Anyone else here think of NFP as a bad idea?

[Sierrah]

I know the church teaches it’s a way to space you’re children but the whole idea just makes me uneasy and has for sometime.

 

[basilisk]

I think it’s a bad idea and disagree with it for many reasons. I am also very well read on the topic, and the reasoning the Church gives, and they have not convinced me.

commence flames

 

[Feanaro_s_Wife]

**Well, if you mean in the sense that people use it for no “good” reason, and use it with a contraceptive mentality, then yeah, it’s not the best idea.

But, in a marriage where the couple has a serious reason to postpone conception, I think it’s great! Especially since the only alternative is total abstinence.

Are you equally against it for helping to achieve a pregnancy?

NFP is only information, and very useful for all kinds of situations.**

 

[kevinsgirl]

NFP helped me identify my two early miscarriages (I knew I was pregnant before missing a period which was then confirmed through blood tests) and also p(name removed by moderator)oint that I have a progesterone problem which was causing me to lose my babies. It also helped me to conceive this baby as I ovulated days later than normal for me. So far, NFP has been a wonderful source of knowledge for us!

 

[gardenswithkids]

I am grateful that the Church offers married couples this option, particularly pregnancy poses a serious threat to the woman’s health so I do not think NFP is a bad idea in theory. However, I think it may be a bad idea for SOME couples to use NFP.

I don’t like when some Catholics promote NFP as something ALL marriages should use, implying everyone has serious reasons to regulate birth. I have used contraception, NFP and now we use no method to attempt the regulation of birth. I wish more faithful priests and others reminded Catholics of that we have the option of trusting God completely with the number and spacing of our children. I think fewer Catholics would be confused about the Church teachings about the regulation of birth if NFP was presented as something reserved for serious cases instead of being promoted as an alternative to contraception.

 

[Feanaro_s_Wife]

I think fewer Catholics would be confused about the Church teachings about the regulation of birth if NFP was presented as something reserved for serious cases instead of being promoted as an alternative to contraception.

**
Well said!:yup:
**

 

[dulcissima]

What is it about NFP that makes you think it is a bad idea?

As a convert to Catholicism who has a history with using artificial birth control, I would have to say that I think NFP is a great idea. I wish more people knew about how safe and effective it is. Charting and getting to know your own body so well is far more effective than any birth control method I know of. I’ve conceived children while using artificial birth control, as have many other women that I know. So, my feeling is that trust in ABC is kind of a blind and misplaced sort of a trust.

 

[Truly_Beloved]

I don’t like avoiding conception , so for me, NFP is great for estimating my due date. I used NFP to achieve pregnancy with my first baby, so I don’t think it’s a bad idea at all. I space my babies with breastfeeding – Does that count as NFP?

Now, for avoiding… Well, I don’t have any reason to avoid having more children, so for me, using NFP to avoid would be a bad idea.

But NFP sure beats the pants off of total abstinence, if I ever seriously need it to avoid pregnancy.

 

[Friend_forever]

When I was having children. I was in the belief that the church would allow ABC for married couples. Nevertheless, I chose NFP because I am a Natural Health lover. You know, all those kinds of things like making your own cough syrup with honey and lemon and getting rid of a head ache with chamomile tea. So, I rejected the idea of getting chemicals in my body to space babies.

I always used NFP for both having and avoiding pregnancies. It honestly didn’t worry me much if NFP were 100 percent accurate or not because I didn’t mind having babies when I was avoiding them. But it never ever failed.

Unfortunately, I had a tubal ligation after my fourth baby more than anything because of increasing pregnancy risks. Family and doctors kept telling me about it until they convinced me I didn’t know the church didn’t allow tubals. Now, that I know, I still “mimic” NFP because it feels good to know my own body and at the same time, you are following the church teachings.

I think NFP is a bad idea when people perceive it as impossed by the church, or when both spouses don’t believe in it. In those cases, it just doesn’t work. Even couples separate like we have seen very often in this forum.

I think if we want to help, we need to promote NFP as someone said before: “knowledge” of our own body and then we can use it as needed.

For example: even if there were vaccines or medicines to prevent all existing illnesses, it would be impossible for us to get them all. Thus, the best way is to know how to take good care of ourselves and how to prevent illnesses for which we are in higher risk and leave the rest to God.

 

[pamnbam]

I love NFP. I’ve gotten to know so much about my body’s natural rhythm by using it. Even if the Church allowed ABC, I don’t think I would use it, because I know so much about the way my body works.

 

[1ke]

I know the church teaches it’s a way to space you’re children but the whole idea just makes me uneasy and has for sometime.

What about it makes you uneasy?

 

[Sierrah]

What about it makes you uneasy?

Basically the concept of messing around with the natural processes of the body. Anything that does that makes me suspicious.

 

[Feanaro_s_Wife]

Basically the concept of messing around with the natural processes of the body. Anything that does that makes me suspicious.

**How on earth does NFP “mess around with the natural processes of the body”???
**

 

[Sierrah]

However, I think it may be a bad idea for SOME couples to use NFP.

I don’t like when some Catholics promote NFP as something ALL marriages should use, implying everyone has serious reasons to regulate birth. I have used contraception, NFP and now we use no method to attempt the regulation of birth. I wish more faithful priests and others reminded Catholics of that we have the option of trusting God completely with the number and spacing of our children. I think fewer Catholics would be confused about the Church teachings about the regulation of birth if NFP was presented as something reserved for serious cases instead of being promoted as an alternative to contraception.

That’s where my concern comes in when it’s being promoted to “space children” for reason that may be more on the selfish side. I have no objection for it being used when there are health issues or to get pregnant.

 

[Feanaro_s_Wife]

That’s where my concern comes in when it’s being promoted to “space children” for reason that may be more on the selfish side. I have no objection for it being used when there are health issues or to get pregnant.

**
But that’s nor what you said. If you have a problem with NFP being misused, fine. But to have a problem with NFP in general seems weird…especially with your last post. Your problem is messing around with the natural processes of the body, as you stated, not people using it in a selfish way (which, by the way, is between them and God only).

Kind of like if I started a thread titled:

“anyone else here think pregnancy is a bad idea?”

if what I really wanted to discuss was people having children as accessories or to trap a boyfriend or to feel grown up.
**

 

[happymommy]

Basically the concept of messing around with the natural processes of the body. Anything that does that makes me suspicious.

The pill messes around with the natural processes of the body not NFP. It couldn’t be more natural. You base everything on what your body is doing or not doing that day. That statement makes no sense.

 

[Em_in_FL]

That’s where my concern comes in when it’s being promoted to “space children” for reason that may be more on the selfish side. I have no objection for it being used when there are health issues or to get pregnant.

That’s exactly what the teachings of the church ARE! It’s NOT for uses that are selfish - by definition that’s against the teaching!

NFP doesn’t “mess around” with the natural processes of your body either - it simply “observes” them. The decision whether or not to engage in marital intimacy is prayerfully up to the couple.

I understand that there are many people who do not experience reasons to delay or space children - but just because you are blessed doesn’t mean that others have those same blessings. There are many reasons why a couple would prayerfully decide to avoid conception - mental, emotional, and physical health, major financial struggles, etc can be serious reasons.
Not NEEDING NFP is a wonderful thing - count your blessings!
But please don’t question situations that you may not fully understand or appreciate from your perspective.

 

[Mary_Gail_36]

I for one have a hard time seeing how most couples that practice NFP can do so with a contraceptive mentality.

NFP requires sacrifice and discipline. I think sacrifice and discipline bring virtue to a marriage. If a couple were doing NFP with a contraceptive mentality, it would be really easy to abandon.

As for serious reasons, I think the Church leaves that up to the discretion of the couple…what circumstance is serious for one couple, might not be for another couple.

But as for NFP being “Catholic Contraception” I don’t believe it at all…it’s like saying fasting at Lent is a “Catholic Weight Loss Program”. It isn’t.

 

[PatienceAndLove]

I for one have a hard time seeing how most couples that practice NFP can do so with a contraceptive mentality.

If they are using condoms instead of abstinence, than it would be a contraceptive mentality. But then again, it would be FAM instead of NFP. But I know couples who “do NFP with condoms”.

NFP requires sacrifice and discipline. I think sacrifice and discipline bring virtue to a marriage. If a couple were doing NFP with a contraceptive mentality, it would be really easy to abandon.

Got that right. It still amazes me that my religion-hating DH thinks the Church got it right with NFP. Even agrees with the abstinence part. We have other issues, but on this we are in agreement.

But as for NFP being “Catholic Contraception” I don’t believe it at all…it’s like saying fasting at Lent is a “Catholic Weight Loss Program”. It isn’t.

But Lent IS Catholic Weight Loss! All those fasting days

 

[ChristinaM]

NFP is just a tool, nothing more. A couple can use it in a good way or a bad way.

I am also wondering how NFP messes with the body’s natural processes? To me it’s the exact opposite…you have a natural cycle, unlike women on ABC, and you learn how to interpret the signs of fertility in an unobtrusive way.