Self taught NFP

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But the OP isn’t looking to use NFP as contraception. She’s single and chaste. She wants to use NFP to help identify health issues.

Also, not all versions of NFP are created equal. Many rely on day to day observations of what your body is doing right now. Is it easier with regular cycles? Sure. But many methods work when cycles are irregular or even absent. (Caveats of course that everyone is different. There are exceptions to every rule. Etc etc. But the argument that NFP is ineffective if you have irregular ccycles is not necessarily true.)
 
Yes.

NFP was a disaster for us. I tried to follow the rules based on the limited info I had.
We couldn’t afford an instructor and my postpartum phase was impossible. I started cycling at the 6 week mark…despite EBFing all of my babies. My cycles became impossible to chart due to me nursing…and they were like that for at least 12 months PP.

I read books and took a much cheaper at home course.
There was no information about PP unless I wanted to pay more money.

I used STM and an app that was free…until it wasn’t anymore. The app gave me 100% red days from cycle day 4 until cycle day 30…then I’d get my period the next day. Then we had to pay for it and I couldn’t use it anymore.

My “failure” is considered a user error based on the fact that we didn’t have an instructor because We couldn’t afford one.

Frustration doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt. We had no help, no place to turn, and I couldn’t get pregnant again. I had 3 kids in 3.5 years. I was a SAHM trying to finish her degree and my husband was struggling to not get laid off every 6 months.
We gave up on the teaching for a little while. I had to…I’m not proud of it but I’m human and was faced with a wall that was too high for me to climb.

Based on my experience…you need a middle class lifestyle to do this. You need an instructor, literature, materials…which all cost money. Lady comp is like $500. Marquette is ridiculously expensive between the materials ($100 or more for monitor and $30 for a box of strips…every couple of months when you’re not PP)…plus the app and instruction…which can be $200 for a basic course and 6 months of observation.
Creighton you cannot do without instruction…add to that, all catholic women should have a napro Doctor…which isn’t covered by insurance and can be hours of driving to the one closest to you. That’s gas money and babysitters, unless you want to drag 3-4 kids under 5 with you.

Reality is reality…especially when you are PP and feel backed into a corner. I did…and I’m only now…3 years later…pulling myself out of the depression, accepting church teaching and willing to try again.
 
I am sorry for your experience on post partum fertility… you are right it is a sensitive period and without any help, it is very difficult.
How do you breatfeeding? Are you under LAM criterias, or ecological breatfeeding method?

There are some organisations that teach some NFP method for free.

The origins of NFP is that it is offered for free.
Others organisation in liberal countries have choose otherwise, unfortunately.
I am supposed that you search for English and in the USA?

I agree on the prohibitive costs of marquette, or at a lesser degree Creighton.

Have you the possibility of health coverage for NFP? Some insassurance reimburse some costs of learnings, or products.

Billings Method is teach for free by voluntered couples by the WOOMB.
If I am correct, NFPI offered their book for free. Not sure It is sufficient for post partum infertility.
http://www.nfpandmore.org/nfphowto.shtml

Of course your choices can be limited, sadly.

You have also the possibility to be followed by a monitor at long distance.
 
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I agree, there is an very common idea that NFP cannot work with irregular cycles.

It is false in many cases, at least if it is not a symptom of an underline problem. As NFP method are based-evidence observation method, and not rythm or statistics, the lengt and irregularity is not a problem.
Surely irregualr cycles needs more awerness and are more challenging.

It can even is some cases make the women thinks of an health problem.
 
I ecologically BFd all three of my kids.

It did nothing to suppress my fertility. I started cycling at 6 weeks, 5.5 weeks, and 7 weeks after each birth.
 
Also…no, my insurance would never cover it.

I couldn’t get my insurance to cover a pump…they didn’t change that policy and get current with the rest of the country until after I had my last child…let alone pay for any materials or instruction on a method to avoid pregnancy that isn’t widely recognized or FDA approved.
 
It is sad for you.

If it had ever happened 3 times, the logic is that you may except the same for any further pregnancy, at equal situation. Thta’s what we learned in my STM method. (one time is sufficient to pre-determined what is except).

Now, there is a new hypothesis: some women have a higher level of hormones in pregnancy, and it seems to pre-determined a quick fertility come back.
It is not your fault…
 
That’s a problem…and wordwide…

I don’t know what the FDA approved but perhaps not a lot of things…

Hoosier daddy say Natural cycles is FDA approved, but I will not help you at all, in your situation…
 
No…I know that. I was resentful of it when I was in the thick of it…especially with so many catholic resources that promise otherwise.

Now…after everything I’ve been through I’m at peace.

I’ll never advocate any woman go into the PP phase thinking that nursing is an effective way to postpone future births. It’s ridiculous to assume otherwise.
 
Temping isn’t very accurate. At least, in my experience it wasn’t.

I did it the cheap way and have three kids as a result.

Even a glass of wine before bed can throw off a temp reading. Taking an antihistamine can throw off your mucus pattern.
 
The fact is in many situation breastfeeding with optimal and following all the critera works for many women. Otherwise it will not be approoved by WHO for the 6 firsts mounths.

It had worked for me, and many many women I have “met” through LLL have had a very delated period return.

But we will never advocated for breatfeeding as the way it is practiced in western world as effective (pacifer, mother at work, separation mother-baby the night etc).

My opinion is that in some case, asbtinence is preferable in post partum than a risk of pregnancy. More, a lot of women have a low desire in that period and difficulties to have intercourse.

Thanks you fr the antihistamine, I didn’t known.

Temping is considered as accurate. But with youngs kids, babies and difficult nights, it can be as near as impossible.
Cannot success in restart taking temp after birth myself…

With post partum, it can be close to impossible, and with erratic cycles, more.

For exemption such as a glass of wine, there is the possibility to not used the following temp in consideration.
(I don’t known for the alcohool, too, just the hour of going to bed).
 
I supposed you want only English ressources on NFP?

I think that this post have not provided adequate NFP training for free until now… I hope that it will
 
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The thing is…I followed the EBF protocol.
I didn’t work, I stayed home, never left my kid’s side and made an effort to follow each rule…with increasing amounts of difficulty after each child arrived.
To the point where I felt like I was going to lose my mind.
I did it because I was bent on trying to make it work.

Women do follow protocol on EBF and there is no way of knowing if it will work for you.

There is no studies proving that the method is actually effective. LAM has been proven through research and studies. You either have no cycles for the first 6 months and are almost guaranteed no pregnancy…or you cycle and that assurance goes away.
The “rules” for EBF are impossible to test accurately. You can’t set up unbiased scenarios with controls and variables for each rule to be proven with or against each other.
It’s based on word of mouth.
 
KCmedtech said:
Creighton you cannot do without instruction…
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True but instruction has a sliding scale model for fees.
KCmedtech said:
add to that, all catholic women should have a napro Doctor…which isn’t covered by insurance and can be hours of driving to the one closest to you.
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There is no requirement for this, Creighton does not push this.

I took Creighton classes. NaPro was only mentioned in the context of being abailable for fertility issues.
 
Hoosier-Daddy said:
Yes it is.
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Natural family planning is not contraception.

Contraception and NFP (periodic or complete continence) are both forms of birth control. One immoral the other moral. The Church doesn’t teach spacing and planning children (birth control) is immoral. The Church teaches contraception is an immoral means of birth control.

It is unfortunate that “birth control” and “contraception” have become synonyms when they are not— one is a subset of the other.
 
Technically any info used to “plan” is a method. Just temping may not be a reliable way to go but temping is indeed NFP. As would be only using mucus checks.
 
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