Natural Family Planning Discussion Group
Please join us to discuss various methods of family planning and infertility treatment in light of Church teaching. Learn more about Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body and why those who have learned about it have revitalized their marriages. We meet every 2nd Thursday of the month at 7:00 pm in the Family Room.
Myths and Reality of NFP
Myth #5: The Catholic Church wants people to have as many babies as possible.
REALITY: In fact the Church encourages people to be "responsible" stewards over their fertility. In this view of 'responsible parenthood' married couples carefully weigh their responsibilities to God, each other, the children they already have, and the world in which they live when making decision about the number and spacing of children.
Responsible parenthood is lived out within the structures which God has established in human nature. The nature of sexual intercourse, which is both life-giving (precreative) and love-giving (unitive), reflects a Divine plan. That is why the Church teaches that couples must not actively intervene to separate their fertility from their bodily union. To do so is to show disrespect for an important gift of the Creator.
Myth #4: There is no difference between NFP and artificial methods of contraception.
REALITY: NFP methods are different from and better than artificial contraception because they:
„X Cooperate with, rather than suppress, a couple¡¦s fertility
„X Can be used both to achieve and avoid pregnancy
„X Call for shared responsibility and cooperation by husband and wife
„X Require spousal communication
„X Foster respect for and acceptance of the total person
„X Have no harmful side effects
„X Are virtually cost free
NFP is unique because it enables its users to work with the body rather than against it Fertility is viewed as a reality to live not a problem to be solved.
Myth #3: NFP is not a reliable method of family planning.
REALITY: When couples understand the methods and are motivated to follow them, NFP is up to 99% successful in spacing or limiting births. The effectiveness of NFP depends upon spouses¡¦ following the rules of the method according to their family planning intention (i.e., achieving or limiting pregnancies). Those who are strongly motivated to avoid pregnancy and follow the method defined rules are very effective in meeting their goal.
Myth #2: NFP can only be used by women with regular cycles.
REALITY: The natural methods do not depend on having regular menstrual cycles; they
treat each woman and each cycle as unique. NFP works with menstrual cycles of any
length and any degree of irregularity. It can be used during breastfeeding, just before menopause,
and in other special circumstances. NFP allows a woman to understand the physical
signals her body gives her to tell her when she is most likely to become pregnant. Once she
understands this information, she and her spouse can use it according to their family planning
intentions. The natural methods can be used throughout a woman¡¥s reproductive life. These
methods are progressive. That is, they monitor the current, day-to-day signs of the woman¡¥s
cycle. Instruction in NFP provides couples with information about their bodies that is specific
and observable.
Myth #1: NFP is just another name for Rhythm.
REALITY: Natural Family Planning (NFP) is an umbrella term for modern, healthy, scientifically accurate, and reliable methods of family planning. It differs from 'DRhythm' (or the Calendar Method). Rhythm tried to estimate the time of next ovulation by calculating pre-vious menstrual cycles. Although this approach had sound scientific underpinnings, in practice it often proved inaccurate because of the unique nature of each woman's menstrual cycle. NFP, by contrast, has proven scientifically sound in both theory and practice.
NFP is based on scientific research about women's cycles of fertility. Since the 19th century, doctors have known about the changes in cervical mucus and its relation to fertility. In the 1920s, temperature rules were developed. However, it wasn't until the 1950s that an educational process was developed to teach the observation and interpretation of these fertility signs.
THE NFP methods are: the Basal Body Temperature (BBT) method, which monitors changes in a woman's temperature when she wakes up each morning; the Ovulation Method (OM), which monitors changes in a woman's cervical mucus; and the Sympto-Thermal Method (STM), which combines observations of temperature and cervical mucus with other indicators such as changes in the cervix and secondary fertility signs.
Contact Info Local: Call Brandie Schoeneck at 720-3912 or Shelly Meyer at 720-1862 if you would like more info.
For More Info See The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Natural Family Planning (NFP)
