Is a Nfp instructor necessary?

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Lea101

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Just curious.

There are apparently apps out there that allow you to key in your observations and then tell you if you’re fertile or not.

What would be the purpose of paying for an instructor or learning materials?
 
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If you have very regular cycles, you might be able to get away with learning NFP solo. However, I would caution against relying only on an application for NFP, especially if trying to avoid. From what I gather, most apps don’t warn you soon enough to begin abstaining. In favorable conditions, sperm can survive several days, so conception could still occur several days after being intimate. I use an app for charting, but I ignore its interpretation of my data and I follow my instructor’s directions. Sometimes crazy things happen and women ovulate earlier or later than normal for whatever reason, and I’m not sure an app would handle that well.

Certainly I would highly recommend an instructor if someone has irregular cycles or is postpartum.
 
Using something like ladycomp requires no instructor. If you want one of the three main non tech (symto thermal, billings, Marquette) you should take instruction but wont need an instructor throughout. I think there’s apps that are also incredibly user friendly.
 
Yes, in theory it is possible for most women with clear symptoms. But in practice I’m very uncomfortable advising people to do that. Instead, I will tell you what I did with the disclaimer that, just because it worked for me doesn’t mean it will work for everyone.

I used the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility to learn the rules. It’s a great book. It teaches FAM rather than NFP. FAM is basically NFP but you are allowed to use condoms during fertile times. I just ignore the condom bit. Though the author does say there is risk involved in using condoms rather than abstinence.

I did have 2 meetings with an NFP instructor before marriage to check if I was interpreting things correctly. This set my mind at ease. She gave me slightly different rules to follow but they were pretty similar and I was able to use the details in the Taking Charge of Your Fertility book to put them in context.

As it stands, I am very conservative in phase 1 of my cycle due to my particular set of symptoms. I find my temperature is a very clear indicator and prefer to rely on that. If I had an instructor, or used ladycomp, I could likely add some more safe days in.

In my opinion it is never to early to start monitoring your symptoms, because you’ll learn a lot about your body. So many girls are so unaware of what their own body is doing! Also, trying to learn it 3 months before marriage is barely enough time to find patterns and understand your body. You could download the ovuview app and start tracking your symptoms now if you wanted 😊
 
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If you use Creighton Model, you are supposed to learn it from an instructor. We were told that was the most effective model so that’s what we picked. It was covered by my husband insurance. I think we both felt very confident after the instruction and we’ve never had a problem with the method.
 
Yes. I would not do NFP without instruction. The apps can certainly be useful when you know your method. Remember the apps rely on what you put in, so knowing how to properly observe and record is the first step.
 
1ke said:
Yes. I would not do NFP without instruction. The apps can certainly be useful when you know your method. Remember the apps rely on what you put in, so knowing how to properly observe and record is the first step.
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If online resources have these instructions, would an instructor/paying for a class still be necessary?
 
The FDA approved the app called “natural cycles” as a valid form of birth control. There are many others that require no instructors. Btw. Any cost associated with it is required to be covered by insurance in the USA as contraception. Oh the irony!
 
Was just wondering if an instructor improves the success rate, or offer something that reading materials don’t provide.

Nfp is barely a thing here, which is probably why most married people I know end up using contraception.
 
I never needed an instructor. I’ve been married seven years and use Marquette. We have two (planned) kids.

But- I would not just rely on an app. Learning the method in appropriate detail is essential. There are sometimes instances where you know something is off based on your observations and knowledge of your body, so instead of just plugging in observations it’s best to really know what you’re observing and what your patterns are.
 
You can learn stuff from books and apps, but like with anything relating to health care, you’ll learn more from a real live person.
 
I guess it depends. I’m always so conflicted with nfp advice. But the Church teaches its licit and so it is. And I have much experience with aspects of it. There’s one nfp couple teaching sympto thermal in our whole diocese. And that’s it. Other than that it would be distance instructing which I guess is like calling a help desk. Lol. Lady comp has pros and cons. Pros user friendly and easy. Extremely conservative while it is “learning” for maximum effectiveness, no human error in interpretation. No instruction needed. Very accurate. Cons. Expensive. Like an I phone should probably be replaced every two years. Replacement parts are hard to find or order. Computer tells you when you can have relations with your spouse. (In our case thermometer would shock you) and just like the pro, its conservative while learning so if you are going to be a newlywed you are going to want to start using it 5 or 6 months before the wedding if planning to avoid.

Man, after typing that I’m so glad we dont do nfp! Lol.
 
Natural cycles costs money though. It’s a subscription service.
 
Most things cost money. Natural cycles in the US should be covered at no cost by insurance. It’s an FDA approved form of birth control. Thanks Obama!
 
I’ve not gotten pregnant in 3.5 years. So yes it was successful. If you mean “how were the rules different”, I think the rules in the book were more detailed. They were both symptothermal, so the differences were pretty slight.

NFP is barely a thing in Ireland too. There are online instructors for some methods. NAPRO doctors might have an NFP instructor attached to their practice.
 
Yeah but AFAIK lea101 lives in Singapore. It wouldn’t have been covered for me in Ireland.
 
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