CROSS PLAINS — Local Creighton Model instructor Maureen Duhn was recently elected president of the American Academy of FertilityCare Professionals (AAFCP), an organization founded to promote the Creighton Model of fertility care through education, research, and leadership.
She was inducted as president at the AAFCP annual meeting, held in Rome in June this year to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Humanae Vitae and the 30 years of the education program support of Creighton University School of Medicine.
The organization provides certification for Creighton Model FertilityCare practitioners and educators.
Charter member, teacher
Duhn is a registered nurse through Creighton University and is a charter member of AAFCP, which was founded in 1981.
She and her husband, Jerry, she said, were introduced to the Creighton Model during marriage preparation and have used it ever since.
Director of the FertilityCare Center of Madison, Duhn has been nominated before for the position of president of AAFCP, but she said she has always said no – until this year.
“It’s going to be busy,” she said, detailing the board meetings she will attend during the year and her role in the organization’s fiscal development.
And yet, even as she takes over this new role, she said, she will continue to teach the Creighton Model method.
Scientific method
The Creighton Model FertilityCare System is a method of what is popularly called “natural family planning,” understanding fertility to avoid or achieve pregnancy and to watch for early warning signs of women’s health issues.
Through research at several universities and most recently the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction in Omaha, Neb., the Creighton Model has been developed and standardized to assist women and couples to understand their fertility cycles.
“It’s very scientific,” Duhn said, explaining that fertility care has come a long way since the days of the “rhythm method.”
Through research and education, the science has been clarified and understanding refined. “It really is one of the major ways science can be reflected in fertility,” she said.
Empowering for couples
It’s also very empowering for couples, Duhn said. “It challenges the couple to be an active member in their personal care,” she said. “It leads to marital bonding; it really is remarkable.”
Duhn, mother of five and grandmother of two, has been married 29 years and is a member of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Cross Plains.