Episode #127
Episode 127: The Gift Our Mother Gave Us: Three Sisters on Growing Up with Cycle Awareness
In this special episode of The NFP Podcast, Emily and Amylynn sit down with Lauren, Mary-Grace, and Claire, the three oldest daughters of the Gramlich family, for an honest conversation about what it was like to grow up in a home where menstrual cycles, fertility, and women's health were talked about openly. Their mother began these conversations when they were young, answering questions honestly and eventually teaching her daughters how to chart their cycles. What began as simple lessons about their changing bodies became something much deeper: a lifelong understanding of their health, femininity, fertility, and dignity. The sisters share three different journeys. Lauren discusses beginning her cycle at a young age, later navigating endometriosis and polycystic ovaries, and how years of charting helped her recognize patterns in her health before eventually entering marriage and becoming pregnant. Mary-Grace shares her experience with irregular cycles and polycystic ovaries and how her fascination with fertility awareness eventually influenced her academic interests and desire to work in women's health and bioethics. Claire explains how charting—even without significant reproductive health problems—has helped her better understand her body and become more compassionate toward herself. Together, they reflect on what happened when they left home and discovered how many of their peers knew very little about their own cycles—and how often severe menstrual pain, irregular cycles, and hormonal problems were simply accepted as normal. The conversation also goes somewhere we don't often hear young women speak so candidly: dating, chastity, attraction, and self-mastery. Lauren and Mary-Grace explain how understanding the hormonal changes occurring throughout their cycles helped them better understand their own desires, respect their bodies, and navigate romantic relationships with greater intentionality. And perhaps most beautifully, the sisters reflect on the gift their mother gave them—and how they hope to pass that gift on to another generation. For the mother wondering whether she waited too long to begin these conversations, and for the young woman who feels like she doesn't understand her own body, Claire offers a wonderfully simple encouragement: don't worry about catching up. Just start. Because your cycle isn't merely about whether you can become pregnant. It's part of your health. It's part of your story. And it's worth getting to know. Join Emily and Amylynn for this beautiful intergenerational conversation about mothers and daughters, puberty, cycle charting, reproductive health, dating, fertility, faith, and learning to see the female body as something beautifully and intentionally created. Resources: 1. Creighton Model Charting Method: https://creightonmodel.com/ 2. What Women Aren't Told: Cycles and The Pill w/Dr Sarah Hill | E271 Lila Rose Show: https://youtu.be/LFrGtyOZJtA?si=X5eW-e8fpJejSSZa 3. How Eucharistic Faith Aided Recovery of My Eating Disorder: https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/how-eucharistic-faith-aided-recovery-of-my-eating-disorder 4. The Catholic Table: Finding Joy Where Food and Faith Meet: https://a.co/d/0g78oCui 5. Made for This: The Catholic Mom's Guide to Birth: https://a.co/d/09TVN5yS 6. The Care and Keeping of You 1: The Body Book for Younger Girls (American Girl® Wellbeing): https://a.co/d/0eNDP8nD
