I have found that the teachers (Couple to Couple has a big problem with this) make everything sound perfect and they want you to think that you are going to have some miniscule number of days of abstinence. The fact is, it varies pretty widely. You should read a book called “The Sinner’s Guide to NFP” by Simcha Fisher. She tells it like it is and actually makes fun of a lot of the teachers that paint these overly-rosy pictures of NFP. Nevertheless, she is quick to discuss the fact that the sacrifices are worth it.
A lot of the hormonal birth control methods (Nuva Ring in particular) have been making it into even mainstream women’s magazines with big articles on the lack of disclosure about blood clots and cardiac risks. When you consider all of the risks with artificial birth control (such as healthy young girls dropping dead from a blood clot they were far too young to likely have naturally) it makes some of the more careful and conservative abstinence estimates of NFP look like a cakewalk. I’ll take dealing with a little more abstinence than I prefer over a blood clot any day!
