About
Francesca Naish
DCH, MATMS, MANTA, MNHAA
Founder & Director of Natural Fertility Management Pty Ltd
Co-director NFMKits Pty Ltd
Francesca Naish pioneered the specialised methods of Natural Fertility Management in 1975 as a direct result of searching for better ways to manage her own fertility in a climate where reproductive health was increasingly becoming medicalised instead of being viewed as a natural and healthy part of life.
In addition to her work on contraception and general reproductive health, Francesca is a highly respected pioneer of the concept of ‘preconception health care’, which is now a term in common use throughout both natural and orthodox approaches to fertility and pregnancy.
Due to the demand for this information, Francesca wrote her first best-selling book Natural Fertility and has since co-authored, with Janette Roberts, a further four books including The Natural Way to…Better Babies, Better Pregnancy, Better Birth and Bonding and Better Breastfeeding, with international editions published in several countries. With Jane Bennett, Francesca wrote earlier versions of the Natural Fertility Management Kits for Conception and Contraception in 1992 and 2004.
Francesca remains at the forefront of the field by engaging in continued research and development of Natural Fertility Management, preconception health care, reproductive health and all associated health modalities. She continues to practice at The Jocelyn Centre and is a popular lecturer and speaker at colleges, seminars and conferences in Australia and overseas. She also appears frequently on radio, TV and print media and has trained many health practitioners nationally and internationally in Natural Fertility Management.
Francesca has two sons, one stepson and two stepdaughters, and a growing tribe of grandchildren. She lives by the cliffs and crashing waves of Coogee Beach in Sydney.
Jane Bennett
B.SOC.WK., DCH
Founder and managing director Chalice Foundation
Co-director NFMKits Pty Ltd
After experiencing the revelations of charting her menstrual cycle in the mid-1980s Jane pursued a career counselling, teaching and writing in the field of fertility awareness and menstrual cycle education,as a student, then colleague, of Francesca Naish.
She is the author of A Blessing Not a Curse: a Mother-daughter Guide to the Transition from Child to Woman and Girltopia: A World of Real Conversations for Real Girls, and co-author of The Pill: Are You Sure It’s For You?, Woman Wise Conversation Cards and About Bloody Time: The Menstrual Revolution We Have to Have, and the 1992 and 2004 versions of The Natural Fertility Management Kits for Conception and Contraception with Francesca.
In 2000 Jane launched ‘A Celebration Day for Girls’ and in 2012 began training facilitators internationally to offer this popular program for mothers and daughters, similarly her programs ‘Cool on the Inside’ for older girls and ‘Fathers Celebrating Daughters’ for fathers. Jane co-created The Rite Journey Year 9 program for girls and continues to train teachers undertaking this groundbreaking work. Jane is a regular commentator for television, radio, print and digital media on these subjects.
Jane has a daughter and three stepsons, and has recently celebrated the birth of her first grandchild. She lives with her husband in Central Victoria among granite boulders and abundant wildlife.