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Suzanne's Natural Family Planning Page

Welcome to my Natural Family Planning Home Page! I hope you find the information here useful.

Get Ready for National Natural Family Planning Week 2000

March 2000

NFP F.A.Q.'s

Why Natural Family Planning?

Natural Family Planning is a wonderful way to better understand your fertility. With NFP you know when you are fertile and can make decisions based on this information.

What method of NFP should I use?

There are many different methods of NFP and each has an appeal to different groups of people. Below are listed some more common methods:

Ovulation Method (OM) developed by the Drs. Billings relies on the presence or absence of cervical mucus as well as the changing sensation at the vulva. Organizations that teach this method include: The Billings Ovulation Method Association - USA, The Creighton Model, and The Family of the Americas.
Basal Body Temperature Method (BBT) With this method a woman measures her temperature upon rising each day. This method is commonly combined with the ovulation method to form the Sympto-thermal.
SymptoThermal Method (STM) involves taking the basal body temperature each morning along with cervical mucus observations--and using this information to help either achieve or avoid pregnancy as circumstances dictate. The Couple to Couple League provide instruction on this method.

Does NFP work?
Yes. Natural Family Planning is very effective at spacing your children as well as planning when you wish to have children. Effectiveness studies have shown that NFP used properly can be 93% - 97% effective. The effectiveness depends on the individual's technique and consistency. Isn't Natural Family Planning the same as calendar rhythm?
No. Calendar rhythm was developed with the assumption thal all women have 28 day cycles. Ovulation actually occurs between the 12th and 16th day before menstruation.

Comparing modern NFP methods to calendar rhythm would be like comparing your current PC to the first PC's available in the early 1980's.

Can I use NFP if my cycles are irregular?

Yes. Women are taught the signs and symptoms leading up to and following ovulation which tell them clearly when they are fertile and infertile. Women with irregular cycles are particularly thankful for this information because the mystery of their cycles is taken away. Modern methods of NFP may be used by women of all types of cycles, especially irregular cycles.

Many NFP advocates have found that by careful charting, women can share information about their cycles with their physicians. If the physician has been trained to understand this information, the doctor may be able to find a cause for irregular cycles.

Why should I use NFP and not birth control?

Most couples who use Natural Family Planning find that it has a benefit of opening communication. There isn't the burden of one of the couple being responsible for the birth control. There are no health risks involved with NFP, unlike the pill. Also, the pill and other forms of birth control have been found to cause abortions. NFP allows a couple to share equally in the decision process with no health risk to either of them or their future children. Why is the Catholic Church opposed to birth control?
Catholicism accepts only two types of fertility control: abstinence for the unmarried and periodic abstinence among the married who have serious reasons to space or limit children. NFP allows the married couple to give themselves to one another completely and totally in each marital act, in accord with their marriage covenant. It is an ideal religious, moral and ecological method.

The document Humanae Vitae is an excellent starting point to understanding the Catholic Church's stance on the sanctity of life.

Natural Family Planning Lists

There are two listservs related to NFP available. Click here to learn more about them.

How to Learn NFP

There are many different ways to learn NFP. There are different types of formats to meet different people's needs. Some learn NFP in a class with other couples, sometimes a couple meets individually with an instructor, or some even learn from reading pamphlets and books on the topic.

To find out where you can learn more about NFP near you, you may wish to contact your local Catholic Diocese for a listing of classes or check out the links to NFP sites here.

How to Become an NFP Teacher

Most of the methods have training programs available to those who would like to learn how to teach others. Please contact the method you wish to learn to find out about training dates if none are listed below.

Billings Ovulation Method Teacher Training

upcoming... email Sue Ek
upcoming.... email Sue Ek

For more information contact Sue Ek at BOMA-USA, phone: 320-252-2100 or 1-888-637-6371.

Natural Family Planning is:

Effective
Inexpensive
Good for your health
Builds communication between couples
Helps overcome infertility
God's natural way
Easy

Natural Family Planning Links

American Academy of Natural Family Planning
Reproductive Health at Georgetown
The Drs. Billings - The Billings Method
Couple to Couple League
Millennium Evangelization Projection - Univ. of Dallas
The Pope Paul VI Institute
EWTN Home Page, Look in Q & A for a section on NFP
One More Soul - Publishers of NFP Brochures, Tapes & Books
California Natural Family Planning Page
Northwest Family Services - Sympto Thermal Method Program
Teen Abstinence Program from Northwest Family Services
Directory of NFP-Only Physicians from One More Soul
Billings Ovulation Method
Teen Star - A Program on NFP for Teens
Ovarian Monitor Home Page, New Zealand

Email: schisum@inlink.com