Girls line up for teenFEMM in Tennessee

One hundred and fifty middle- and high-school girls listened with rapt attention as Betsy Hoyt delivered a 30 minute talk that could change the course of their lives.

The talk, entitled “Own your Femininity,” introduced these girls to teenFEMM. Hoyt emphasized the importance of understanding their ovulatory cycle, their health, and their role in society as women of dignity. Hoyt had been invited to speak at Fidelis Inspire summer camp in eastern Tennessee—which she describes as “a multigenerational sisterhood of women” that offers mentoring to girls from 6th to 12th grade, including a high-adventure weeklong retreat each summer.

It turned out that 30 minutes was not nearly long enough. “We had 45 minutes of Q&A, and a long line of girls waiting to ask more questions at the end. They wanted to KNOW!”

Teen Girls Need and Want Education Based in the Truth

Betsy Hoyt first became involved with FEMM—and certified as a FEMM practitioner—in 2018. She saw right away that our fertility awareness and management model could be a crucial component of her work as a women’s wellness coach and nutrition trainer. She was long familiar with NFP (natural family planning), but loved how FEMM offered a more holistic approach to helping women understand their bodies and health.

For her, teenFEMM was a logical extension of this work. “I want women to be equipped to understand and know their bodies, so they can be better advocates for their own health and make informed choices about their healthcare,” she explains. “Why not start equipping them when they’re young, before they start their period?”

In addition to her integrated wellness practice, Betsy delivers a 6-week teenFEMM program to cohorts of middle school or high school girls. She covers everything from anatomy and physiology to nutrition and sleep, the hormonal and emotional adjustments of puberty, the dignity of the person, hormonal contraceptives and, most importantly, how to chart and understand one’s cycle.

“I love teaching it,” she says. “It’s so enriching—these girls really get it, and they walk away with a deeper understanding of their femininity and their bodies. It’s really beautiful.”

Education about Fertility is Filled with Misinformation

That’s a far cry from what women are typically taught. “The evidence I see is women are being told ‘This is how to stop it’ — as if a woman’s ovulatory cycle is a disease or something that shouldn’t impact your life.” Many of the adult women she works with, she relates, are frustrated or angry that they didn’t get the healthcare they needed to get to the root cause of their health issues. “They were handed the pill and it made everything worse, instead of getting the help they needed.”

That’s why working with young women is so important. “Girls need to understand that what’s happening in their bodies is normal and healthy. It’s a sign of health! It’s not a sign that something’s wrong or a weakness.”

Her talk at Fidelis Inspire gave 150 girls the opportunity to learn that crucial lesson. “It was so beautiful to see the scales fall from their eyes and realize their period is something that they can talk about with others in a respectful and dignified way,” Betsy says.

Several of the girls spoke with Betsy privately after the event. In discussing issues with their cycles, they revealed other problems they were having—involving stress, insomnia, back acne, and more. In each case, Betsy was able to connect them or their mothers to FEMM resources that will help them discern and treat the hormonal imbalances that are at the root of their difficulties.

“That’s a big deal,” Betsy says. “Not only is the girl getting better health, the mom is learning too.”

FEMM is Educating Girls, through teenFEMM, across the Country

Betsy will give the teenFEMM talk at another Fidelis Inspire summer camp in the Pacific Northwest. And because the event was such a success, she’s been invited by Fidelis chapters around the country to give talks to their members. By sharing the teenFEMM resources, she hopes to catalyze more women to become FEMM certified and begin teaching in schools and in their own towns and communities.

“Girls who finish teenFEMM are empowered to ask really good questions about their health, to get the information they need for the healthcare they deserve,” Betsy says. “If we’re equipping younger girls with this knowledge, that’s a whole generation of women who are taking better care of themselves.”

She sees teenFEMM as a powerful tool for reaching and healing countless lives. “It’s not just that we’re helping women who might have some issue with their cycle,” she explains. “With the teen girls we’re helping set them up for success. And all those girls are going to talk to their friends about the truth they’ve learned. That’s going to create cultural and societal change.”

“As a teacher, it’s such a blessing to bring the truth to students who are hungry for it. It’s just beautiful.”