Natural Family Planning

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surfgirlusa_200

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Hello, all!

I’m looking to obtain information on NFP, by those who are currently practicing it or have done so in the past. Here are my questions:
  1. Which method(s) did you use?
  2. How long did you practice NFP?
  3. While practicing NFP, did you or your spouse get pregnant when you were not planning on it?
  4. What is the longest time someone has practiced NFP and not gotten pregnant?
  5. For someone who is thinking about using this method in the future, do you have any tips or advice?
  6. How many children can a couple who uses NFP expect to have?
  7. What have been the greatest challenges of NFP, and how have you overcome them?
  8. Any other comments.
Thank you!
 
surfgirlusa_200 said:
Hello, all!

I’m looking to obtain information on NFP, by those who are currently practicing it or have done so in the past. Here are my questions:
  1. Which method(s) did you use? Mucous only
  1. How long did you practice NFP? Lost track, over 10 years
  1. While practicing NFP, did you or your spouse get pregnant when you were not planning on it? No
  1. What is the longest time someone has practiced NFP and not gotten pregnant? Over 10 years
  1. For someone who is thinking about using this method in the future, do you have any tips or advice? **Communicate, communicate, communicate. **
  1. How many children can a couple who uses NFP expect to have? **We have one living child, and one in heaven. **
  1. What have been the greatest challenges of NFP, and how have you overcome them? Explaining to doctors that you do not WANT ABC or surgery to sterilize yourself.
  1. Any other comments.
God designed our bodies in an amazing way. In marriage, we can either abstain from relations, accept all children that are sent or use NFP. God is good to let us decide which to use.

Thank you!
Click to expand...
 
surfgirlusa_200 said:
Hello, all!

I’m looking to obtain information on NFP, by those who are currently practicing it or have done so in the past. Here are my questions:
  1. Which method(s) did you use?
    Sympto-Thermal
  2. How long did you practice NFP?
    Both for trying to avoid and trying to conceive our children throughout the entire 8 1/2 years (so far) of our marriage.
  3. While practicing NFP, did you or your spouse get pregnant when you were not planning on it?
    No!
  4. What is the longest time someone has practiced NFP and not gotten pregnant?
    I think the longest stretch so far between our children that we were truly avoiding was 30 months.
  5. For someone who is thinking about using this method in the future, do you have any tips or advice?
    I believe in constant education. Read as many sources of NFP information you can find… become an expert on it and use it diligently! It’s easy!
  6. How many children can a couple who uses NFP expect to have?
    As many as they desire.
  7. What have been the greatest challenges of NFP, and how have you overcome them?
    None!
  8. Any other comments.
Thank you!
Click to expand...
 
  1. Which method(s) did you use?
    STM
  2. How long did you practice NFP?
    going on 2 yrs 2 months
  3. While practicing NFP, did you or your spouse get pregnant when you were not planning on it?
    I got pregnant 3 times but that’s because we’ve always used it to try to conceive, but at the present time we are forced to avoid, so now we have to reverse the rules to avoid
  4. What is the longest time someone has practiced NFP and not gotten pregnant?
    the first 5 cycles we used it it was to “avoid” but we always ended up being intimate during my fertile phase, but we didn’t get pregnant until we actively started trying
  5. For someone who is thinking about using this method in the future, do you have any tips or advice?
    make sure you search for the best method for you. Some people don’t like to wake up at the same time every day to take their temps so they do billings or creighton; and some can’t rely just on mucous observations, so they do STM for cross checks
  6. How many children can a couple who uses NFP expect to have?
    as many as you want to have, that is, if you follow the rules correctly when avoiding, but you never know if you will have trouble having a baby or if God wants you to have a baby even if you weren’t trying. I have been pregnant 3 times but I’ve lost all 3 babies 😦 I had no idea I had 2 infertility problems (a 3rd one is suspected but I need to be pregnant to confirm it), and had an ectopic pregnancy 2 wks ago that almost took my life, so you never know how many children you will be able to have.
  7. What have been the greatest challenges of NFP, and how have you overcome them?
    **the first 5 cycles, we had trouble avoiding, but we never got pregnant, now it’s going to be hard for us to switch from trying to avoiding, and also what kage_ar said, trying to convince drs about not wanting ABC or sterilization procedures, and trying to convince them that you know your body and know when you ovulate. **
  8. Any other comments.
    Some drs think NFP is a joke but I am sure that they think that way because they themselves have no idea how it works. They feel threatened that a woman can know more about their own bodies than a dr will ever know about their patient.
BTW, are you avoiding or trying or wanting to learn? If you are avoiding, I just opened a group called TTA with or w/o NFP, you are most welcome to join.

Oh and here are some resources for you:

STM
www.ccli.org
www.nfpandmore.com

CrMS
www.popepaulvi.com
www.creightonmodel.com
www.naprotechnology.com
www.fertilitycare.org

Billings
www.woomb.org
www.boma-usa.org

Other
www.aafcp.org
www.omsoul.com
www.catholicbreastfeeding.org
 
Yessisan,

Thank you for the links!

At this time, I am just learning; I am not married and not sexually active; however, I will likely get married in the next 2-3 years, so I’m trying to educate myself as much as possible about NFP. When I do get married, I want to wait on having children (I don’t believe that it would be responsible to have children while in graduate school, because I would not be able to give them the love and support they need during that time).

I appreciate all the responses thus far. Thanks! 🙂
 
  1. Billings
  2. 9.5 years so far
  3. Not well worded question! Not everyone ‘using’ NFP is trying to avoid. We’ve not had ANY children while diligently trying to avoid, we’ve had two while actively trying for pregnancy and one when we conciously decided to ‘cheat’ the rules while we were coming to the realization that our ‘serious reason’ wasn’t so serious anymore.
  4. Indefinately.
  5. You are already doing THE most effective thing and learning your cycle BEFORE getting married and not messing up your hormones with pills. The majority of those (in my experience) who think NFP is ‘ineffective’ are those who didn’t give it an honest try until AFTER they were sexually active and usually using some form of contraceptive. YOUR approach will allow you to get to know your body with all its quirks and unique features without the stress and pressure of learning it all PERFECTLY RIGHT NOW like those folks have. Good on ya!
  6. However many you decide to accept. NFP folk tend to have more than contraceptive users precisely for the reason the Church allows NFP: it keeps you real and keeps you open to hearing God’s voice. It makes you monthly examine just how serious your reason is to avoid. Contraceptives make no such demands on users and the results are predictable.
  7. The abstinance times. The fertile days are the days the woman is MOST interested and aroused. It’s pretty frustrating to BOTH want to and not be able to - until you realize that this is precisely the device God built into us to keep us from turning this amazing gift of life giving love into a degrading activity of using one another for personal gratification. Once you make that leap, the abstinance times are surviveable.
 
Manualman,

My apologies for the poorly worded question. I know that some people do utilize NFP in order to figure out when they are most fertile and actively try to have children during those times; I just tend to forget that. Forgive me? 🙂

One other question for everyone: did you take NFP classes? If so, did you find them useful, and how much did they cost?
 
No apology necessary, my apologies for making it sound so!

Billings really recommends taking the class. We just bought the book and asked my wife’s sister lots of questions. The book was fairly cheap and we made our own charts for a while until we got so good at it (and in fairness, my wife’s cycle is like a Swiss clock) that we don’t even bother with paperwork anymore. Once you get to this point in Billings, life breaks down into these few ‘seasons:’
  1. Menstruation. Long term wooing mode.
  2. Early days: No mucus? Eligible every other day. (need a day off to clear symptoms)
  3. Mucus appearance. Long term wooing mode again until the fourth day after the peak mucus day.
  4. Infertile time: Any time, anywhere. 🙂
    Start over on the next cycle.
Downside to Billings is that cold medicine can make you miss mucus symptoms (it doesn’t just suppress NASAL mucus!). My wife won’t take 'em unless she is SURE she’s into season #4 above.
 
surfgirlusa_200 said:
Hello, all!

I’m looking to obtain information on NFP, by those who are currently practicing it or have done so in the past. Here are my questions:
  1. Which method(s) did you use?
  2. How long did you practice NFP?
  3. While practicing NFP, did you or your spouse get pregnant when you were not planning on it?
  4. What is the longest time someone has practiced NFP and not gotten pregnant?
  5. For someone who is thinking about using this method in the future, do you have any tips or advice?
  6. How many children can a couple who uses NFP expect to have?
  7. What have been the greatest challenges of NFP, and how have you overcome them?
  8. Any other comments.
Thank you!
Click to expand...
  1. Creighton
  2. Since we’ve been married. 9 months.
  3. Nope, not yet.
  4. 9 months, and not pregnant…
  5. Be prepared to change your mind. Using NFP requires a daily state of discernment, and if you aren’t open to changing your mind, NFP might be too much to handle.
  6. As many as you want to have.
  7. Avoiding… I leave it up to the couple to decide when to have a baby responsibly, but I myself have found that most of the reasons not to have a baby are not sufficient to actively avoid achieving pregnancy.
 
My husband and I have been using NFP for as long as we’ve been married (just celebrated 15 years). We used it successfully to become pregnant twice, and have used it successfully to avoid for the rest of the time (my youngest is almost 7). We have used the ST method, but now pretty much just use the mucus method. I’m pretty regular, though I seem to be ovulating earlier now - I might be headed toward an early menopause.

We are currently avoiding because we feel our family is complete and because I am on a medication that would not be good to get pregnant while taking. As a previous poster said, it is hard during that ovulation phase because that is when you most desire to be intimate, but overall, we’ve been pretty comfortable with NFP. It makes you so aware of your body, and it is so easy to change from avoiding to trying!

I took a home study course from I think it was the Couple to Couple League. They had a great newsletter that came with the kit for the course that had lots of information and letters from couples using NFP, etc. It was a great resource.

Good luck!
 
surfgirlusa_200 said:
  1. Which method(s) did you use?
  2. How long did you practice NFP?
  3. While practicing NFP, did you or your spouse get pregnant when you were not planning on it?
  4. What is the longest time someone has practiced NFP and not gotten pregnant?
  5. For someone who is thinking about using this method in the future, do you have any tips or advice?
  6. How many children can a couple who uses NFP expect to have?
  7. What have been the greatest challenges of NFP, and how have you overcome them?
  8. Any other comments.
Click to expand...
  1. Creighton Model
  2. For about 4 years (give or take some time off for my 6 pregnancies)
  3. Yep - several times (breast feeding messes my cycles up, but doesn’t prevent me from ovulating)
  4. Don’t know, but my aunt & uncle practice some form of NFP (not sure what type) and they’ve been pregnancy free for 4 years.
  5. Be consistent in your tracking & be honest about your observations. You only hurt yourself (and/or your spouse) if you fudge (especially if you’re TTA)
  6. As many as they want!? It really depends on individual fertility, just like for couples not practicing NFP. Although some methods are better at helping low fertility people get pregnant by working with their bodies to establish the right time.
  7. Abstinence when TTA for me & my hubby is the hardest thing. We haven’t really overcome them - hence the 6 pregnancies. 😊
  8. I’m very glad to have found NFP even though I’ve had some surprises (I was breastfeeding and hadn’t made it back to my practicioner for chart help… twice). It has helped me deal w/ some gyn problems that traditional doctors just wanted to throw BC at me. Its also helped me to find a doctor who respects my desire to protect my unborn children no matter what the cost. Even my regular (non NFP) doctor has realized that I’m not your typical BC generation woman. I’ve taught her something about NFP that hopefully she can/will pass on to other patients.
BTW I met one-on-one w/ an instructor several times to learn the method & have her look over my charts to make sure I was marking things down properly. I also have shown my charts to my NFP doctor for him to evaluate my gyn health. Its also been useful for trying to determine why I’ve had 4 miscarriages (and how I got pregnant during ‘safe’ times while breast feeding. I think the Creighton model recommends meetings w/ an instructor or practioner every so often & when your status changes (before marriage, right after marriage, after pregnancy/breastfeeding, gyn surgery, gyn problems surface, pre-menopause, etc). The benefit is that since you’re tracking your own body, its really easy to notice when something’s going differently.
 
surfgirlusa_200 said:
  1. Which method(s) did you use? Symto/Thermal
  2. How long did you practice NFP? Been practicing 1 year now
  3. While practicing NFP, did you or your spouse get pregnant when you were not planning on it? We aren’t in a sexual relationship, I am just practicing NFP methods to understand it for when we get married 🙂
  4. What is the longest time someone has practiced NFP and not gotten pregnant? My Mom practiced it through her whole marriage (22 years) and they only got pregnant (with me) before they started practicing it, and they got pregnant four other times, but they were using NFP to get pregnant
  5. For someone who is thinking about using this method in the future, do you have any tips or advice? Take temp at the same time everyday, chart and look for signs before youre having sex so that you know what to look for, and how your body works because EVERY body is different
  6. How many children can a couple who uses NFP expect to have? I haven’t done the math lol
  7. What have been the greatest challenges of NFP, and how have you overcome them? No comments yet 🙂
  8. Any other comments. Be really good about taking your temp at the same time every morning because if its even an hour later, the temp will be off. I have had alot of confusion over this at first!
Thank you!
Click to expand...
 
One thing I thought to mention - use a digital thermometer. Then, even if you want to sleep in on the weekends, you can wake up, take your temperature, turn off the thermometer and then go back to sleep. Most of them will recall the last temperature when you turn them back on (but check this before using! lol) so you don’t have to worry about recording your temp until later in the day (I used to do it at bedtime).

I often wished I could get my husband to take care of the recording part of the deal, but we never got around to it.
 
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