DETROIT — As a nurse, social worker and Catholic, Amalia McIntyre recognized there was a need for women to be informed about more than just the birth control pill when it came to reproductive issues — but how?

“I think the real inspiration was Bishop Hanchon,” said her husband, Deacon Ronald McIntyre.

The McIntyres are members of Holy Redeemer Parish in southwest Detroit, and many years ago, while then-Fr. Hanchon was pastor there, the future bishop told Amalia McIntyre he was concerned about those in the Spanish-speaking community who knew that using the birth control pill to prevent pregnancy was morally wrong, but struggled with the idea of having another child at the time.

“He recognized their economic situation,” said Deacon McIntyre, explaining that many people felt the pill was their only option.

Fr. Hanchon entrusted the dilemma to Amalia McIntyre, knowing she was a nurse.

“I called the Archdiocese of Detroit and met with Dorothy Stapel,” said Amalia McIntyre of the archdiocese’s former natural family planning coordinator. Shortly after that, Amalia McIntyre began taking courses in the Ovulation Method of natural family planning, traveling to Cleveland to become a certified instructor in 2008-09.
“After every class I came back (to Michigan) and translated the material into Spanish,” she said.

As soon as she was certified, she began the first Spanish-language natural family planning session in the Archdiocese of Detroit, at Holy Redeemer. Deacon McIntyre helped advertise the sessions to parishes in the vicariate, and they began what Amalia McIntyre dubbed a “pilgrimage” as they traveled to different parishes to offer the sessions. Because natural family planning isn’t the same concept as birth control, the method goes beyond postponing pregnancy for the time being, the McIntyres said. “We also taught about responsible parenthood, good relationships,” said Amalia.

Another benefit is the ability to monitor a woman’s reproductive cycle through charting, and so if there is a problem, such as infertility, the chart could help pinpoint the issue. One drawback to artificial contraception, she added, is the capability of the birth control pill to prevent a newly fertilized egg — that is, a new life — from implanting in the uterus, causing an early abortion.

“There were no dry eyes,” in that session, recalled Amalia McIntyre, explaining that “the doctors push the pill” without explanation of what can happen.

The sessions exploded in popularity, and over the years requests for the sessions became more than the McIntyres alone could offer.

“I started thinking, how can we have more (Spanish-speaking) certified instructors?” said Amalia McIntyre.
Then they discovered the Family of the Americas foundation, which provides the Ovulation Method instruction in Spanish, complete with certification through long-distance learning.

Deacon McIntyre said couples going through the Spanish certification had working husbands and young children, but he saw “a great amount of dedication from them.”

The sessions emphasized that natural family planning requires communication between the husband and wife, which received a largely positive response.

“At end of the first large session we asked if anyone had any comments,” Deacon McIntyre said. “A guy said ‘I have an improved relationship with my wife.’”

“And a woman said, ‘He treats me with more respect,’” added Amalia McIntyre.

In recent years, couples have come from as far as Ann Arbor and Toledo to obtain Spanish-language natural family planning instruction: “The response has been incredible,” said Amalia McIntyre.

This year, the McIntyres retired from their formal work of instructing natural family planning sessions in Spanish, handing the task over to fellow Metro Detroiters Maria Eugenia Valenzuela and Beatriz Ocampo. But the McIntyres continue to assist local couples in connecting with natural fertility assistance when necessary, and their work in natural family planning remains close to their hearts.

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Natural family planning: Find out more

For information about natural family planning sessions in Spanish (Planeacion Natural de la Familia
El Método de la Ovulación), contact Maria Eugenia Valenzuela at (313) 505-2432, or Beatriz Ocampo at (734) 635-7599. Visit Family of the Americas foundation’s Spanish portal online at www.familyplanning.net/es.

Creighton Model FertilityCare System sessions, to assist with various reproductive and gynecologic health issues, are also available in Spanish; call (248) 321-4065 to learn more.