What is natural family planning?

Answer 1

Natural Family Planning is any method of birth control that meet the criteria set out by the Roman Catholic Church. There are only two approved methods: periodic abstinence, and lactational amenorrhea. Sex is also permitted when the woman is pregnant and after menopause.

Periodic abstinence covers everything from the Rhythm method to Fertility Awareness.

Strictly speaking the rhythm method is not approved by the Catholic church, but most people interpret it as being allowable, it isn't forbidden per se. The typical failure rate of the rhythm method is 25%.

Fertility awareness is more complicated and more accurate. Depending on the methods used (basal temperature, cervical mucous, etc, etc) the effectiveness varies.


Lactational Amenorrhea of course can only be used after giving birth. LAM is about 98% effective for 6 months after birth provided all the rules are followed. Ecological Breastfeeding is a much stricter set of rules designed to extend the period of amenorrhea. It is 99% effective the first 6 months and 94% effective between 6 months and whenever the woman's period returns.

I really wish people wouldn't answer questions when they have no idea what the answer is. There are many behavioural methods of birth control, some of which are more effective or as effective as condoms. Withdrawal, though not mentioned above because it is not covered under the term fertility awareness has been shown to be 80-90% effective. Some studies show it is even more effective among married couples. Condoms are 82-90% effective.

Also people who experience failures using behavioural methods who never bother to understand the rules to using these methods drive me insane. You wouldn't say condoms didn't work if someone was using them incorrectly. You don't say birth control pills don't work when someone takes them incorrectly. But people say withdrawal doesn't work because they "know someone" who got pregnant using it. Even though the person using it didn't follow the rules because almost no one is aware of the rules.

Natural family planning
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_family_planning#Lactational_amenorrhea

Fertility awareness
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertility_awareness

Rhythm method
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_Method

Lactational amenorrhea method
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactational_Amenorrhea_Method

Withdrawal
http://www.peelregion.ca/health/hsexual/htmfiles/bcwdrawl.htm#3

Condom
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condom

Answer 2

While there has been a recent resurgence of women using the rhythm method (CycleBeads, and the like), most people who refer to Natural Family Planning or NFP are *not* referring to the rhythm method. The rhythm method is an out-of-date method for planning or avoiding pregnancy which assumes that women always have regular cycles and do not account for cycle irregularities (which is why so many women got pregnant using the rhythm method).

Modern NFP is scientifically based and has over 30 years of science and research behind it. A woman is only fertile for about 6 days of the month, for the 5 days before ovulation and for 1 day after ovulation. Women using NFP monitor their signs of fertility to determine if she is in her fertile window. With that knowledge she can either abstain from sex to avoid pregnancy or have sex to get pregnant.

We know that NFP is effective for a number of reasons. First, a man's sperm can only live for 5 days and that is under the most optimum environment. A woman's egg is only viable for 12-24 hours. As long as the couple does not have sex for the 5 days prior to ovulation and for 2-3 days after ovulation, they cannot get pregnant. A woman can only ovulate once per cycle (rarely women will ovulate more than once, which is how fraternal twins are conceived, however ovulation will always occur within 24 hours of the first ovulation and NFP rules conservatively assume that you will have a double ovulation every cycle so that is built in to the rules).

NFP gets a bad rap because 1) most people don't know how it really works 2) they don't think couples will be willing to not have sex during the fertile window and 3) because there are many NFP families that have many children. Also people seem to be very unforgiving of the method. If someone gets pregnant on the pill, no one says it's ineffective. If someone gets pregnant using condoms, no one blames them. But if someone chooses to use NFP wrong, then everyone seems to call it ineffective.

Doctors are equally ignorant of the method because it is not taught in medical school. It is too bad because the method is very easy and 99% accurate for couples who follow the rules, and it is also safe & healthy because there are no side effects for the woman from the hormones of the birth control pill, etc.

I have used NFP for almost 9 years and it has been very effective for my husband & I not only to avoid pregnancy but to achieve it. There are a lot of big NFP families, but if you talk to those families you find out that they wanted big families, it is not due to any failure of the method. Of course, if you are using NFP you do have to have good motivation. I really suggest anyone wanting to learn NFP learn from a certified teacher. There are many different methods of NFP, all based on the same basic system but taught by different groups. Good ones include the Couple to Couple League (www.ccli.org), The Billings Method, Creighton Method, Northwest Family Services, etc. You can also download a free manual from the site www.nfpandmore.org.

Answer 3

I have used this, and it's worked for me. It's basically charting your temperature (your temperature goes up after you ovulate and you can;t get pregnant then), checking your CM (cervical mucus, there is ferile cm and hostile or non-fertile cm) and abstaining from sex when you are in your 7 day fertile period every month. I have irregular cycles and have managed to avoid pregnancy when I wanted to, and got pregnant with my daughter the first month I tried. I am now trying for baby #2.

Answer 4

It's when you use your body's signs as brith control. It's not very reliable and does not protect from STD's. A great book to get strated if you're interested is "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler.

Answer 5

Practicing the Rhythm method" whereby, you only have sexual relations when the female can not get pregnant. When you decide to have a child, then you have sex, at any time, but most specifically when there is a good chance of pregnancy occurring.

Answer 6

www.ccli.org

This site provides information, teaching and support for couples using or wanting to learn about Natural Family Planning.

It should answer all of your questions.

:)

Answer 7

charting a woman cycle to determine when she is ovualting, then avoidng sex during the peak fertile period. Its effective, but takes alot of commitment!!

Answer 8

Only having sex when you don't think you are ovulating and abstaining when and around the time you ovulate. You try to guess when you are ovulating by taking you basal temperature and monitoring your discharge. Basically it's like playing Russian roulette with you uterus.

Answer 9

using the rhythm method of birth control