Ep. 127: Hope for Southern Baptists with Infertility

In June 2024, the Southern Baptist Convention voted on a resolution to formally condemn the use of IVF based primarily on the destruction of embryos. The SBC is one of the most pro-life denominations who emphasize the sanctity of life, and issues related to embryos are close to them. But what about the women and couples who want to honor the moral/ethical concerns with IVF but are struggling to conceive a pregnancy? There is hope for these couples! Certified FertilityCare Practitioner, Caitlin Estes, breaks down the approach of IVF and contrasts it with other available infertility treatment approaches that have no ethical or moral considerations. IVF is not the only option for couples struggling with infertility!

Related episodes:
Navigating Fertility Fears
Common Causes of Miscarriage Explained
Infertility 101
IVF is not your only option
Unexplained Infertility
AMH: Can it tell you if you're infertile?
Theological Considerations with IVF
Fertility Tests that shouldn't be skipped
Sharing IVF Alternatives with friends

Free Resources:
Infertility Resource Guide
Miscarriage Resource Guide

Research:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9773093/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3352813/
https://naprotechnology.com/infertility/

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Transcript

Caitlin: 0:06

Welcome to the Woven Well Podcast. I'm your host, Caitlin Estes. I'm a certified fertility care practitioner with a master of divinity degree. Each episode will cover a topic that helps educate and empower you and your fertility while honoring the deep connection your fertility has with your faith. Let's get started. Welcome back to the Woven Well Podcast. Last month, June, 2024, the Southern Baptist Convention met for their annual conference and voted to approve a resolution to denounce the practice of IVF . Now, I grew up in and around SBC churches, and so this is especially important to me because I know a lot of families that are in the SBC world and for a denomination so fiercely pro-life. It's actually been surprising to some that it's taken so long to formally acknowledge this connection between a staunch belief in the beginning of life at conception and silence on the vast destruction of embryos in the IVF process. But here's the thing , saying no to IVF is really hard, really, really tough, because IVF matters to people. In a world where fertility rates are in a steady decline and the average age of first-time parents is creeping higher and higher, IVF feels significant. Many are told it's their only option for having biological children. And as Christians who are for families and for babies, it's hard to say no to something that seems like it helps both. But now that the Southern Baptists have made their stance--they joined the Catholic Church (the two largest Christian denominations in the United States, by the way) in acknowledging that there are serious moral and ethical concerns to consider. The SBC highlighted the excessive creation and destruction of embryos. But there's also the question of testing or grading embryos, the separation of procreation from sexual union, and the dehumanization of mother and father in the whole IVF process. So what are faithful Southern Baptists or any Christian pondering these things to do if they can't use IVF? Well, there's good news and this episode's going to share it with you. But first I want to acknowledge that there are many for whom IVF is not an option for other reasons besides moral or ethical concerns. Some couples simply can't afford it. It's incredibly expensive and that excludes a lot of people. Others are concerned about the well-established increase in pregnancy complications, like premature births or interuterine growth restrictions, or an increased risk for congenital malformations. And there are some who are unwilling or unable to endure the physical, mental, or emotionally intense challenges required of the IVF process. This episode is for you too. You don't have to be Southern Baptist. And for everybody, I would say there is hope. Just recently, I was speaking with one of my clients who has been battling infertility for several years. We've just started working together. And during this whole time, she had never considered IVF because of her ethical concerns. So she felt really confident about this. She has her spiritual beliefs that led her to feel very sure that IVF was not for them, but she was dumbfounded as to what Christian couples were supposed to do. You know, are they left without any options at all? But IVF is actually only one of several approaches to infertility. It may get the most coverage, but it's not the only option. Let's look at IVF a little bit closer for a minute. IVF approaches infertility as a problem to be bypassed. Basic testing is done, and if obvious answers don't show from that, or a couple doesn't respond to basic one size fits all treatment, then they jump to bypassing the natural cycle altogether. So stem injections are used to bypass natural hormone production. Eggs are harvested to bypass ovulation. Semen is collected and sorted to bypass natural selection. Embryos are created in a laboratory to bypass sexual union. Embryos are tested for their rate of growth and genetic grade to bypass children with known congenital concerns. If the eggs or semen are deficient, they are bypassed by replacing them with eggs from different women or sperm from different men. If implantation fails or pregnancies are lost, the mother's uncooperative uterus is bypassed for other wombs in the form of a surrogate. In every part of the process, instead of health and restoration, the only option given is to bypass the problem. There's another option. Instead of bypassing the symptoms and struggles, we could seek to heal them. My clients know that I'm intentional about referring to infertility as a symptom, not a diagnosis. There's always going to be a reason why infertility is occurring. Now, it often takes focused investigation and more than one round of tests, more than even just the basic tests to identify the reason why. But when we're willing to put in this time and effort, which I know you are, then we're rewarded exponentially. Because now we have answers to why it's been a challenge in the first place and we're able to focus on healing or restoring these issues. And this is why this approach is called restorative reproductive medicine. And yes , this is a field of medicine with OBGYNs, with medical providers of all types who are trained in this approach. So instead of bypassing the natural processes involved in reproduction, they are honored, acknowledged, investigated, and hopefully healed. At the end of your work with a restorative reproductive medical provider, the goal is not simply to have a baby, although that is a lovely goal. It's also to have an overall improved quality of life. It's to feel honored and valued as a woman or a man. It's to know that you've done all that you can to care intentionally for the body God has given you and any children that may result from it. So there are no explicit promises of pregnancy because no one, not any type of treatment or provider, can make that promise in good conscience . But there really is something to be said for focusing on healing, restoring and preserving the fertility of the mother, the father, and creating the healthiest environment possible for pregnancy. In addition to the possible health benefits to mother and baby, there's also the complete release from any moral or ethical concerns often found in IVF. Now, this isn't my first time talking about IVF here on the podcast, so I'll be sure to link previous episodes in the show notes. But I think it's important to say over and over and over again that there is hope outside of IVF. So here's my invitation to my SBC brothers and sisters or anyone else looking for IVF alternatives: 1) Learn the ins and outs of your own reproductive health and fertility through the Creighton Model system. And I'll talk more about that in a second. 2) Partner with a restorative reproductive medical professional who wants to investigate, heal, and preserve your natural fertility, in order to 3), Improve not only your chances for successful pregnancy, but also your overall quality of life. So when it comes to the first point, I recommend the Creighton Model System, because it is the most detailed source of information about your cycle that only requires the use of one simple biomarker, cervical mucus. As a certified fertility care practitioner for almost eight years, I can say that I've never found anyone who was incapable of using Creighton. It's accessible, it's straightforward, it's empowering. Women deserve more information beyond when their cycle apps tell them to expect their next period. They even deserve more than relying on expensive hormone monitor that tells them hormone levels. They deserve the ability to understand exactly what's going on in their cycles, when things are happening, ways to easily spot hormonal imbalances or reproductive concerns on their own, and exactly when they're fertile each cycle. Anyone can use Creighton and everyone deserves the opportunity. Now to the second point, as you gather this personal information, you can partner with a medical professional who has the same approach and goal of restoring and preserving your fertility. So there are providers across the country who are trained in methods like NaProtechnology, which honors and prioritizes the woman's natural cycle. So it doesn't bypass it; it works with it. Now , these men and women want to work with you to get to the answers. They want to work with you because you deserve that. You're an active part of the team. You are a critical seat at the table. So you're not just like thrown on a conveyor belt of treatment. You're not a passive participant, simply having things happen to you. But your observations through charting and your contributions and appointments, they're critical. Your voice matters, and these doctors know it. I recommend every one of my clients works with a medical provider like this. So I want to hear your goals and concerns, your personality and preferences, and then give several suggestions of providers that may be a good fit. You can research or interview them, and you can choose whomever you feel most comfortable with, no matter where you're in the country or the world. And then finally, for point 3, like I mentioned earlier, the benefit of this approach is not simply to have a baby, although we pray that you do--and up to 80% of couples using Creighton and working with a NaPro provider go from infertility to successful pregnancy within the first eight to 12 months. But the benefits are also about restoring your own relationship with your body, which can often feel a little bit foreign or detached when going through IVF treatments. It's about understanding and valuing your own cycle and reproductive health. It's about partnering with medical professionals who honor and respect you and your husband. It's about getting to the root causes of unexplained infertility and treating them so you no longer have the associated symptoms for the rest of your life, like PMS , unusual bleeding, painful periods, ovarian cysts. These things that women often think are just a part of being a woman, that they have no control over. Actually, there is a reason for it and we can get to the root of it. Honestly, I think all of this is important as Christians, not just because IVF has some ethical concerns worth considering, but because there are other better ways to honor the women created in the image of God. Women are often willing to do whatever it takes to have a baby--that is love. But is it possible that whatever it takes may be investigation and restoration, instead of bypassing and suppression. You are made in the very image of God . You are lovely and valuable . You are worthy of respect and esteem. Wanting a family is a beautiful and wonderful thing, and I believe wholeheartedly that God will be with you in the process, whatever the outcome. And maybe we should touch on those outcomes for just a moment, because I've seen in my work long enough to know that not everyone has biological children. And God remains just as present, active, and faithful in their lives too. Some couples will feel a call to adoption like the SBC and Catholic Churches suggest. That's a wonderful thing! Because even with how hard and broken adoption is, it's also a meaningful picture of God's adoption of us as his children and heirs. But others are not going to feel this call by God. And that's okay too. Whatever path God invites you down, it will be good and worth it as you walk it with Christ. So my SBC Friends, I remind you that there is hope. There are other options. Even if you were told that there is only a 2% chance of conceiving outside of IVF, which I tend to hear a lot from clients who tried to initially walk down that road, there are other avenues to explore. IVF is not the only way forward, and I would be thrilled to show you another path. So if you'd like to begin charting through the Creighton Model System or learn more about that, then you can join our upcoming introductory session. We offer one twice a month, so there's always one available within a few weeks. And it's really the perfect way to learn more about what I've talked about today and give you practical tools to begin advocating for your health and fertility. I'd also love to connect you with medical resources in the restorative reproductive community. You deserve to work with doctors who treat you and your reproductive system with respect. But finally, please know that I'm always thinking of you and all those who feel stuck and powerless against one of the most tender fears of our lives. So please remember, you are not alone. You are not without choices. As always, thanks so much for listening as we continue to explore together what it means to be woven well.