Personal Question about NFP

[ALLGIRLS]

NFP does NOT prevent.

It is avoiding. There is a difference between preventing and avoiding.

And it’s not even always avoiding. Most NFP users use the knowledge to conceive, as well. For those who think NFP is contraception, how can the same thing be contraception sometimes, but not at others? That’s why it’s properly called natural family planning (as opposed to “natural contraception”). The Church teaches that we are to responsibly plan our families. NFP allows you to that, whether it’s a prudent time to have a child, or delay a pregancy.

In Christ,

Ellen

 

[micahmike]

And it’s not even always avoiding. Most NFP users use the knowledge to conceive, as well.

Source? Not that many users use NFP to concieve, but that most users use NFP for both purposes? I hadn’t heard that.

For those who think NFP is contraception, how can the same thing be contraception sometimes, but not at others?

Because it’s sometimes used to prevent conception, but not at other times. Condoms and the pill are not always used as contraceptives either. I agree that NFP is distinct from contraception, but not for this reason. NFP can be used as a contraceptive, or at least witha contraceptive mentality. Don’t forget that we are not to use NFP to avoid without grave reason.

 

[manualman]

Admission, I skipped pages 2,3 and 4 because i get tired of hearing lectures from people who have never practiced NFP telling me what it is.

If the OP is still interested, our data point is that fertile time combined with menstrual time is about 17 days a month. We typically get a couple day window after mentruation before mucus shows up, a week or so between the start of mucus and the end of viable egg life (Billings Ovulation Method). (Thank Goodness for internet anonymity or my wife would kill me!)

Is it a sacrifice? YES! That’s what keeps it real. Thats what is so different about NFP versus contraception. Contraception costs you nothing, so you reject God’s built-in mechanism for making you face up to rationalized, phony reasons for avoiding pregnancy. This is why contraceptive users are so desperate to equate it to NFP: they don’t WANT to face their “serious reason” monthly. Much easier to lull the conscience with a pill or a condom that requires no soul searching.

I have no objection if you want to call NFP a “birth control method.” But it is demonstrably not a contraceptive. Contraceptives have as their very purpose the ability to allow you to have sex on demand with no babies. NFP requires you NOT to have sex on the fertile days if getting pregnant would be a bad idea. Rather different, no? Indulgence anytime versus self control required. One is like Bulemia, the other like dieting.

 

[PaulinVA]

Source? Not that many users use NFP to concieve, but that most users use NFP for both purposes? I hadn’t heard that.
.

Heh, Heh. And 80% of all internet statistics are made up.

Like this one.

We have used NFP for over 20 years, to avoid and to conceive. Successfully.

 

[gam3rchic]

Source? Not that many users use NFP to concieve, but that most users use NFP for both purposes? I hadn’t heard that.

I’ve been on secular sites like www.fertilityfriend.com and all kinds of people know NFP and are using it to try to conceive. This isn’t just a Catholic thing, LOTS of women who want to take charge of their fertility use it. It is powerful information.

It is estimated 1 in 5 couples have fertility issues. We were one of them. NFP helped me conceive my miracle child, along with the thousands of other women who use it to chart their fertile times to maximize chances.

 

[micahmike]

I’ve been on secular sites like www.fertilityfriend.com and all kinds of people know NFP and are using it to try to conceive. This isn’t just a Catholic thing, LOTS of women who want to take charge of their fertility use it. It is powerful information.

It is estimated 1 in 5 couples have fertility issues. We were one of them. NFP helped me conceive my miracle child, along with the thousands of other women who use it to chart their fertile times to maximize chances.

Uh-huh. Do you have any information indicating that most users use NFP both to concieve and to avoid conception? Most that I know have used it for one or the other. Some for both purposes. Few. What I see are merely my observations of course, I do not believe that the people I know are a fairly represent the whole.

 

[PaulinVA]

Uh-huh. Do you have any information indicating that most users use NFP both to concieve and to avoid conception? Most that I know have used it for one or the other. Some for both purposes. Few. What I see are merely my observations of course, I do not believe that the people I know are a fairly represent the whole.

Well, if most couples start using NFP to try to avoid at the beginning of their marriage, and then start trying to conceive, do you think they abandon charting?

I would imagine that if a couple uses NFP, they use it for both purposes.

 

[gam3rchic]

Uh-huh. Do you have any information indicating that most users use NFP both to concieve and to avoid conception? Most that I know have used it for one or the other. Some for both purposes. Few. What I see are merely my observations of course, I do not believe that the people I know are a fairly represent the whole.

I’m not making a point about if people are using NFP to avoid/conceive/whatever. I was making a point that NFP is used by THOUSANDS of women across the country, Catholic or not, to help conceive, period. I’m not interested in getting into the argument about what people do to avoid conception, I couldn’t care less. When I was trying to get pregnant, I was in awe at the thousands of users on that one website alone I used to chart my cycles who were all in the same boat as me: trying to conceive.

So, in my experience, there are A LOT of people that use it solely for trying to conceive, that I know for a fact. What they do to avoid, I don’t know or care nor feel like arguing about. I was just pointing out, since you have never heard of it happening much, of women using NFP to conceive. Happens a lot.

 

[KostyaJMJ]

Well, if most couples start using NFP to try to avoid at the beginning of their marriage, and then start trying to conceive, do you think they abandon charting?

I would imagine that if a couple uses NFP, they use it for both purposes.

I suppose it would depend if you have difficulties TTC. Getting pregnant was always about as difficult as rolling off a log so my wife and I always welcomed any chance to stop charting and taking temp.

 

[micahmike]

Well, if most couples start using NFP to try to avoid at the beginning of their marriage, and then start trying to conceive, do you think they abandon charting?

I would imagine that if a couple uses NFP, they use it for both purposes.

You don’t have any either I take it?

Why would “most couples” be trying to avoid at the beginning of their marriage when they are statistically the most healthy and presumably least likely to have grave reasons to avoid?

 

[micahmike]

I was just pointing out, since you have never heard of it happening much, of women using NFP to conceive. Happens a lot.

Perhaps I typed something wrong. I never intended to convey that I was not aware that a great many people use NFP when TTC. I was not aware that most people use it for both purposes. Sorry if I was unclear. Congrats on your baby!

 

[Consecrated]

And it’s not even always avoiding. Most NFP users use the knowledge to conceive, as well. For those who think NFP is contraception, how can the same thing be contraception sometimes, but not at others? That’s why it’s properly called natural family planning (as opposed to “natural contraception”). The Church teaches that we are to responsibly plan our families. NFP allows you to that, whether it’s a prudent time to have a child, or delay a pregancy.

In Christ,

Ellen

Slight correction: the Church teaches that we may responsibly plan our families, with the use of periodic continence.

 

[gam3rchic]

Perhaps I typed something wrong. I never intended to convey that I was not aware that a great many people use NFP when TTC. I was not aware that most people use it for both purposes. Sorry if I was unclear. Congrats on your baby!

Aw, gotcha:thumbsup: You might’ve wrote what you wanted correctly, I’m just so dog-tired I probably read it wrong LOL.

thanks, he sure is a blessing!!!

ETA: Ok, reread your post and yes, you did make it clear you were wanting to know about people who use both. haha, mommy brain strikes again!!!

 

[manualman]

You don’t have any either I take it?

Why would “most couples” be trying to avoid at the beginning of their marriage when they are statistically the most healthy and presumably least likely to have grave reasons to avoid?

Who can speak for “most couples” in your criteria? Yeah, I’ll go do a 10 year study and get back to you…

For us, massive college debt and the chaos of adjusting to living together was a “serious” reason to put pregnancy off for nearly a year after our marriage. (It took that long for me to learn to leave the toilet seat down and hang the TP the ‘right’ way. )

Others feel the need to establish a couple of years of professional experience before taking off to have kids. That wasn’t our approach, but I think P6 purposely avoided making a list of “serious” reasons in Humanae Vitae. (Btw, where did you get “grave?” I’ve never seen that word used in actual documents).

For our first, we didn’t need to use NFP for TTC. We just had to stop TTA and PRESTO! The second child took enough months that we started paying attention to try to purposely TTC. Third child was a “oh what the heck” baby. Our allegedly serious reason didn’t stand up to hormonal scrutiny!

 

[PaulinVA]

Why would “most couples” be trying to avoid at the beginning of their marriage when they are statistically the most healthy and presumably least likely to have grave reasons to avoid?

Not defending any other people, just recounting what I’ve read right here on CAF.

 

[shannyk]

You don’t have any either I take it?

Why would “most couples” be trying to avoid at the beginning of their marriage when they are statistically the most healthy and presumably least likely to have grave reasons to avoid?

That is a whole other can of worms isn’t it?

I do believe the Church says we must have serious, not grave, reason to avoid pregnancy using NFP.

 

[agapewolf]

Talk to the hundreds of patients that go to my NFP- creighton doctors…that drive from 4 different states to try to conceive by using NFP, AND many of them used to avoid at first.

NFP is NOT contraception. It is impossible to be “against” anything. It is a non-action.

It avoids pregnancy, not prevents it.

 

[Rach620]

Source? Not that many users use NFP to concieve, but that most users use NFP for both purposes? I hadn’t heard that.

With NFP, a married couple can discern on a month-to-month basis whether they are going to use the method to achieve or avoid pregnancy. It seems that most people who don’t know much about NFP assume that some couples use it only to avoid, and only have “surprise” pregnancies or totally stop charting when they want to conceive. That’s not how it’s designed to be used, and that is not how most couples I know use it.

 

[ALLGIRLS]

Source? Not that many users use NFP to concieve, but that most users use NFP for both purposes? I hadn’t heard that.

Sigh. I don’t have a “source”, other than all the people I know, IRL and on the internet (including myself) that use NFP use it for both. Think about it: if you start out using it to avoid, then the time comes that you want to have a baby, are you honestly going to just throw out your charts and “forget” or ignore your fertile times? Especially once observing and charting become a regular part of your life, once you really want a baby, why would you not use your known fertile days? It just seems like common sense to me (but hey, I could be wrong )

In Christ,

Ellen

 

[ALLGIRLS]

You don’t have any either I take it?

Why would “most couples” be trying to avoid at the beginning of their marriage when they are statistically the most healthy and presumably least likely to have grave reasons to avoid?

Because they’re trying to pay off college or wedding debts? They’ve been told they need a year or 2 to “get to know each other” (I don’t agree with this, btw, but it’s the line secular society feeds couples, and yes, some Catholics fall for it, too. We’re not perfect; that’s why we have confession. My dh and I did actually conceive-on purpose, w/o NFP-2 weeks after our wedding, and didn’t learn NFP until my fertility returned when dd was 9 months old)? They’re just out of college and feel the need to “get on the their feet” or establish their careers/afford a house/whatever (once again, secular societies “reasons” that even good Catholics can fall into)? Or, just maybe, one or the other ISN’T healthy at the moment, or something catastrophic like a job loss or illness or accident happents just after the wedding, giving them a serious (valid) receive to avoid. There’s lots of scenarios. Why don’t you start a new thread with a poll?

In Christ,

Ellen