Catholic Medical Quarterly Volume 75(4)  November 2025

Obituary
Dr Anna Flynn MD FRCOG (1925- 1997)

Anna FlynnAssistant Editors note -  it’s a long time now since Anna died  but she was truly a great in developing the science f Natural  Family Planning. She was a great  support to  myself and my wife Josephine and along with  John Kelly gave so much  to  Catholic Medicine.

Anna Marie Flynn was born in Newport, Co Mayo in 1925, and joined the Medical Missionaries of Mary on 12 October 1944. She qualified in Medicine in University College, Dublin in 1951, and later studied tropical medicine in Lisbon through the medium of Portuguese. She worked in a Mission Hospital in Angola for 13 years, dealing with everything that came to the hospital. Anna came to the Birmingham Maternity Hospital (the Women's Hospital) in Edgebaston in 1969, where she studied to become a gynaecologist, and obtained the MRCOG in February 1971. Anna left the Medical Missionaries of Mary on 9th December 1972.[1]

Anna's interest in Research was stimulated after her collaboration in projects with the endocrinology department at the Birmingham Women's Hospital. She saw the need for Research in Natural Family Planning, and became a Senior Research Fellow in NFP at Birmingham University, the first such research post in the subject in any European University.[2] Her research projects into NFP were supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNlCEF, and she was the principal investigator for the WHO pilot study in natural family planning. She helped prepare the WHO's Family Fertility Education Learning Package in 1980. She published widely in medical journals; her book ‘A Manual of Natural Family Planning’ published in 1984, went through three editions the last one in 1996.[3]

Anna was involved at first with CMAC (Catholic Marriage Advisory Council). Because the rules governing natural family planning were not standardised at that time, she devised ‘Standard Rules’ to be applied to the interpretation of the fertility indicators in order to define the limits of the fertile and infertile phases of the menstrual cycle. In devising these rules she drew on her own research work, and she took up Paul Thyma's suggestion in 1973, (paragraph 1.10.1) to use two indicators to define both the beginning and the end of the fertile phase. Anna advised the use of all the fertility indicators, i.e. basal body temperature, (BBT), cervical mucus, self-observation of the cervix and the calendar rule, to define the fertile and infertile phases and her ‘Standard Rules’ became the ‘Symptothermal Double-Check Method’, or ‘Multiple Index Method’ of Natural Family Planning.[4]

She devised the Teachers' Training Program for the ‘Symptothermal doublecheck Method’ of Natural Family Planning, and the first Teachers’ Training Course took place in Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre, Birmingham in 1976 and was attended by about 50 people. The Course was accredited in 1978 by the Central Midwives Board, England & Wales. In 1982 Dr Flynn and Wyn Worthington founded the National Association of the Natural Family Planning Teachers in England, with Dr John Kelly as President and Molly McGrath as Secretary.[3] Anna and Wyn taught four NFP Courses a year in England, (two in Birmingham and two in Liverpool), and also taught NFP Courses in the rest of Europe.[3] Between 1981 – ‘83 she visited 12 centres in Germany and trained 500 teachers.[5]

In 1981 with the help of Dr Alina Lichtarowicz as translator, Anna and Wyn ran a bilingual course in London for the Polish community. They were invited by the Polish Bishops to teach the Course in Poland which they did in 1988, ‘89 and ‘90. Trainee teachers from France and Germany travelled to Birmingham to attend her courses. Anna and Wyn also conducted Courses in Brussels in 1987, 1988, 1989, and Bruges in 1987, 1988, in Milan, Hong Kong, and in Nigeria in 1987 and 1988,[3] in Yugoslavia, Portugal, Lithuania, Germany, Sweden and Italy.[4] Anna and Wyn gave their first Teachers’ Training Course in Ireland in University College, Galway in 1987 under the auspices of Professor Eamon O'Dwyer, Professor of Obstetrics. This was followed by further courses in Galway 1988, Donegal 1988, and in the Coombe Hospital, Dublin 1989 and 1990 on the invitation of Professor [6] Bonner, TCD.

From 1984 onwards Anna did research for pharmaceutical companies, e.g. Rite Time Ltd, Bioself - Cory Bros, Boots, Gelltech Diagnostics, Rovometer-PG Ramp Tests, Unipath Personal System - Persona, in the development of their home kits for the detection of the beginning and the end of the fertile phase.[3] Though retired from the Women's Hospital she continued with lecturing and research and had only recently concluded collaborative work with Georgetown University on lactation and natural family planning before her death.[2]

Many countries, especially in Europe and including Ireland, owe the development of their National NFP Organizations in the Symptothermal ‘Double Check’ Method of NFP to the first Teacher Training Course held in their countries and taught by Anna Flynn and Wyn Worthington. Anna was one of the true pioneers in the research into the firm scientific basis of natural family planning and of its application. She died on 15 August 1997.

References:

  1. Medical Missionaries of Mary, and Billy Flynn, Castlebar, Anna Flynn’s brother.
  2. Anna’s obituary in BMJ written by Dr John Kelly FRCO, Birmingham on 18/10/97.
  3. Wyn Worthington.
  4. Dr Alina Lichtarowicz. Nottingham.
  5. Interview on the Galway Advertiser on 30.6.88.

The Natural Family Planning Teachers Association (NFPTA) was originally established by Mr John Kelly, working with Dr Anna Flynn, in 1982. Dr Anna Flynn was the senior Obstetrics and Gynaecology doctor involved in research for Natural Fertility. A copy of the obituary of Anna Flynn recently came to our attention. Thousands of women and couples will benefit from the work and research by Mr John Kelly and Dr Anna Flynn