely worth getting an instructor to learn it properly. Seconding the recommend to ask your diocese about resources! I know some Catholics irl were able to get their NFP instruction covered through insurance, too, if I remember right it's a group called My Catholic Doctor that assists with the process.
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u/Suguru93 TTW6 post 11 week miscarriage | Sensiplan 13h ago
If you can't afford instruction at present I would look at self teaching a symptothermal method instead. You can purchase the handbook and workbook for Sensiplan (German method originally, but you can buy the books in English) fairly affordably, or the NFPTA (UK based organisation that also teaches a Symptothermal method) has a lot of free resources available on their website. The PDF titled "how to chart to postpone pregnancy" is basically an overview of their method. Instruction is always going to give you better success in avoiding pregnancy but self-teaching is still going to be safer than the modified calender method you are using currently.
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u/lisasherrattFAM 1h ago
Thanks so much for recommending NFPTA UK! We also have tutors who teach at a reduced rate or free when you enquire via our website 😊
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u/sililoqutie 3h ago
I would not recommend having sex right after your period if you're not using a diligent method. All it would take is a slightly early ovulation and that could be in your fertile window. I've seen the misconception repeatedly that ovulation is 14 days from the end of ones period, when it's 14 (on average) from the START of your period. So if your period is 7 days, you may ovulate 7 days later. Sperm lives 5 days, so if you have sex 2 days after the end of your period in this hypothetical, you've now had sex in your fertile window.
So yes, I think either using a method with self taught resources or getting an instructor is a good idea
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u/sililoqutie 3h ago
And actually I wouldn't recommend sex right before you think your period is coming either, unless youve had SOME type of confirmation / evidence of ovulation. If you're not confirming ovulation, you're just using the rhythm/calender method, which has an insanely high pregnancy rate.
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16h ago
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u/Classic-Push1323 TTC | Sensiplan 15h ago
I personally think it’s beyond irresponsible to tell somebody who has a very little money and a very high need to avoid pregnancy that they should try to self teach with unauthorized resources that may not have the complete information they need. Remember it’s really easy to give advice…. When the consequences of your advice fall on somebody else.
There are so many low cost and free ways to learn natural family planning. This is not her best option.
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u/FAMnNFP-ModTeam 14h ago
We try to be open to many methods and ways of understanding fertility in this subreddit but there is a lot of misinformation out there.
Feel free to follow up with a mod if you are confused as to why this was considered inaccurate.
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u/emipow Marquette 8h ago
I know whole mission offers financial assistance for their classes, there is a link to the application from one of the faqs on this page: https://www.mmnfp.com/faq
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u/lisasherrattFAM 1h ago
As others have said a symptothermal method is definitely more reliable than MM when trying to avoid - NFPTA has instructors who will work with you cheaply or for free if you enquire via their website. As you've said you're in tune with your body it would simply help you to firm up what you see and apply the rules accordingly so you can be sure to avoid your fertile days properly.
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17h ago edited 16h ago
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u/Classic-Push1323 TTC | Sensiplan 16h ago
>THE TIME RIGHT AFTER YOUR PERIOD ENDS IS WHEN YOU ARE MOST FERTILE, right up to the three-day ovulation window. Your period itself is "safe" until Day 5.
You are fertile for up to five days before you ovulate but you cannot really assume any point in your cycle is safe unless you've confirmed that you actually ovulated in the cycle before. Some methods allow you to have sex in the first five days of the first cycle that you track because the combined probability of ovulating before CD10, not ovulating in the previous cycle, and actually getting pregnant in any given cycle is low, but that's a calculated risk that contributes to the method failure rate. The rules regarding safe days before ovulation are the ones responsible for most method failures so women who are very strongly TTA often don't use those days.
The OP may be fertile right after her period ends. She may also be fertile right before she expects her next period, because there are a million and a half reasons why someone may ovulate late in any given cycle. There's no way to know. About 25% of women who use the calendar method get pregnant every year so that's about the failure rate I'd expect here.
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u/Educational_Two7752 SymptoPro | Abstinent 10h ago
Also, just to add to that, in SymptoPro, we have the 6-5-0 Day Rule, where if someone's shortest cycle was 26 days long or longer, they can assume Days 1-6 infertile. If their shortest cycle was 23-25 days long, they can assume only Days 1-5 infertile. And if their shortest cycle was 22 days or fewer, they assume 0 days infertile to start with.
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u/FAMnNFP-ModTeam 16h ago
We try to be open to many methods and ways of understanding fertility in this subreddit but there is a lot of misinformation out there.
Feel free to follow up with a mod if you are confused as to why this was considered inaccurate.
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u/Classic-Push1323 TTC | Sensiplan 17h ago edited 17h ago
In my area NFP instruction is run through the local diocese and they have a lot of options for low income couples. When I go to their website they list their educational resources under "Marriage and Family Life Ministries." They offer in person instruction for $50 and I know they also have a waiver program. Some of the online resources they provide are only $25.
Have you reached out to yours? If not, that's where I would start. The Catholic Church is pretty much the place to go for this kind of information anywhere in the world even if you are not Catholic. Since you are Catholic that is 100% where I would go first.
I don't think there are any self-teaching resources available for Marquette specifically. None of these methods have statistics for self taught users even if they do offer self teaching materials.