Spacing pregnancies according to the Church

[imo]

Hello.

My wife had a C section and her doctor said to wait at least 2 years before having another child by health reasons, because of the fragility of the uterus wall that need to be rebuilt. Basically an earlier pregnancy can bring serious risks to her and for the fetus. So , I guess in this point is a very justified matter to delay the next pregnancy.

My question is what are the ways that the Church accepts to prevent an early pregnancy besides abstinence?

Thank you.

 

[thistle]

Hello.

My wife had a C section and her doctor said to wait at least 2 years before having another child by health reasons, because of the fragility of the uterus wall that need to be rebuilt. Basically an earlier pregnancy can bring serious risks to her and for the fetus. So , I guess in this point is a very justified matter to delay the next pregnancy.

My question is what are the ways that the Church accepts to prevent an early pregnancy besides abstinence?

Thank you.

CCC 2370 Periodic continence, that is, the methods of birth regulation based on self-observation and the use of infertile periods, is in conformity with the objective criteria of morality. These methods respect the bodies of the spouses, encourage tenderness between them, and favor the education of an authentic freedom. In contrast, “every action which, whether in anticipation of the conjugal act, or in its accomplishment, or in the development of its natural consequences, proposes, whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation impossible” is intrinsically evil:

Thus the innate language that expresses the total reciprocal self-giving of husband and wife is overlaid, through contraception, by an objectively contradictory language, namely, that of not giving oneself totally to the other. This leads not only to a positive refusal to be open to life but also to a falsification of the inner truth of conjugal love, which is called upon to give itself in personal totality. . . . The difference, both anthropological and moral, between contraception and recourse to the rhythm of the cycle . . . involves in the final analysis two irreconcilable concepts of the human person and of human sexuality.

CCC 2399 The regulation of births represents one of the aspects of responsible fatherhood and motherhood. Legitimate intentions on the part of the spouses do not justify recourse to morally unacceptable means (for example, direct sterilization or contraception).

 

[Elf01]

My question is what are the ways that the Church accepts to prevent an early pregnancy besides abstinence?

Only having sex when your wife is not fertile.

 

[1ke]

My question is what are the ways that the Church accepts to prevent an early pregnancy besides abstinence?

That’s it: abstinence. Periodic abstinence through natural family planning to effectively space children.

If you and your wife haven’t already learned a method of natural family planning, contact your diocese for local instructor information and begin taking the classes.

There are several methods of NFP including sympto-thermal, Creighton, Billings, and Marquette.

 

[Jen7]

Abstinence is the only way - although it needn’t last two years. A good NFP instructor can teach y’all how to recognize when you wife is & isn’t fertile so you can have sex on almost any not-fertile days (of which there are quite a few every month, although of course it’s not unlimited). If your wife is an organized type A personality I recommend the Creighton method or Sympto-thermal method - theyre the most detailed and have the highest success rates. If ya’ll don’t do details and schedules very well the Ava bracelet will track her fertility while she sleeps, or the Marquette method uses a monitor that takes the work out of things too (but you give up some accuracy with these easier methods). Google the method you prefer + your location and I’m sure you’ll find someone happy to teach you! Best of luck!!