Can someone explain this NFP class structure?

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AClaire11

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In my diocese, you can sign up for NFP classes. They are in sets of three, with one each month, for three months. Can you tell me why this is? It just seems very inefficient to me. Not to mention, we’re hopefully going to be convalidated in the next two months, and I’d prefer to actually be able to have sex. (I know NFP is only supposed to be used for serious reasons, and we have discerned that we have very serious reasons.)

Would it be possible to buy a book and the necessary equipment and teach myself?
 
There is actually a TON of material regarding NFP available on the Internet. To the best of my knowledge, there are 4 different NFP methods available:
  1. Billings - this one relies on changes to normal sensations in a woman’s body. No equipment is needed beyond a calendar and a writing implement.
  2. Creighton - this one relies on changes in cervical mucous. As you can check this yourself, again, no equipment is needed apart from a calendar and writing implement.
  3. Serena - this is a sympto-thermal method based on changes in body temperature that occur during ovulation. You do need a good thermometer to use this one as you will need to check your body temperature first thing in the morning (this is called the “basal” body temperature).
  4. Marquette - I’m less familiar with this one. I do know that it uses a fertility monitor so you’d need to buy one.
If you look up W.O.O.M.B. or type in “natural family planning”, you should be able to find a wealth of information. That’s where I learned about how to practice NFP. (I’m subfertile so we mostly just use it to determine whether or not I’m ovulating; we haven’t conceived in almost 3 years of marriage and not because we’re avoiding pregnancy.) My understanding is that generally instructors tend to be more helpful for women who have unusual cycle patterns, if you have questions, or if you’re at specific stages where fertility can be somewhat harder to predict (for example, postpartum and perimenopause).
 
It is obviously done this way to help people learn to chart and notice signs.
You can learn at your own pace be it faster or slower than the class. But to chart or notice how your body reacts with fertility signs it will probably take longer than the three months.

Remember, the Church does not require you to use NFP. You can choose to do so if you wish.

I am so glad that you are both going to be recognized by the Church. And I am so glad you care enough about your faith, your spouse, and your eternal souls that you are willing to abide by the CHurch and God’s laws here. I pray for you two to have the strength and patience to help each other through NFP.

Congrats!
 
His_helpmeet said:
There is actually a TON of material regarding NFP available on the Internet. To the best of my knowledge, there are 4 different NFP methods available:
  1. Billings - this one relies on changes to normal sensations in a woman’s body. No equipment is needed beyond a calendar and a writing implement.
  2. Creighton - this one relies on changes in cervical mucous. As you can check this yourself, again, no equipment is needed apart from a calendar and writing implement.
  3. Serena - this is a sympto-thermal method based on changes in body temperature that occur during ovulation. You do need a good thermometer to use this one as you will need to check your body temperature first thing in the morning (this is called the “basal” body temperature).
  4. Marquette - I’m less familiar with this one. I do know that it uses a fertility monitor so you’d need to buy one.
If you look up W.O.O.M.B. or type in “natural family planning”, you should be able to find a wealth of information. That’s where I learned about how to practice NFP. (I’m subfertile so we mostly just use it to determine whether or not I’m ovulating; we haven’t conceived in almost 3 years of marriage and not because we’re avoiding pregnancy.) My understanding is that generally instructors tend to be more helpful for women who have unusual cycle patterns, if you have questions, or if you’re at specific stages where fertility can be somewhat harder to predict (for example, postpartum and perimenopause).
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IF the OP is somewhat put off. THey could buy a fertility monitor like “Ladycomp” and use it. It will be “conservative” for a few months but then it will learn the cycles and narrow the dates down.

We have found “Ladycomp” to be very accurate, albeit expensive. A refurbished one is about 200-300 dollars. New, about 500. They have a payment plan on the website.

Or you could take a cold shower for a couple months until you get your charts figured out. 😉

One thing I would be very cautious against. The temptation to use barrier methods while learning to chart can be very strong for couples that used to contracept. Don’t do this. It is about the quickest way to have NFP fail. You must commit 100 percent or you will abandon it.
 
I taught myself Marquette using their website and it worked fine for us for the two years we used it. However, I taught myself well before our wedding (started probably about 6-8 months prior) so that by the time we married I had a good handle on it.

So, while you could probably teach yourself, I’d still recommend at least a few months of charting before you have sex, especially if you have serious reasons to avoid.
 
AClaire11 said:

“In my diocese, you can sign up for NFP classes. They are in sets of three, with one each month, for three months. Can you tell me why this is? It just seems very inefficient to me. Not to mention, we’re hopefully going to be convalidated in the next two months, and I’d prefer to actually be able to have sex. (I know NFP is only supposed to be used for serious reasons, and we have discerned that we have very serious reasons.)”

That actually does make a lot of sense, since during those three months, you’ll be gathering more and more data. This set-up will work way better than having all of the lessons in the course of a single month. Hopefully, the first class will be informative enough that you’ll be able to fly solo until the next lesson and your teacher will be available for consults between classes.

“Would it be possible to buy a book and the necessary equipment and teach myself?”

Yes. My husband and I have been married 16 years, have three kids and never took a class. We just bought the big fat CCL book during our engagement, charted for a few months before we got married, and a couple years back I bought and read Taking Charge of Your Fertility. I had super results with TCYF–instant pregnancy–pretty good for a 36-year-old lady. There are a lot of Amazon testimonials for the book that sound outlandish, but it really is true–it is possible to get results pretty much instantly. (TCYF is a secular book, so they do mention barrier methods for the fertile period as an option. Frankly, once you know what’s going on, it seems CRAZY to have sex during the fertile period if one is not interested in a baby.)

I’ve never used any of the monitoring systems, but it seems like that would be a good set of training wheels for somebody in your situation. Expensive, but probably worth it for you.
 
Our diocese is the same way. Although, there is a home study course available online if you’d rather speed the process. This is specifically for sympto-thermal method. nfpandmore.org/The_NFPI_Home_Study_Course.pdf … you can try that or just download the manual itself (or buy the material), they ask for a donation, and if you can’t afford it they understand. It says to start 6 months ahead of time, but I am sure that is so you can figure everything out, you can learn and start applying it immediately after learning. The rules can be a confusing, so I’d highly recommend to start taking temp everyday… then you can start understanding your fertility pattern. Hope everything goes well! 👍
 
Hi AClaire,

As was already mentioned, the NFP classes are set up that way–once a month, three months apart, so that you have time to practice charting in between classes. I learned the Sympto-Thermal Method. My classes were set up the same way, too–so many over a few months.

In fact, I think that I went for a few more classes, though. I can’t remember how many more though, since it was a long time ago now.

You can also teach yourself if you want to.

I know for myself though, that a class was helpful because someone was there to answer questions for me and help me figure out the charting, etc.
 
Hoosier_Daddy said:
IF the OP is somewhat put off. THey could buy a fertility monitor like “Ladycomp” and use it. It will be “conservative” for a few months but then it will learn the cycles and narrow the dates down.

We have found “Ladycomp” to be very accurate, albeit expensive. A refurbished one is about 200-300 dollars. New, about 500. They have a payment plan on the website.

Or you could take a cold shower for a couple months until you get your charts figured out. 😉

One thing I would be very cautious against. The temptation to use barrier methods while learning to chart can be very strong for couples that used to contracept. Don’t do this. It is about the quickest way to have NFP fail. You must commit 100 percent or you will abandon it.
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Does LadyComp work well on its own or would I need to supplement it with additional charting? I’d be willing to spend the money if I didn’t have to do all the other checks anyway.

Thank you for all the responses, everyone! I should have known that the month-long gap was to practice charting. :doh2: I was just frustrated that it would take so long!
 
AClaire11 said:

“Does LadyComp work well on its own or would I need to supplement it with additional charting? I’d be willing to spend the money if I didn’t have to do all the other checks anyway.”

Unless you were just planning on doing LadyComp indefinitely, you’d have to do all the other checks, just as part of the educational process. The advantage of doing LadyComp is less abstinence while you’re learning.

(Did I get that right? I don’t use a monitor myself.)
 
Xantippe said:
AClaire11 said:

“Does LadyComp work well on its own or would I need to supplement it with additional charting? I’d be willing to spend the money if I didn’t have to do all the other checks anyway.”

Unless you were just planning on doing LadyComp indefinitely, you’d have to do all the other checks, just as part of the educational process. The advantage of doing LadyComp is less abstinence while you’re learning.

(Did I get that right? I don’t use a monitor myself.)
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Pretty much. Ladycomp is meant to be a self sufficient product. Meaning you can use it and it only. But if you want to wean yourself from the predicament of letting a computer tell you when to have sex.😉 I would recommend using it while practicing whichever method you will use. When we used NFP, Ladycomp offered that extra insurance and piece of mind. We used ladycomp with pieces from different methods before we abandoned NFP. As for accuracy, it worked well. The practicality of it was another matter.
 
Hoosier_Daddy said:
Pretty much. Ladycomp is meant to be a self sufficient product. Meaning you can use it and it only. But if you want to wean yourself from the predicament of letting a computer tell you when to have sex.😉 I would recommend using it while practicing whichever method you will use. When we used NFP, Ladycomp offered that extra insurance and piece of mind. We used ladycomp with pieces from different methods before we abandoned NFP. As for accuracy, it worked well. The practicality of it was another matter.
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Haha, I don’t see it as a computer telling me to have sex. I mean, the only difference between this and making my own charts is that I have less paperwork to do. The end result is the same.

I’ll think about it for a day or two, but I’m definitely leaning towards getting the LadyComp. I have a perfectionist streak a mile wide, and I’d probably obsess over whether I got the CM signs right and freak myself out. Too much stress. 😛
 
AClaire11 said:
Haha, I don’t see it as a computer telling me to have sex. I mean, the only difference between this and making my own charts is that I have less paperwork to do. The end result is the same.

I’ll think about it for a day or two, but I’m definitely leaning towards getting the LadyComp. I have a perfectionist streak a mile wide, and I’d probably obsess over whether I got the CM signs right and freak myself out. Too much stress. 😛
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We really trusted the Ladycomp and you are correct, it is less work. Basically the ladycomp just makes the calculations for you. I just vacuumed and under my 4 year old’s bed were pieces of our Ladycomp. It is kind of funny to have your children disassemble the ladycomp. My daughter likes to take her temperature and play doctor. So she removed the thermometer from the ladycomp. 😃 What once was a device to help us avoid pregnancy is now a toy for my kids.😛 This happened just a few minutes ago. Funny, because I was posting on this thread.
 
Maybe I missed it, but I didn’t see anyone recommend the book “Taking Charge of Your Fertility”.

Get that book!! It’s thick, but an easy read, and has so much information.
 
FrenzyJen said:
Maybe I missed it, but I didn’t see anyone recommend the book “Taking Charge of Your Fertility”.

Get that book!! It’s thick, but an easy read, and has so much information.
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Yes! A great book to have.
 
FrenzyJen said:
Maybe I missed it, but I didn’t see anyone recommend the book “Taking Charge of Your Fertility”.

Get that book!! It’s thick, but an easy read, and has so much information.
Click to expand...
I think they rec’ed that at our Pre-Cana, actually! Will definitely check it out. It’s too bad they don’t have a kindle version 😦
 
AClaire11 said:
I should have known that the month-long gap was to practice charting. :doh2: I was just frustrated that it would take so long!
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Are you learning Creighton? This is pretty usual for Creighton instruction. I use it too, and I can say you really need the classes and the follow-up sessions w/ your instructor, because this method relies on precise, standardized observations of your CM. This is not a method you can learn from the internet or a book.

Many people don’t talk about this, but there are moments of frustration while learning and using NFP. That doesn’t mean it isn’t worth it. Frustration on some level is an inevitable part of life. (Not that this makes it any easier…)

And, for the record, NFP in all its forms is for achieving pregnancy as well as avoiding!
 
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