Do the majority of practicing Catholics use contraception

[thomfra]

Okay, hope I don’t get jumped on for this…I technically am not catholic, but have been through RCCA, and I attend mass with my husband at a CC church in our area. We do use ABC - personally I would love to be one of these women who don’t have to worry about having children, but facts are that I practically died while having our first child, and it’s risky for me. I don’t think God is black and white (whis is where the I hope don’t get jumped on comes in, lol), and I have not made this decision without talking to my husband and more than one priest. I know there are women who have had risky pregnancies and still don’t use birth control. I don’t know their situation but I came down with my pregnancy condition within a matter of a couple of hours and was hemmeroging and practically not breathing in that short time when normally it takes days, weeks, months to get that bad. Not only that, my son’s life was put in jepordy and was born very early.

Well shouldn’t you just be obstaining???

 

[Pinkyyy]

Well, as I said, it’s not what I was raised with, so no - but I don’t think Catholics understand that (not a slam) - I just wasn’t raised with the belief that abc is wrong - on my own I have ruled out aboficients however. My priest (more than one), monks, you name it has been consulted and have let’s say not had a major issue with it - So, no we won’t probably be abstaining, we’ll use the abc, but to he clear, none that would be aborficients.

 

[Brenda_V]

Okay, hope I don’t get jumped on for this…I technically am not catholic, but have been through RCCA, and I attend mass with my husband at a CC church in our area. We do use ABC - personally I would love to be one of these women who don’t have to worry about having children, but facts are that I practically died while having our first child, and it’s risky for me. I don’t think God is black and white (whis is where the I hope don’t get jumped on comes in, lol), and I have not made this decision without talking to my husband and more than one priest. I know there are women who have had risky pregnancies and still don’t use birth control. I don’t know their situation but I came down with my pregnancy condition within a matter of a couple of hours and was hemmeroging and practically not breathing in that short time when normally it takes days, weeks, months to get that bad. Not only that, my son’s life was put in jepordy and was born very early.

Honey, not to judge you but your reasons for using ABC are not good ones. I too have bad pregnancies and my last delivery I hemorhaged horribly with so getting pregnant again was not something my husband wanted me to be so we used condoms (he is Lutheran sees nothing wrong with it) but I could not in conscience continue so I finally convinced him that we needed to go back to the NFP we used when we didn’t worry about having a baby or not and we actually used it to get pregnant with 2 of our 3 babies and here I am 15 years later and no more babies - actually my baby is now 22. NFP does work but both of you have to agree to it, you have to be willing to work within your cycle (mine was very irregular so don’t even think that is a reason not to use it).

If for no other reason than to learn more about how your own body works may I suggest you take a course in NFP? Any method. It is incredibly empowering to understand your own body!

Also, there are plenty of babies in existance due to method failure, ABC method failure! At least if your NFP failed you, you know that you have not put anything unnatural in your body (yes, condoms are unnatural and for me I was getting more and more concerned about an allergic reaction besides my conscience bothering me!)

I hope you don’t feel that I have jumped on you about this subject but sometimes a loving example will help. Oh, and just so you know, I can’t wait for menopause to hit so I don’t have to worry about it at all, ever again! I am 50 and my mom hit menopause at 52 so I am looking forward to that being my time too!

Brenda V.

 

[Pinkyyy]

Honey, not to judge you but your reasons for using ABC are not good ones. I too have bad pregnancies and my last delivery I hemorhaged horribly with so getting pregnant again was not something my husband wanted me to be so we used condoms (he is Lutheran sees nothing wrong with it) but I could not in conscience continue so I finally convinced him that we needed to go back to the NFP we used when we didn’t worry about having a baby or not and we actually used it to get pregnant with 2 of our 3 babies and here I am 15 years later and no more babies - actually my baby is now 22. NFP does work but both of you have to agree to it, you have to be willing to work within your cycle (mine was very irregular so don’t even think that is a reason not to use it).

If for no other reason than to learn more about how your own body works may I suggest you take a course in NFP? Any method. It is incredibly empowering to understand your own body!

Also, there are plenty of babies in existance due to method failure, ABC method failure! At least if your NFP failed you, you know that you have not put anything unnatural in your body (yes, condoms are unnatural and for me I was getting more and more concerned about an allergic reaction besides my conscience bothering me!)

I hope you don’t feel that I have jumped on you about this subject but sometimes a loving example will help. Oh, and just so you know, I can’t wait for menopause to hit so I don’t have to worry about it at all, ever again! I am 50 and my mom hit menopause at 52 so I am looking forward to that being my time too!

Brenda V.

Hi Brenda, No I did not feel like you jumped on me . Thanks for writing me. With that said, there are a few things - I have done NFP before. I am not so good at it though and I really don’t have too many symptoms such as EWCM - I mean, I really couldn’t tell so much until after my temps rised that I had ovulated. I did NFP for about 9 months (but at that time we were actually trying to get pregnant with my son, so it’s not like I was trying to prevent it). I got to learn a lot, but at the same time, I was frustrated because I didn’t really get clear signs I was about to ovulate. Also, at this point in my life, I am up at all different times and to bed at different times - makes it hard to do the one thing that did work for me - take my temps.

But, it’s not that I’ve been against it. I am luteran and my husband is catholic. I have mentioned NFP and he wants condoms. I’ve mentioned it and he is against it.

 

[JKS]

pinkyy,
Just keep praying for help in figuring out what God wants you to do. If we’re right about this (you’re Lutheran so there are different opinions and all), God will help you realize that’s what’s best. Just keep in mind that it is possible that God is asking you to greatly inconvenience yourself (google “martyrs”) but I of course don’t have any special knowledge of God’s will for you.

 

[JKS]

Thomfra,
In Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI spelled out what would happen in a contraceptive culture, due to “natural law”. Did you read it yet? Today’s world was perfectly described* 40 years ago* in this document:

"17.Upright men can even better convince themselves of the solid grounds on which the teaching of the Church is based, if they care to reflect upon the consequences of methods of artificial birth control. Let them consider, first of all, how wide and easy a road would thus be opened up towards conjugal infidelity and the general lowering of morality."check

“Not much experience is needed in order to know human weakness, and to understand that men-especially the young, who are so vulnerable on this point-have need of encouragement to be faithful to the moral law, so that they must not be offered some easy means of eluding its observance.” Anyone think that young men have been eluding the observance of moral law?

“It is also to be feared that the man, growing used to the employment of anticontraceptive practices, may finally lose respect for the woman and, no longer caring for her physical and psychological equilibrium, may come to the point of considering her as a mere instrument of selfish enjoyment, and no longer as his respected and beloved companion.” This is a jaw-droppingly accurate description of our state today, isn’t it? Yet it was written forty years ago.

 

[JKS]

The next paragraph predicted modern China’s situation, so it doesn’t apply here.

 

[Brenda_V]

Hi Brenda, No I did not feel like you jumped on me . Thanks for writing me. With that said, there are a few things - I have done NFP before. I am not so good at it though and I really don’t have too many symptoms such as EWCM - I mean, I really couldn’t tell so much until after my temps rised that I had ovulated. I did NFP for about 9 months (but at that time we were actually trying to get pregnant with my son, so it’s not like I was trying to prevent it). I got to learn a lot, but at the same time, I was frustrated because I didn’t really get clear signs I was about to ovulate. Also, at this point in my life, I am up at all different times and to bed at different times - makes it hard to do the one thing that did work for me - take my temps.

But, it’s not that I’ve been against it. I am luteran and my husband is catholic. I have mentioned NFP and he wants condoms. I’ve mentioned it and he is against it.

Hmm, then maybe you need to move from the Sympto-Thermal method and try Billings or Creighton - you get far more hands on training (it does cost more to go this route). Again, I suggest this for now for your own information about your fertility and body. My knowledge with NPF helped me work with my OB/GYN with my severe PMS. I don’t take my temps. anymore and that for sure was the best method for us, it is far more visible but about 10 years ago my temps started to be all over the place, I attibute it to being peri-menopausal, who knows though.

Like a PP said, continue to pray that your husband come around, maybe he will agree to trying a different method that doesn’t require temp. taking.

Brenda V.