NFP after uterine ablation

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I have had severe menstrual bleeding for the past 10 years and have had anemia as well. Many times I cannot even leave the house because the bleeding is so heavy. The drs want to do a uterine ablation ( Novasure) . Im 49 years old and still practice NFP. Would this be ethical and would I still be able to practice NFP? The dr said I would no longer be able to notice changes in cervical mucus. I do not want to do anything immoral.
 
Doesn’t the procedure render one infertile? If so, there’s no need to do NFP, at least for the purpose of spacing births.

-Fr ACEGC
 
Yes. If I were to get pregnant ( highly unlikely) the baby would not be able to thrive since the uterine wall ( most of it) would have been burned.
 
As far as I know, the only other solution is to have a hysterectomy , but according to the drs this is too extreme.
 
I have some idea of what is ethical here, but I need to check around a bit. I’ll get back to you.
 
Alright, so the procedure itself is morally licit. You may have the ablation. The issue comes about with regard to avoiding pregnancy. It would not be morally licit to engage in any form of directly contraceptive behavior, that is, to use hormonal birth control or to have a direct sterilization or to use an IUD or other such means. Since NFP wouldn’t really be a viable option as a result of the procedure, then it would seem the best thing to do would be to abstain from marital relations until such time that you are no longer fertile. Given your age, I would imagine that isn’t very long.

I will double check on some of this with someone more knowledgeable, but that seems to be what I can put together.

-Fr ACEGC
 
But my question was just that— Im wondering if NFP could still be used after an ablation…
I totally agree that no other form of birth control is permissable.
 
I am wondeing if the dr really knows what she is talking about in terms of NFP. The mucus is from the cervix , not the uterus so why wouldn’t I be able to use NFP after the proceedure? Sorry if I wasn’t clear about my question. And thanks again for your help!
 
LoverofTruth6 said:
I am wondeing if the dr really knows what she is talking about in terms of NFP. The mucus is from the cervix , not the uterus so why wouldn’t I be able to use NFP after the proceedure? Sorry if I wasn’t clear about my question. And thanks again for your help!
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My wife and I have tracked fertility before, though we haven’t studied NFP as a specific, proper noun Catholic method. Can’t ovulation still be tracked by temperature and if the body has a consistently regular cycle? Basically, aren’t there other ways to track besides mucus? Maybe abstain a few months at least to see how your cycle is affected. Or would reliability still be too uncertain to be comfortable?
 
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We have used the Billings method for 25 years ( checking mucus) so this is what Im used to. The temperature does play a role in determining fertility but as far as I know the mucus is the main indicator. Thanks for the tip!
 
That’s not really a morality question. Morally speaking of course you can.

This is a question for your instructor or an NFP doctor because whether you can reliably practice NFP or not really depends on whether you can track your symptoms or not, which is a medical question.
 
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Yes. You are correct. I need to talk to an NFP dr or instructor about this. So, morally speaking it is ok to do the ablation, knowing that Im burning the uterus so it will no longer be able to “work”?
 
The ablation is to stop the bleeding, That is a valid medical procedure.
 
Yes, but doing the proceedure has consequences which could lead to a baby who cannot survive.
 
The procedure is morally licit because the intention is to stop the bleeding. But you should avoid pregnancy in the future due to that risk to a child who would be conceived. This is why you either need to see if NFP is still possible, and if it is not, to abstain until such time that it wouldn’t be necessary.
 
Excellent answer👍🏻. So, if NFP does not work, the only other “way” would be abstinence, correct?
 
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