NFP - Frequently Asked Questions
Is NFP effective? Yes! 99% Effective in postponing or achieving pregnancy ... With regard to spacing or limiting pregnancies, NFP is 99% successful when couples understand the methods, are motivated, and follow the guidelines. And ... many couples who have experienced infertility difficulties have overcome them, primarily through close observation of the woman's cycles.
How does it work?
NFP
utilizes the latest Reproductive science ...
Today we understand the human body,
especially the reproductive system, much better
than we did even 20 years ago. Fertility
specialists have taught us how to read the signs
of when a woman is likely to conceive, and when
it’s almost impossible. Using those signs, we
can now show couples how to achieve or avoid
pregnancy with up to 99% effectiveness—that’s
higher than any method of simple contraception,
according to the World Health Organization.
Click
here to find out more
Is it safe for me? and the
environment? Yes!
100% Natural ...
That means if you’re having fertility problems,
NFP can significantly raise the odds that you’ll
conceive. If you need to limit or postpone
having children, NFP can help you do that,
too—without chemicals, hormones, abortifacient
pills, devices, implants or surgery, and with zero side effects. Best of all, by working
with—instead of against—the way a woman’s body
is designed, you’re also cooperating with God,
in His plan for you and your marriage.
Isn't it the old "Rhythm Method"? No! NFP is completely different than the old "Rhythm Method” ... which relied on inaccurate average calculations of when most women were fertile ... even so, the Rhythm Method proved to be over 84% effective!
How can it work- aren't we all different? NFP is personalized ... Every woman learns how to understand her own body and its cycles, through one or more simple biological signs. With her husband, the two of them discuss and record their observations, gaining an awareness of and new appreciation for their shared fertility. If a couple wants to conceive, they make love on fertile days. If they need to wait—well, they wait until the infertile times. The average woman is fertile from 8-10 days a month. NFP works for women of any age, and even for women with irregular cycles.
Are
there side effects and health risks from using
NFP?
No! Natural Family Planning does not
have any negative side effects since NFP works
with the natural cycle of a woman's body and
does not use any anything artificial substances.
There are however, side effects from using
chemical contraception. A recent study from the Mayo
Clinic concluded there is "a measurable
and statistically significant"
connection between the pill and pre-menopausal
breast cancer, re-enforcing the recent
classification of oral
contraceptives as Type 1 carcinogens."
Please read the full article
here.
What are the benefits of NFP?
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You don't have to take chemicals, pills, etc.
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it's virtually free- after the initial cost of learning NFP, it gives you a lifetime of use without having to return to the doctor annually for a prescription (like "the pill")
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Encourages couple communication & interaction
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Fosters mutual responsibility by husband and wife
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Fosters deep respect and acceptance of the total person
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Values children and openness to life
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Cooperates with God's plan for marriage
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it's environment friendly! NFP doesn't use any chemicals or plastics so it's completely h
for more information on the benefits of NFP go to: USCCB - An Introduction to Natural Family Planning
What does it cost? Class fees vary. Courses length varies; often a sliding scale based on income is used to determine the fee. Please check with your instructor about class fees. Once the instruction has been completed though, the costs are virtually nonexistent. It gives you a lifetime of use without having to refill a monthly prescription like "the pill".
Are we going to have 20 kids if we use NFP? No! NFP, when used properly, is just as effective as contraception at spacing or delaying pregnancy.
Is NFP right for us?
We partner with highly-trained and caring
individuals as well as couples who practice and
teach NFP to others. They face
the same challenges you do every day—and have
the expertise to guide you in making smart
choices about love, sexuality, and childbirth,
in the clear light of Christ.
Through introductory classes offered
throughout the Archdiocese of New York year
round, these trained professionals explain how
NFP is 99% effective and 100% natural. Through
private and/or small group follow-up
sessions, couples learn practical approaches to
NFP, and how it can help them achieve or
postpone pregnancy, as well as enhance
their relationship.
Won't this put a burden on
us? Couples who use natural family planning to space the
births of children find that it brings
about many positive changes in their
relationship. It begins with acceptance, and
even wonder, at the way the human body
is made. As one woman noted, "Knowing
and learning about what goes on inside
of my unique body amazed me." Women
especially find information about their
fertility and their bodies
empowering. Women gain a new respect for
themselves and often finds that their husbands have a new supportive
attitudes. One women said "My husband respects me as a
person in my own right. He accepts my
fertility as part of me." This new-found
confidence contrasts with what one woman
explained about how she felt using
contraceptives: "I was required to
sacrifice my health ... I felt as if I
were an object, and not an equal partner
in our marriage."
Couples using NFP accept their fertility
-- not as a nuisance or even a disease
-- but as a gift. When the physical
pleasures of sexual intercourse are a
couple's primary focus, either spouse can
feel used. NFP helps couples
understand that their spouse is not a
sexual object, but as a person with
great dignity and deserving respect. NFP
does not lessen the importance of sexual
union and sexual pleasure, but it helps couples
to find other ways in which to connect,
and be attentive to each other as well. In this
way, NFP can reignite the romance of
dating for a married couple. As NFP
couples often say: "Every week we have a
wedding night."
Periodic abstinence is difficult at
times. But it also brings its own
reward. Men find they can direct sexual
urges in the service of love and not be
controlled by it. Only if a man is in
full possession of himself can he love
his wife well. As one husband said, "NFP
has challenged me to self-mastery, so
that I can freely give of myself." The
nature of married love is total
self-giving. If one is controlled by
sex or withholds part of himself or
herself (I.e. his or her fertility),
that person cannot give totally to
another. Self-mastery, on the other
hand, can actually enhance sexual
pleasure. Many couples explain: "Giving
our whole selves to each other
intensified the sensations of pleasure
and the feeling of unity in this
expression of our love."
When NFP is adopted as a lifestyle,
fertility is regarded as a gift and
children are valued & welcomed. A sense
of awe at the power to procreate strikes
many couples during the fertile time.
One couple remarked that "NFP opened our
hearts to children ... Children are a
gift, a blessing, not a burden." Others
have remarked that the time of fertility
comes to be viewed with "a tremendous
reverence" because fertility is "the
time God created us to create." When
a couple knows the most fertile time in
the cycle and tries to achieve
pregnancy, it becomes a shared joy.
NFP instruction emphasizes shared responsibility not only
for having children, but also for
managing their combined fertility.
Taking responsibility for fertility
means both spouses accept the
challenge of abstinence during the
fertile phase if they wish to avoid
pregnancy. NFP requires couples to
really communicate, not just
"talk". It helps them to connect
about many things that may have been
difficult to talk about before,
including their sexuality. By charting
their fertility, they now have a
starting point for discussing the deeper
and more intimate aspects of their life
together -- such as their sexual
feelings, desires, and hopes or fears
about pregnancy. Good, substantive
interpersonal communication strengthens
a marriage.
Many couples say that an NFP lifestyle
deepens their faith in God. "(NFP)
involved us with the Truth ....We
experienced ... the
conversion point in our lives." "NFP is putting ourselves in God's hands, totally
allowing Him to work spiritually in our
lives." With so many rewards for those
who persevere with NFP it would be
surprising if there were not also
challenges. As one husband says: "The
reality is that NFP is challenging ....
(But) it is clear to me that working
together through the tough times
strengthens and enriches our marriage."
And as another spouse says: "The value I
experience in NFP is in the long run
.... It forces you to place your
immediate choices in the context of
spouse, children, family and Creator."
NFP Coordinator
Virginia Corbett, RN, FCP
virginia.corbett@archny.org
646.794.3197
