How effective is NFP?
Who can use NFP? 
What are the benefits of using NFP?
How is NFP different from contraception?
How can we learn NFP?

 

What is natural family planning?

Natural family planning (NFP) is an umbrella term for certain methods used to achieve and avoid pregnancy.  These methods work by having the wife observe naturally-occurring signs such as changes in her body temperature upon waking and changes in her cervical mucus.

By charting fertility signs daily, a woman can determine when she is fertile and when she is infertile.  If the couple wishes to generously welcome a child, they know when they have the best chances of conceiving.  If the couple wishes to postpone pregnancy, they abstain during the fertile time.

NFP is 100% natural -- no drugs, devices, or surgical procedures are used to avoid pregnancy. And, when practiced correctly, it is 99.6% effective. (That's higher than any method of simple contraception, according to the World Health Organization.)

NFP reflects the dignity of the human person within the context of marriage and family life, promotes openness to life, and recognizes the value of the child. By respecting the love-giving and life-giving natures of marriage, NFP can enrich the bond between husband and wife.

(Standards for Diocesan Natural Family Planning Ministry, p. 23)

How effective is NFP?

First, a reassurance: NFP is NOT the rhythm method.  The Rhythm (or Calendar) method was developed in the 1930s. It was based on the theory that the time of ovulation could be determined by calculating previous menstrual cycles. This method often proved inaccurate because of the unique nature of each woman's menstrual cycle: some women have very irregular cycles and almost all women have a cycle of unusual length once in a while.

Modern NFP methods, however, are progressive.  That is, they are based on progressive, day-to-day observations of the naturally-occurring signs and symptoms of the fertile and infertile phases of the menstrual cycle.  NFP methods take advantage of the changes associated with ovulation, treating each cycle as unique.

Study after study has shown NFP to be up to 99 percent effective at helping couples avoid pregnancy. After a large scale, multi-year study comparing NFP to the IUD, for example, the Chinese government was so impressed with NFP that it officially declared in 1995 that the method must be presented to all citizens as part of its compulsory family planning instruction. There are currently more than 4 million couples using NFP in China to avoid pregnancy with an overall success rate of 98+ percent.  For AAFCP research study, click here.

In early 2007, a large-scale German study also confirmed that NFP is highly effective. Researchers studied cycles of 900 women and found that couples who used the sympto-thermal method and abstained during the fertile time had a pregnancy rate of less than one percent.

 

Who can use NFP?

Any married couple can use NFP!

Unlike hormonal birth control methods, which are contraindicated for many women, NFP can be used by any woman of any age at all phases of her reproductive life.  You can use NFP regardless of your cycle length (short, typical, or long).

You also can use the method effectively during the post-partum period, while breastfeeding, after discontinuing hormonal contraception, and during pre-menopause.

 

What are the benefits of using NFP?

NFP is completely healthy, highly effective, and virtually free. But many users report that the best benefits of using it are emotional and spiritual.

Shared Responsibility

Although modern contraception was supposed to liberate women, women still typically bear the majority of the responsibility for family planning.  It is often expected that women will take the necessary steps to avoid pregnancy and their husbands may have little input into or responsibility for their family planning.

With NFP, both spouses are taught to understand the nature of fertility and work with it, either to plan a pregnancy or to avoid one.  Couples who use NFP share responsibility for family planning because they make the decision to make love or abstain together.

Greater Communication

NFP tends to increase communication between husbands and wives because it encourages them to speak openly and frankly about their sexual desires and desired family size.  Every cycle is an opportunity to discuss why it might still be necessary to abstain or whether you are able to generously welcome another child.

NFP’s ability to help couples improve their communication can be seen in the impressively low divorce rates for couples who use it.  Several studies have reported the divorce rate for NFP users to be between 1 and 5 percent. (1, 2, 3).   It is currently estimated that 40 percent of all U.S. marriages will end in divorce.

Greater Appreciation

When you can have something any time you wish, you can easily take it for granted.  But when you must abstain from something you enjoy — especially something as wonderful as making love to your spouse — you tend to appreciate it more when it is available.

Many couples who use NFP say that periodic abstinence (about 10 days per cycle) actually hones their appreciation for one another.  The abstinence tends to have a “honeymoon effect,” causing couples to anticipate being together again in the infertile time.

Increased Romance

When a couple who uses NFP has agreed that they need to avoid pregnancy, spouses can be confident that affection during the fertile time is “just because.”  Having a time each month when sexual expression is to be avoided also helps couples learn to express their love for one another in non-sexual ways.  This is why NFP often cultivates greater romance between spouses and helps them rediscover why they fell in love in the first place.

Increased Intimacy

NFP encourages greater intimacy between spouses because it enables that “one-flesh union” God intends sex to be.  With NFP, there is nothing between you — no latex, no chemicals, nothing.  You are able to give your spouse the total gift of yourself and receive the total gift of your spouse, with nothing held back.

Greater Sexual Self-Mastery and Maturity

One of our culture’s most damaging messages about sexuality is that human beings are virtually incapable of controlling their sexual desires.  This is the core of the push for contraception and abortion for teens.

Christ, however, has assured us that with His help, we can control all of our actions, even our sexual ones.  In short, “nothing is impossible with God.”

In fact, St. Paul tells us in Galatians 5:21-23 that our ability to restrain ourselves is proof that the Holy Spirit lives within us: “[T]he fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

When a couple postpones the pleasure of being together for the greater good of each other, their children, or other family members who may need their care, they are practicing sexual self-mastery.  The ability to temporarily sacrifice one’s personal desires for the good of another is a sign of emotional and spiritual maturity.

 

How is NFP different from contraception?

Contraception attempts to prevent conception.  In short, it attempts to remove the life-giving component of a couples’ fertility from the equation when they make love.  Often this is accomplished by the use of barriers or chemicals that suppress the woman’s natural, healthy fertility process.

NFP, on the other hand, helps couples avoid pregnancy through abstinence during the fertile times.  When the couple does come together during the infertile times, there is no deliberate attempt to sterilize their love-making.  They are still able to offer each other the total gift of self and achieve the “one-flesh” union God desires for them.

For a more comprehensive discussion of the differences between NFP and contraception, contact Laura Hall at (434) 384-1798.  If you are interested, Laura can send you a free copy of the tape Contraception: Why Not? by Dr. Janet Smith.

 

How can we learn NFP?

NFP classes are offered in English throughout the diocese, and they are taught by certified instructors.  Each class teaches basic reproductive physiology, how to observe and chart the signs of fertility, how to determine the fertile and infertile times of a woman’s cycle, and a review of Catholic teaching on marital sexuality and responsible parenthood.

The two methods taught in the diocese are the Billings Ovulation method (BOMA) and the Sympto-Thermal method.  With the Sympto-Thermal method, individuals and couples have the option to utilize the programs developed by the Couple to Couple League or the Diocese of Harrisburg.

The BOMA classes meet once a month for two months with individual consultations as needed.  Each class is two hours in length. 

The Couple to Couple League classes meet once a month for four months.  Each class is two hours in length.  Instructors then provide individual consultation until the couple reaches autonomy with the method. 

The Diocese of Harrisburg classes meet for an initial two hour group session. The instructors then schedule two follow-up sessions over the next six months, meeting individually with participants to answer questions and review their charts.

To obtain class information and a list of certified NFP instructors in our diocese, click here.