In order to best fulfill our motto of Respecting the Dignity of Women and building a new culture of life, we pledge to the following:
- We will provide or promote treatments that seek to cooperate with or restore the normal or optimal functioning of the human reproductive system.
- We will avoid treatments that seek to intentionally suppress, circumvent, or destroy the functioning of the human reproductive system.
- We will demonstrate respect for the value and integrity of the human person from his or her beginning at conception* as a new single-cell human being through natural death.
Acadiana OB/GYN in Lafayette, Louisiana exists to serve the medical needs of women, couples, and their families while fully respecting the pro-life values and characteristics of the Catholic heritage of the Acadiana region and surrounding areas.
To this end we strive to provide the best women’s health care possible while fully utilizing the most advanced cutting-edge technology available. We have found that contrary to contemporary beliefs, Christian ethical standards promote the very best in women’s reproductive health care.
We are currently located in the Oschner Lafayette General Medical Complex, at 155 Hospital Drive, Lafayette, Louisiana 70503.
We are excited to announce that we will be relocating in 2023 to our new office near the Oil Center. Stay tuned for updates on the big move!
Our practice accepts most of the internationally recognized insurance companies with affiliates. You can reach out to our office before scheduling your appointment to verify that we accept your insurance provider.
If this is not your case, or if you have no insurance coverage then you will be expected to pay the bill in cash or credit card at the end of consultation. The original receipt, the signed copy of the credit card bill, the medical report in English and the results of tests performed are given to you in order to be delivered to your private or state insurance for reimbursement.
An estimate of consultation fees and costs, investigations or surgery are available on request.
We never want lack of insurance or financial hardships to be an impediment to obtaining care from us. For patients in such circumstances, we are flexible and typically able to accommodate the needs of each patient on a case by case basis.
Our office handles cash pay discounts on a case by case basis, but are always willing to speak with you and determine which payment option is the best for you.
If you have private insurance with an affiliate, the referral can be sent from your insurance company to us by fax or e-mail. We suggest that you contact your insurance provider in order to obtain this referral before your visit to our offices.
We recommend that you reach out to us as soon as you have a positive home pregnancy test. Typically, we will schedule your first visit at around 7 or 8 weeks in order to see your baby on an ultrasound.
During your first and second trimesters, you will have monthly prenatal appointments, unless there is a reason we need to see you more often.
When you reach your third trimester (at 28 weeks) you will begin to see us more often. We recommend you visit at least twice a month. At 36 weeks, you will begin coming in for weekly appointments as you prepare for delivery.
During your prenatal appointments, your doctor will monitor your health and your baby’s growth and development, so we can act quickly should any problems arise.
At your prenatal appointments, you can expect to receive regular ultrasounds, tests, measurements, and other necessary assessments. This information will help us identify any factors that could indicate a high-risk pregnancy or delivery and form a plan of treatment if your pregnancy becomes high-risk.
We are a patient-focused practice, so during these appointments, your doctor will give you the opportunity to ask questions and voice any concerns you have during your pregnancy. We will also ensure you have everything you need to prepare for the birth of your baby and help you create a birth plan that you are most comfortable with.
- Natural unmedicated birth
- Medicated birth
- Epidural anesthesia
- Delivery via C-Section
- Having a doula during birth
- Working with a midwife
- Skin to skin
- Delayed cord clamping
Despite the best laid plans, sometimes your baby or your body has other plans. This is expected and okay. If at any time through labor and delivery, you feel the need to make changes to your birth plan, our doctors are always more than willing to adapt and work with you to help provide the best experience for you and your baby.
Acadiana OB/GYN doctors perform hospital deliveries at Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center.
Acadiana OB/GYN’s physicians enthusiastically advocate for women who prefer natural birth. We can help you understand and decide on non-medicated birth options and create a birth plan you are most comfortable with.
Your doula is always welcome in our delivery room. If having a doula assist with labor & delivery is part of your birth plan, we are happy to accommodate you.
During these appointments, your doctor will:
- Perform routine exams
- Create any necessary health plans to support recovery
- Address questions or concerns about nursing and lactation
- Identify any signs of postpartum depression and provide a treatment plan if needed
- Help you prepare to transition out of the postpartum stage
Our goal is to help support you throughout the postpartum stage for a smooth, quick recovery.
We recommend that you visit our office once a year for a routine check-up and comprehensive wellness visit. During this visit, we will address any health concerns you may have and ensure that no problems go undiagnosed.
If you are experiencing symptoms in between routine visits, you can always call our office to speak to our staff about your concerns. We can advise you on whether you should schedule an appointment or put you in touch with your doctor.
This depends on your needs during the appointment. Short nurse visits for a urine test may only last 5-10 minutes, whereas new consultations or referrals for complex cases often last 60 minutes or more. During any appointment, we want to give each patient the time she needs to ask questions, address concerns, and understand her health plan.
In most cases, we recommend that women begin seeing a gynecologist at 18 years of age. Of course, if your daughter is experiencing symptoms that indicate an abnormal period, chronic pelvic pain, severe menstrual cramps, heavy or irregular cycles, or any other issues that may be cause for concern, we encourage you to schedule an appointment for her, so our trained physicians can get to the root of the problem.
We understand that patients may feel more comfortable being examined by a female provider.
Our Physician Assistant, Claire Curry Barnett PA-C, is able to perform 100% of your wellness checkup and when needed, consults with our doctors to ensure a consistent care approach.
You can read more about Claire and her background here.
Acadiana OB/GYN is a pro-life clinic centered on upholding the dignity of women and the value of all human life, beginning at conception. We do not prescribe birth control with the intention of preventing pregnancy.
If we encounter a situation where we find that hormonal birth control is the best medical treatment we would likely offer that as a possible treatment option. However, the circumstances during which the typical “birth control pill” would be the best medication for a given medical problem are virtually non-existent. During that extremely rare situation when the “birth control pill” might be used it would be for a very limited time (2-4 weeks), in an “off-label” manner such as has sometimes been used as a temporary treatment to control severe bleeding.
Typically, we recommend that if a couple has had regular marital intercourse without the use of contraception for at least a year and has not conceived, they should schedule an appointment to evaluate potential causes of infertility.
However, there are a few exceptions:
- If you are using an effective method of fertility awareness or are over the age of 35, we recommend you schedule an appointment if you have not conceived after 6 months of attempting .
- If there are any previous diagnoses or conditions that may prevent conception, you may not want to wait a year before speaking with your doctor. We work with women who have existing conditions that may make conception difficult, like PCOS, endometriosis, irregular menstrual cycles, etc. to ensure they have the support and treatment they need to successfully conceive.
No, Acadiana OB/GYN does not use artificial reproductive technology (ART) methods that replace the marital act like IUI (a.k.a artificial insemination) or IVF to treat infertility.
NaProTECHNOLOGY™ or Natural Procreative Technology (NPT), is the result of over 30 years of ongoing research by Thomas Hilgers, M.D., an obstetrician/gynecologist at the National Center for Women’s Health in Omaha, Nebraska. Another way we like to describe this approach is Restorative Reproductive Medicine (RRM) which includes but is not exclusive to the NaProTECHNOLOGY protocols.
This state-of-the-art science has already helped thousands of women throughout the U.S. and in several other countries better understand their bodies and treat the underlying causes of their gynecological problems.
The RRM principles provide the best in current medical care, applying diagnostic and therapeutic techniques in a way that is cooperative with the natural functions of the body. It can be used to treat not only infertility but also a wide range of gynecologic problems including premenstrual tension syndrome, ovarian cysts, abnormal bleeding, irregular cycles and recurrent miscarriages.
Pope Paul VI Institute research published in 2004 demonstrated that NapPro Technology, when used to treat infertility, had a 74.6% “per woman” pregnancy rate. Women in this study were able to conceive even after struggling with anovulatory infertility, polycystic ovarian disease, endometriosis, tubal occlusion, and other reproductive health issues that often make it difficult to conceive.
Acadiana Ob/Gyn has helped hundreds of women overcome infertility. In fact, we’ve witnessed numerous women successfully become pregnant and give live birth–after having failed IVF and similar ART procedures. Some of these success stories include patients who had been trying for 10 years.
If you are struggling with infertility, do not hesitate to reach out to our office. We want you to know that you are not alone in this journey, and our experienced staff is here to help you. You can schedule your initial appointment with one of our doctors here.
Yes, though it is often not our first course of treatment. We take a holistic approach to treatment and will often recommend lifestyle changes before pursuing hormone therapy. However, we know that hormone therapy can be beneficial in certain cases and our doctors are always happy to consult with you to see if hormone therapy may be the best option for you.
Natural hormone balancing is the science of using natural hormones to treat the symptoms that come with the menstrual cycle or menopause. The hormones that are used in this type of treatment are identical to the ones a woman normally produces and are associated with better safety profiles than synthetic hormones.
Hormone therapy can be used to treat a number of health issues, at any age. If you experience symptoms such as: mood swings, fatigue, weight gain, abnormal periods, foggy thinking, sexual dysfunction, and cycle-related migraines, hormone therapy may be a treatment option. To determine if hormone therapy is right for you, our doctors will evaluate your symptoms and may run a series of tests, then analyze the results to determine if there is an imbalance that should be treated.
If you are experiencing fatigue, hot flashes, insomnia, low sex drive, or bone loss, hormone therapy is a safe and effective option that may help reduce your symptoms. Your doctor can work with you to identify the best course of treatment to manage any symptoms associated with menopause, whether that is hormone therapy or another approach.
Some of the benefits of minimally invasive surgery include: smaller incisions, less scarring, less pain, shorter hospital stay, faster recovery, earlier return to normal daily activities.
In line with our Code of Ethics, Acadiana OB/GYN uses the latest MIS techniques. One example is that of laparoscopic procedures performed through a small incision in the umbilicus (“navel”). This technique has the advantage of a nearly invisible scar hidden in the wrinkles of the navel, less pain, and still the quick recovery characteristic of modern laparoscopic procedures. Since these procedures are unique and difficult to learn, Dr. Cudihy is one of the few gynecological surgeons in the region currently performing them. He has used this technique in the past for such varied cases as hysterectomies, removal of abnormal ovaries, removal of endometriosis, and for treatment of ectopic pregnancy.
Our approach to endometriosis is first of all that of surgical excision (or removal) of all diseased tissue. With the modern surgical instruments available (daVinci robot), we rarely (if ever) have a need for the larger “cesarean-like” surgical incisions as had been more common in recent years for significant or severe endometriosis.
We often find that PCOS can be treated with non-invasive (medical) treatments alone. However, when medications are not sufficient, we are able to perform ovarian wedge resection procedures laparoscopically for women who require this procedure.
Our physicians are trained in educating women on Fertility Awareness (often referred to as NFP or Natural Family Planning) which helps them use awareness of their bodies to understand their cycles. There are a variety of different methods that can be used to track fertility, all of which are inexpensive, easy to learn, and proven to be as (if not more) effective as hormonal birth control.
Fertility Awareness can help women who want to avoid or achieve pregnancy without the negative side effects often seen in hormonal birth control methods.
Fertility Awareness is Acadiana OB/GYN’s approach to helping women understand their fertility, through a better understanding of their own bodies.
The term “NFP” or “Natural Family Planning” has long been used to describe healthy and ethical alternatives to contraception. However, since the phrase “family planning” has essentially become a euphemism for contraception, the term “Fertility Awareness” is a more accurate term to describe these methods of avoiding pregnancy that is both highly effective and completely respectful of all religious traditions’ teachings on marital love.
We have found that the best methods of Fertility Awareness include both the “mucus only” methods (Billings, Crieghton, etc.) and the symptothermal (STM) methods as they are inexpensive, easy to learn, and highly effective both for postponing and achieving pregnancy.
These approaches are also very useful in evaluating infertility and gynecological problems. We do not recommend the repackaged versions of the more antiquated calendar methods now being promoted (Standard Days Method, Cycle Beads, etc.) since they are less effective and rely on a woman to have more predictable and regular cycles.
Despite the common misconceptions among those unfamiliar with modern Fertility Awareness methods, these approaches are highly effective with proper training. For example, studies show that they are at least as effective as birth control pills and far more effective than the highly promoted latex barrier methods. Best of all, these methods have no harmful side effects whatsoever, and do not require that women have regular cycles.
These methods are especially useful when women have irregular cycles or abnormal bleeding because they can help chart and track other health indicators that provide a background for diagnosis and treatment.
Fertility Awareness methods can also be useful for couples who are trying to conceive. The types of charting used in these methods can also give women information about the most fertile times in their cycle.