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Natural Family Planning (NFP): An Approach
to Fertility According to God’s Plan
What is NFP?
•
An umbrella term for using the natural signs
of the woman’s fertile and infertile times
•
To achieve or avoid pregnancy
• Based on the
science of human reproduction
•
Using no contraception to avoid pregnancy
•
And avoiding artificial fertility approaches
to achieve pregnancy
“NFP is fertility awareness in action.”
Natural Family
Planning is NOT the “Rhythm System” used
primarily in the 1940’s – 1960’s!
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The
Advantages of NFP
Safe
• No medical
side effects
• No
abortifacient effects (as with the Pill,
Depo-Provera, Preven, RU-486, the ‘morning
after pill,’ IUD, etc.)
Healthy
• Promotes
self-awareness and ‘wellness’
• Can alert a
couple to potential fertility problems or
other health issues
Effective
• Same range
of effectiveness as the most effective
artificial means (Pill, IUD, etc.)
• More
effective than barriers such as condoms,
diaphragms, spermicides, etc.
• Not the
Rhythm System!
Cheap
• Most
instruction methods cost between $50 and
$100; ongoing costs almost nil
• Payback vs
Pill is a few months
Morally Right
• When used
in the context of Responsible Parenthood
• Respects
the integrity of the man and wife, created
in God’s image
• Vs.
contraception, which “must be excluded as
intrinsically immoral” (Familiaris
Consortio, 32)
“Reversible”
• Can help
couples with low fertility to have the best
chance of conceiving a child
• Does not
risk extended loss, reduction, or total
elimination of fertility as do the Pill,
Depo-Provera, IUD, etc.
Good for Marriages
• Promotes
communication, faithfulness, intimacy,
mutual respect, chastity, love
• NFP
education is an integral part of marriage
preparation, see marriage preparation faq’s.
Good for Children
• Helps
parents appreciate children as gifts from
God
• Helps
parents communicate healthy sexual attitudes
to their children
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Two
Ways to Become Informed:
1. Information
Meeting
The information
meeting, a single meeting of about one hour,
presents what NFP is, why it is good, how
NFP fits into the marriage relationship.
Usually an overview of how NFP works and why
it is effective is included. Regular
Information Meetings are held in a central
location, and some parishes incorporate them
into their local marriage preparation
process. Go here
for more information
and schedules
2. Series of
Classes
To learn how to use
NFP, couples or individuals attend a series
of classes by teachers who have been trained
and certified by a national or international
NFP provider organization. Instruction is
classroom style or “one-on-one” depending on
the provider. Sessions in each series are
typically timed to be several weeks apart.
There are usually 3 or more sessions making
up a whole series. Fees vary according to
the provider…ask your teacher.
This archdiocese is
blessed with teachers from 3 international
providers: Ovulation Method (Billings),
Creighton Model, and Couple to Couple League
(CCL). All are well-established methods,
clinically demonstrated to be highly
effective. And starting this year we are
offering a New Sympto-Thermal method, CCL
and SST (Sympto-Thermal) teach a similar and
highly-effective method of NFP using basal
body temperature along with other signs. See
Class Schedules
For more information
or questions regarding NFP:
please e-mail
nfpflm@aol.com or call
Joe DeVet at
281-723-5686.
NFP education is
an integral part of marriage preparation.
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Registration Process
For the
information session in English you do not
need to register, just show up on the date
of the session, which is on first come,
first served basis. For the Spanish
information session you may call and leave
your full first and last name at (713)
741-8710, or e-mail us at
nfpinfo@archgh.org . For the classes you
have to contact the provider directly.
Infertility
Loving Embrace
A Catholic/Christian
support group for couples who have endured
or are presently enduring the pain and
suffering of infertility; a place where they
can encounter support, love and hope. For the next Loving Embrace meeting, please call Shannon Lassen at 713-953-1019 or email infertilitysupporthouston@gmail.com .
Natural Family Planning Links
Ovulation Method (Billings)
Creighton Model (www.popepaulvi.com)
Couple to Couple League (CCL) (www.ccli.org)
Other resources
and informational links
About NFP: United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops
About NFP and Contraception
About Birth Control
Physicians for Life
Christopher West and Theology of the Body
Creighton Model Fertility Care
National
Catholic Bioethics Center
The Gift Foundation
Northwest Family Services, Inc.
One More
Soul
Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of
Human Reproduction
The Vatican Library Collection
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