natural family planning association billings life · from merrilyn currie, retired billings...
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Natural Family Planning Association 3050 Yonge Street, Suite 205, Toronto, ON www.toronto.naturalfamilyplanning.ca
Upcoming Events in Toronto!
Teacher Training Workshop:
Extension (Advanced) Teacher Training Workshop
in Toronto
Friday Nov. 14, 2014 to Sunday Nov. 16, 2014
EDUCATION COMMITTEE
NFPA—Ontario
Rosemary Heron 905-683-9055 Anne Belanger 819-684-5310 Anita Giesan 519-227-1444
If you wish to contact/email any of the Education Committee:
Billings LIFE Leaders in Fertility Education
Board of Directors President: Vacant Vice President: Raymond Remedios Secretary—Treasurer: Patrick Heron Board Members: Dan Heffernan Elena Razzoli Zeny Uy Linda Hazelden Jeannie Wu
Fall 2014
NFPA is looking for Board Members
Want to help NFPA but not as a Teacher?
Want to join a Board of Directors but don’t have experience?
Do you have Board of Directors Experience but want a Change?
The Natural Family Planning Association (NFPA), the Billings Ovu-
lation Method, Board of Directors is seeking recommendations for
members to its Board of Directors.
Currently there are three openings on NFPA’s Board of Directors.
NFPA has Board members with many years of experience and oth-
ers who are newer to being on a Board. NFPA can aid you to gain-
ing experience as a Board member.
NFPA’s volunteer Board of Director’s is comprised of 9 members
with diverse backgrounds and skills. The Board meets as a whole
approximately ten (10) times yearly in Toronto (not in July and Au-
gust). Most members also sit on one Board Committee. As a rotat-
ing Board the terms are, typically, three years in length, with a pos-
sibility of renewal for a second term.
Current recruitment priorities are skills in any of the follow-
ing: Fundraising, Finance, Strategic Planning, Promotion and Or-
ganizational Structure.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss a recommenda-
tion, please send an email or contact the NFPA office. A resume is
required of the nominee in order to be considered by the Board’s
Recruitment Committee:
NFPA has a wonderful Board that plays a key role in the success of
our organization. Your help in the search for strong candidates will
assist us to ensure we keep a talented and vibrant Board.
NFPA Office 416-481-5465 Email: [email protected]
The Natural Family Planning Association presents:
Extension Teacher Training Workshop In Toronto
The WOOMB Approved Extension Program planned for Toronto Novem-ber 14, 2014 to November 16, 2014 will be a 2 ½ day Advanced Teacher Training Program.
The WOOMB Approved Extension Program is aimed at experienced Billings Ovulation Method™ teachers who are encouraged to extend their knowledge and skills through participation in this program. Billings Teach-ers in training are required to have attended the Basic Teacher Training Workshops Part 1 and Part 2 within the last 3 years. Accredited Billings Teachers are required to have attended the Basic Teacher Training Work-shop Part 2 within the last 3 years.
The Aims and Objectives of this program will be offered to participants at the beginning of the program so that they are aware of the content and what to expect from their participation. It is an interactive program and participants are encouraged to be actively involved in discussions and to work through worksheet activities either individually or in pairs/groups.
Activities are offered through input sessions, role plays, group activities, and through the use of worksheets.
Weekend - Times:
Friday evening
6 pm - 7 pm Registration
7 pm - 9:30 pm Workshop
Saturday
8:30 am - 9:30 pm Workshop
Sunday
8:30 am - 3:00 pm Workshop Billings LIFE Leaders in Fertility Education
Register online at:
www.toronto.naturalfamilyplanning.ca
For further information:
email: [email protected]
phone: 416-481-5465
Fall 2014
Fall 2014
Women with a vitamin D deficiency were nearly half as likely to conceive through in vitro fertilization (IVF) as women who had sufficient levels of the vitamin, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clini-
cal Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
Long known for its role in bone health, vitamin D is a steroid hormone that is emerging as a factor in fertility. Animal studies have shown that the hormone, which is produced in the skin as a result of sun exposure as well as absorbed
from some fortified foods, affects fertility in many mammals.
To examine vitamin D in human fertility, Italian researchers studied women undergoing IVF, a type of assisted repro-ductive technology. More than 1 percent of all infants born in the United States each year are conceived using assisted
reproductive technology, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Our work is the largest study to date to examine how vitamin D affects fertility in women who are undergoing IVF," said one of the study's authors, Alessio Paffoni, MSc, of the Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico in Milan, Italy. "We found that women who had sufficient levels of vitamin D were more likely to produce high-quality embryos and more likely to be-
come pregnant than women who were deficient in vitamin D."
The prospective cross-sectional study analyzed vitamin D levels in women who were referred to the Infertility Unit of the Fondazione Ca' Granda at Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico for IVF during 2012. The researchers examined the success of IVF procedures in 154 women who were vitamin D deficient and 181 women who had sufficient levels of vitamin D in their blood. Women who had vitamin D levels of at least 20 ng/ml in their blood were considered to have sufficient lev-
els of the hormone. Levels of 30 ng/ml are recommended for general health.
Women who had sufficient levels of vitamin D were nearly twice as likely to conceive as their counterparts with vitamin D deficiency. Since women with sufficient levels of the hormone were more likely to produce top-quality embryos, re-searchers theorized vitamin D was involved in the production of quality eggs in the ovaries as well as the successful
implantation of embryos in the uterus.
"Although randomized clinical trials are needed to confirm the findings, our results certainly suggest that low levels of vitamin D contribute to infertility," Paffoni said. "Since vitamin D supplementation is an inexpensive and simple interven-tion with few relevant side effects, additional study in this area has the potential to markedly influence the way infertility
is treated."
Story Source:The above story is based on materials provided by Endocrine Society. Note: Materials may be edited for
content and length.
Journal Reference:Alessio Paffoni, Stefania Ferrari, Paola Vigano, Luca Pagliardini, Enrico Papaleo, Massimo Candi-ani, Amedea Tirelli, Luigi Fedele, Edgardo Somigliana. Vitamin D Deficiency and Infertility: Insights From in vitro Fertili-
zation Cycles. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2014; jc.2014-1802 DOI: 10.1210/jc.2014-1802
Endocrine Society. "Vitamin D deficiency may reduce pregnancy rate in women undergoing IVF." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 14 August 2014.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140814191530.htm>.
Vitamin D deficiency may reduce pregnancy rate in
women undergoing IVF Date: August 14, 2014 Source: Endocrine Society
Fall 2014
November 2 is Vitamin D Day!
Vitamin D Day is a day to recognize vitamin D deficiency as a world problem.
Researchers agree that at least one third of the world is deficient in vitamin D, and some scientists even think a greater percent of people are deficient in vita-min D.
Why are so many people deficient, you might ask? It’s simple really. We get vit-amin D from sun exposure. And now, more than ever, the world’s population lives an indoor lifestyle, avoiding the sun daily.
Doctors are beginning to discover that vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for many diseases, including heart disease and cancer.
Furthermore, they’re discovering that vitamin D deficiency may make some dis-eases more severe, like respiratory diseases and autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis and lupus. And they’re discovering that vitamin D can be an important piece in the treatment of some illnesses and diseases, including mul-tiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, asthma and many other diseases!
http://www.vitamindday.net/news/
“Vitamin D deficiency is a global pandemic that has serious health consequences for children and adults. Improvement in the world’s vitamin D status could significantly reduce risk of many chronic illnesses including cardiovascular diseases, type II diabetes and many deadly cancers as well as infectious dis-eases including upper respiratory tract infections, influenza and tuberculosis.” -Michael Holick, MD,
Fall 2014
Remembering Bishop Lacey
From Merrilyn Currie, retired Billings Ovulation Method Teacher and Supervisor, retired Nat-ural Family Planning Association Executive Director, and retired Natural Family Planning Association Board of Directors Member
Fall 2014
Most Reverend Pearse Lacey, Auxiliary Bishop emeritus of
Toronto died the evening of April 2, 2014. He was 97 years old.
The Passing of Professor Qian Shao-Zhen
Professor Qian Shao-Zhen studied the Billings Ovulation Method in China.
He died April 5, 2014 in Shanghai, China.
He had been with the Shanghi Institute of Materia Medica Chinese Academy
of Sciences, Editor-in-Chief of the Asian Journal of Andrology. He had been
President of the Asian Society of Andrology.
“Professor Qian Shao-Zhen was the first to realize that the Billings Ovulation
Method would be good for China. He and his wife, Rosie, became close
friends of John and Lyn Billings and through his help the Method was able to
spread throughout most of China. John often referred to him as “St. Michael
in disguise”. We give thanks for his wisdom and foresight and ask that you include him, Rosie and
their family in your prayers.” from Billings Life Australia.
My father and mother (Isabel) helped Monsignor Lacey (as he was then) with the
marriage preparation course at St. Michael’s Cathedral by giving a talk on mixed
marriage – my father was not Catholic. That relationship bore fruit when my moth-
er became interested in the Billings Method. She had always been committed to
Natural Family Planning but was well aware of its limitations up until that time. She
read a piece in the
paper on the Ovulation Method (probably the Catholic Register), sent me to the clinic at St. Patrick’s Church,
and soon realized that it had none of the shortcomings of the current natural methods. She enlisted Monsignor
Lacey in helping her financially to fund the first teacher training course in Toronto. When teacher enthusiasm
developed, she knew that an organization had to be put in place to support and spread the Method. Again
Monsignor Lacey stepped forward with money to help incorporate the Natural Family Planning Association.
She always referred to him as the angel of natural family planning. I am guessing his support would also have
helped the application of the Natural Family Planning Association to be part of Catholic Charities and the agen-
cies supported by Share Life. His work with Marriage Preparation would have made him well aware of the chal-
lenges facing couples with respect to family planning. He was certainly ahead of his time in being confident
that if God wanted us to accept and cooperate with our fertility, then, in His providence, God would help us to
find a reliable way to manage our fertility. His great Faith, despite the dissent of many clergy to Humanae Vi-
tae, lead him and Isabel to help this great work to develop in Canada. Bishop Lacey as he would eventually be
ordained, was well known for his deep faith in prayer and his special devotion to Our Lady. The power of his
devotion to Mary no doubt played an important part in the early success on the NFP Association. Interestingly
enough, he later would live for a number of years until his retirement in St. Patrick’s Parish, the first OM clinic
in Canada.
On April 2, 2014 Pope Francis spoke about Matrimony at his General Audience, St. Pe-
ter’s Square. For those of you who have studied Theology of the Body, Pope Francis is
following St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI in continuing to incorporate the Theology of
the Body in his own talks.
“… The image of God is the married couple: not only the man, not only the woman, the
man and the woman; but both of them together. This is the image of God: love, God’s covenant with us is rep-
resented in that covenant between man and woman. And this is very Beautiful! We are created in order to
love, as a reflection of God and His love. And in the marital union man and woman fulfil this vocation through
their mutual reciprocity and their full and definitive communion of life… Marriage is the icon of God’s love for
us….”
Pope Francis’ reflections on the difficulties in married life are very interesting!
“ … It is true that there are so many difficulties in married life, so many, when there is insufficient work or mon-
ey, when the children have problems. So much to contend with. And many times the husband and wife be-
come a little fractious and argue between themselves. They argue, this is how it is, there is always arguing in
marriage, sometimes the plates even fly. Yet we must not become saddened by this, this is the human condi-
tion. The secret is that love is stronger than the moment when there is arguing, and therefore I always advise
spouses: do not let a day when you have argued end without making peace. Always! And to make peace it
isn’t necessary to call the United Nations to come to the house and make peace. A little gesture is sufficient, a
caress, and let it be! Until tomorrow! And tomorrow begin again. And this is life, carrying on, carrying on with
courage and the desire to live together. And this is truly great, it is beautiful!…”
Finally, Pope Francis ended with reminding all who are married to say SORRY when we make mistakes, hurt
the other, etc. “… And since we all make mistakes, that other word and which is a bit hard to say but which
needs to be said: sorry …”
To read the full text of the General Audience go to http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2014/
documents/papa-francesco_20140402_udienza-generale.html
Pope Francis: Thoughts on Marriage
Fall 2014
Sometimes a woman/couple know English, but would prefer to read the educational materials in their
native language. The Natural Family Planning Association has materials to help women/couples learn
the Billings Ovulation Method in: French
Spanish
Chinese
Vietnamese
Indonesian
The Natural Family Planning Association has Billings Ovulation Method Teachers who are fluent in
Polish too. We are in the process of accessing up-to-date materials in some other languages.
Know Someone who wants to learn
the Billings Ovulation Method of
natural family planning but they
are not comfortable with English?
From WOOMB Canada Education
Committee:
“ All WOOMB Canada Promotional and sup-
port material must be approved by the
WOOMB Canada Education Committee, your
Provincial Education Committee, to maintain
and ensure authenticity of the Billings Ovula-
tion Method.”
This means that promotional and support ma-
terial must be approved by Natural Family
Planning—Ontario Education Committee.
(see front page for contact information)
Announcing BOMA-USA’s New Logo
We are very pleased to introduce our new logo! Our logo symbolizes the natural beauty of a woman's cycle. The green symbolizes life, freshness, and nature. The purple adds elegance and en-ergy. This image reveals how the woman's hormones rise and fall, preparing for the poten-tial of human life in each cycle. Represented by a branch with a fertile 'sprout', the growing follicles lead up to Peak, a key sign of ovulation, and a marquis feature of the Billings Ovulation Method® The branch begins off of the letter M, the third letter of the acronym BOMA, and coin-cides with the third phase of the cycle which is fertility. The branch then turns into an arch representing the fourth phase of the cycle where the hormones drop to bring the cycle to a close.
Fall 2014