NFP - Frequently Asked Questions
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Does it work as good as the birth control pill?
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Does it work as good as the condom?
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Is it scientific? or religious?
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Does it harm the environment?
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Costs
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Does the "Pill" cause breast cancer? Does NFP have the same risks?
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Can it help us achieve pregnancy?
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Are we going to have 20 kids if we use NFP?
99% effective, 100% natural ...
Natural Family
Planning (NFP) is
a safe, natural and effective1 way to postpone,
avoid, or
achieve pregnancy. It is 99% effective, and 100%
natural. It involves learning where the women is
at in her fertility cycle, by paying attention
to simple biological signs that are easily
detected with a little training.
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. Is it really 99% effective? Yes. Click here for a recent scientific study showing its effectiveness in the prevention of pregnancy.) Click here for another study, with statistics from the World Health Organization. Similarly, NFP has been proven to help couples with infertility problems achieve a pregnancy.2
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
Is NFP right for 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."
Benefits of NFP
Spiritual
Safe
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Based on scientific data and current research
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Treats the woman's body with dignity
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No harmful side-effects, chemicals, pills, etc.
Effective
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Track fertility cycles for achieving or avoiding / postponing pregnancy
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Cost-effective (Modest fees typically charged for initial instruction only)
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Can be used throughout a woman's reproductive lifetime
Personalized & Couple-oriented
Customized to each woman's individual cycle
Encourages couple communication & interaction
Fosters mutual responsibility by husband and wife
Natural
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Works with (not against) nature's design of the body
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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
Source: USCCB - An Introduction to Natural Family Planning
Does
the "Pill" cause breast cancer? Does NFP
have the same risks?
"A new study from the Mayo
Clinic has concluded that 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.
Natural Family Planning does not increase a woman's risk of breast cancer. NFP works with the natural cycle of a woman's body and does not introduce carcinogens into her system or the environment.
When and where are the
NFP classes?
NFP classes are offered every month
throughout the greater New York area.
For a complete listing of
2010 NFP classes in the New York
area, click
here.
How
can we register for classes?
You can register for an NFP class
here.
Karina Morales
NFP Coordinator
Karina.Morales@archny.org
646.794.3197
