Question 109

Why Dr. Mary Martin, M.D, Refuses to Prescribe Contraceptives (Part II of II) 
By Eileen Dugan, Sooner Catholic 

Read Part 1:

Martin corresponds regularly with both Brown and Odelblad. These scientists do not publish in the United States; they prefer European journals, such as British Medical Journal and Lancet. Odelblad, a Swede, prefers Acta Scandanavia, a Swedish journal. Both Brown and Odelblad have collaborated with the World Health Organization throughout their careers, Martin said.

 Why Have So Few Americans Heard of These Scientific Advances?

So, if the data concerning these findings from Australia (on NFP’s  high accuracy in tracing fertility) has been published, why have so few people in this country heard of these scientific advances? “It is because there is such a bias against these findings by the pharmaceutical companies,” Martin said.           

“The pharmaceutical industry has a huge stake in women’s health care. Not only are contraceptive products used for birth control but they are also marketed for the treatment of common gynecological problems.

“The pharmaceutical companies have brainwashed [the medical community in the United States against any methods other than their own]. They fund all the research published in textbooks and sponsor all the medical meetings, and so from the time we enter our training, we are inundated with their products.

 I No Longer Have To Rely On Contraceptive Agents To Practice Gynecology.           

“I learned, studying the work of Doctors Billings, Billings, Brown, and Odelblad, that I no longer have to rely on contraceptive agents to practice gynecology. I am now diagnosing and treating the underlying disorders. If a woman comes in to see me with a problem concerning irregular menstrual cycles, infertility, and/or pain, having learned the signs and symptoms of fertility, I can now make a diagnosis of why she is having the problem.”           

Polycystic ovarian syndrome, PCOS, is one example of an ovulation disorder Dr. Martin diagnoses. “PCOS affects a woman’s fertility, but her menstrual pattern is symptomatic of a disorder affecting her entire health and well being,” Martin said.

PCOS increases the long-term risk of stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Women with this condition have a 39 percent higher chance of miscarriage, infertility, and undesirable side effects: excess body hair, acne, central body obesity, irregular bleeding, and may have other underlying metabolic problems. 

“When you prescribe contraceptives for this disorder, you are not correcting the underlying condition,” Martin said. “If you simply cover it up, you never get to the reason for it. I can help women with ovulation disorders to determine the reason and correct it.

“If I can fix a woman’s damaged fallopian tubes or a uterine or an ovarian problem, I will do so, Martin said.

There Are Seven Fertility Monitors, but Only One Predicts Ovulation  

There are seven fertility monitors or hormone measurement tests on the world market. Of these seven, only “Brown’s Ovarian Monitor” actually predicts ovulation. The others spot-check estrogen or luteinizing hormone, but that does not accurately indicate whether or when ovulation will occur, Martin said. “With Brown’s monitor, we measure the exact amount of hormone produced by the woman’s ovaries via daily urine collection. The other fertility monitors only take snapshots of her ovaries by spot-checking her saliva and urine; these tests merely show that the amounts of the hormones, estrogen and progesterone have met an arbitrary cutoff. 

The other fertility monitors also use mathematical calculations to arrive at the time of ovulation. These calculations are not always correct, however.

With Brown’s method, the actual production of estrogen and progesterone is measured. When the amount of estrogen rises, it is the beginning of the woman’s fertile phase. When progesterone rises, that is proof that ovulation has occurred.

Not only does the Brown method exactly pinpoint ovulation, “it is affordable and morally consistent with our faith,” Martin said. “If the couple has a correctable fertility problem, I can help them in an affordable, non-invasive way.

“This is Brown’s life’s work. I felt I had an obligation to provide this technology to infertile couples. It can also help people with other metabolic disorders like PCOS, hypothyroidism, which is an under active thyroid, hyperprolactinemia, which is caused by a benign brain tumor, and other disorders of the thyroid and pituitary glands, and endometriosis,” Martin said.

Many Ob/Gyns Are Afraid to Stop Prescribing Contraception           

Martin said many currently practicing gynecologists and obstetricians “are afraid to stop prescribing contraceptives. “They fear their careers will suffer. I am proof that this is not the case.  I have had three successful practices in Virginia, Indiana, and here in Oklahoma to disprove this.           

“I would ask any woman currently on the pill, why she is on it?” Martin said. “What is her diagnosis? Does she have irregular bleeding? That is not a diagnosis. That is a symptom. What she needs to know are the underlying causes of her bleeding.

“We have, for too long, ignored the underlying causes of bleeding, infertility, or pain. I am interested in finding out what the underlying causes of these conditions are and treating them,” Martin said.