Supporting Your Daughter on her Fertility Journey
By Bernadette Jones, FSI Coach and NFP Teacher
Motherhood changes over time and the relationship with our children can be one of the most fulfilling experiences we will ever have. At first, it starts with the loving snuggles and the kisses on their foreheads. We become the ones they turn to when our kids want to be safe or need help. Over time, we do less and less for our children and teach them to take on life’s challenges on their own. It becomes very clear that our success as a mother is to raise our children to think for themselves and we celebrate with them each step of the way.
I have a special relationship with my daughter who is 8 years old. She loves everything we do together, and we can easily bond over simple things like singing music in the car. My daughter confides her secrets to me and looks to me for advice on friendship and when she is feeling sad. I encourage her as she goes through new experiences to help her gain confidence in her choices and to think through her decisions.
My daughter is one of the tallest girls in her class and I know that puberty is right around the corner. In the next couple of years, her body will start to change, and she will have questions and experiences different from mine. Eventually, I want to be able to share my experiences of charting to know the patterns of symptoms that come with her fertility cycle. If she can understand the science behind these changes and day-to-day feelings, she will not have to feel like something is wrong but can embrace these changes as part of the next step along her journey.
The Mother Daughter program is set up to provide guidance, resources, and community to support this time in our lives. Mothers can listen to the program first to prepare themselves for questions and conversations before they walk through it together.
“The Basics” is an area set up for a mother and daughter (ages 9 through 12) to prepare for the onset of her first menstrual cycle. It has resources and videos to support her through this big change in her life.
“Next Level” is an area set up for a mother and daughter (ages 13 through 15) that helps her through the hormone changes that come with her growing body. There is more terminology and a section where teens share their own experiences.
“Advanced” is an area set up for a mother and daughter (ages 15 to 18) to take the next step in being responsible for her health. This section will help in understanding the difference between irregular and normal cycles.
Each section has bonus support materials to help with communicating to medical professionals and how to chart for health.
The Mother Daughter program empowers young women to make healthy choices and understand their bodies. It is a tool we can use as mothers to help our daughters transition through this once scary time and to allow them to fully embrace these changes with confidence. There is no better way I can be the mom that she needs than to walk with her in this journey and to prepare her for what life may bring her in the future.
Bernadette Jones and her husband Robert learned STM from CCL when they were engaged in 2006 and it has become a foundation of their marriage. They have been teaching and promoting STM since 2016. She uses FAB methods to strengthen her marriage and faith, as well as, to improve health and environment. Bernadette is looking forward to supporting parish and diocesan communities.