What a Surprise in using NFP or
Natural Family Planning!
To me it is one of
the best kept secrets for women of all time. Why? Because I have learned, through instruction of
NFP, that a woman’s body signals her each and every month as to when she is fertile
and when she is infertile, and what I learned is that it’s not rocket science nor is
it a crap shoot. I have been overwhelmingly
surprised by the medical research and information that has been done on the subject for
years and is available to anyone interested, and for the most part not many of us even
know about it.
I have learned that
the body gives very specific fertility signs each month and when you are taught what they
are, you can chart them. Then you can know
just like clock work when you are fertile and when you are infertile. It has been wonderful to know exactly when to
achieve a pregnancy, or if postponing or avoiding a pregnancy, when to avoid relations. It is so surprising and mostly refreshing to have
such a natural “built-in” plan to work with every month instead of relying on
oral or injectable hormones that alter the body’s own natural make up. (Which, by the way, for those who may not realize
it, is not an acceptable method of avoiding or postponing a pregnancy.) It has also been extremely helpful upon entering
the perimenopausal phase of life and watching the changing signs my body is giving me that
I would not have otherwise known that anything was going on.
I started using NFP
after my 3rd child 6 years ago and my husband and I have greatly enjoyed the
freedom knowing we are using “God’s way” of setting the size of our family.
This freedom has also brought tremendous strength to our marriage that is uncomparable to
anything else we have ever experienced. By
having to practice patience during the more fertile times we have learned to cherish and
value our time together more fully. We have
also learned how to respect the unique changes in emotions and personality in each other
by recognizing that these changes occur in direct relationship to the changes that occur
within a monthly cycle. The practice of being
patient has trickled into every part of our relationship with each other. We have become so much more understanding when
difficulties arise because of our “newly found” “patient attitude”
toward one another. This has created a bond
and a unity like no other we have ever had.
Other wonderful
aspects of NFP are in the medical side of things. There
are so many tremendous benefits of NFP, like, avoiding all the health risks associated
with artificial birth control methods, not waiting for Doctor appointments for refills,
injections or simply dealing with all the side affects of artificial methods. NFP has a 99% effective rate (research proven),
its easy to use, it’s FREE, you can know if you’ve achieved a pregnancy or not
simply by taking your morning temperatures at no cost to you, and most importantly it
allows us to follow God’s will in our lives.
If for no other
reason, learn for yourself so that you can make informed decisions about your own health. Also, you should know that most physicians are not
instructed on this beautiful natural method in medical school unless they take further
education hours to learn it on their own. So
if you go to your physician for information or help, do not be discouraged if your inquiry
is negatively received. Six years ago my
OB/Gyn reacted negatively to my decision to use NFP. She said, only half jokingly,
"I'll see you when you're pregnant". I am pleased that I ignored her
reaction. You can place your confidence in NFP for both achieving and delaying
pregnancy. I, along with many of my family members and friends successfully use NFP
and have been for years.
There are several
ways for you to get information on your own. You
can contact Couple to Couple League (CCL) directly at 513-471-2000 or www.ccli.org and request additional information, or you
can purchase your own home study course. You
can also contact CCL NFP instructors Ed and Virginia Mann at 847-392-2964. Another source is the Families Ministries Office
of the Archdiocese of Chicago. You can call
312-751-8351 or check www.familyministries.org.
Kathy Prinsen
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