Can I take a CCL NFP class while pregnant?

[mommamaree]

I am a new Catholic. NFP is what drew me to the Church (as some of you may remember me mentioning from previous posts). That being said, my husband and I got so excited about learning about the culture of life supported by the Catholic Church that we decided we wanted to have another baby. Or rather, I wanted to be open to having another baby and he was totally supportive about it. I got pregnant quickly and my husband and I didn’t get an opportunity to learn NFP from the CCL teachers at our parish. Can I take the class while pregnant? The series is once a month for three months. I assume that is so they can help couples learn about charting based upon real world experience. But I will have no fertility symptoms, so…? But if I wait until my fertility returns, I will have a newborn So, to those who already practice NFP, what do you think we should do?

 

[Em_in_FL]

Call the instructors and see what they say…
It may be worth going for the initial class while you’re pregnant, so that you understand the concepts and study the materials, but then the challenging time is postpartum when you’re not only going to be LEARNING NFP, but actually trying to detect your returning fertility after having a baby (which is the most challenging part of NFP)… not impossible, but it can be challenging.
But still - probably worth getting the initial class done, IMO!

Good luck and God bless!

 

[StratusRose]

I can’t imagine a CCL teaching couple turning you down because you are pregnant. But, I would let them know ahead of time. When I took the last NFP class I was pregnant with Zack. The class covered post-partum fertility so it was relevant to what I was about to experience. The only disadvantage is that you won’t be able to practice your charting. At my first class, our “homework” was to start taking waking temps everyday. You can do that to get in the habit but charting all together would kind of be pointless.

 

[mommamaree]

Thanks for your responses! My husband has already contacted the instructors, but they are just finishing up a 3-month series, so we will need to wait until they start another series. I had wanted to sign up sooner for the class, but my husband was not willing since we were also going through RCIA. He also doesn’t seem worried about the fact that learning to chart a return to fertility and beginning to practice NFP after the baby comes might mean we have quite a long time of abstinence if we are serious about postponing another pregnancy (which we are). I however am very concerned about what this time will be like, but I also feel kind of excited about learning how to work within God’s design for family planning. I just don’t want to mess up while trying to learn NFP and find out I am pregnant again before I am recovered from baby #3 and emotionally ready and all. Yikes!
I guess for anyone who begins NFP after already being married finds the initial months, or even year, is more challenging. Oh, well, we will just do the best that we can and pray that God will increase our fortitude and then just trust in God.