Catholic Natural Family Planning

Catholic natural family planning is a simple and inexpensive means to either avoid or accomplish getting pregnant. Contrary to common belief, the fact that only Catholic couples can use this method is totally untrue. This is the reason it is generally just called natural family planning or “NFP.” Many people of different religious associations use NFP because it is a natural, positive, and healthy way to marriage sexuality. Basically, Catholic natural family planning is the means to avoid or accomplish pregnancy based on being aware of when a woman is fertile. This is not the old fashioned “rhythm method” that couples used to try to use which was highly ineffective!

Catholic natural family planning is the fact of knowing when a woman’s body shows certain signs that differentiate between her monthly fertility cycles. NFP instructs a woman what to watch for and how to understand these signs to establish when she is fertile. In order for a couple to achieve pregnancy, the couple has sexual intercourse at the peak of the woman’s fertile time. In order to avoid getting pregnant, the couple should refrain from intercourse during that time. It is really very easy!

Natural family planning has been proven to be 99-100% effective for avoiding pregnancy according to scientific studies. Catholic natural family planning is one of the most successful ways to avoid getting pregnant. The truth is that a woman’s body is not fertile most of the time during her cycle. NFP just helps the couple know when the fertile and infertile times are. Catholic natural family planning is almost as effective as “the pill”, but it does not have the health or moral issues to worry about.

In order to understand how Catholic natural family planning works, you need to understand the basics of fertility. NFP utilizes the Sympto-Thermal Method for establishing when fertility is occurring. The plan identifies three signs that a woman’s body shows. The first one is the temperature when a woman wakes up which is called basal body temperature. The second is cervical mucus secretions and the third is physical changes in the cervix during this time.

The first two signs are what most couples utilize; however, the third is utilized if a woman’s cycle is irregular, or if the couple wants to be sure of the fertility cycle. It doesn’t take very long each day to monitor and write down these signs. Every morning upon waking, the woman takes her temperature and writes it down on a chart. During the day, she just takes a few seconds to check for cervical mucus when she uses the restroom. This is also recorded on the chart. Once completed, the chart gives the couple a comprehensive picture of the woman’s fertility cycle during the month. This practice of Catholic natural family planning is very quick and simple.

The concept that a woman’s cycle can fluctuate every month is one explanation of why Catholic natural family planning is so successful. There is no guessing like there was when couples used the old “rhythm method” where a woman’s fertile time was based on average cycle intervals. We know that a woman’s cycle is never average. This method is based on the current specific cycle.

There are many positive benefits for couples that utilize Catholic natural family planning. The method is effective, moral, safe, no risk of abortion, inexpensive, and natural. Many couples feel that their marriage is stronger and increases their sexual intimacy by using the NFP method. Couples can learn exactly how to utilize this method by first contacting their local church since many have NFP classes. The Couple to Couple League is one of the first groups to teach Catholic Natural Family planning. They can also supply you with a home study course if there are no classes near you. Check it out!