Natural Family Planning

What is natural family planning (NFP)?
Natural family planning is a practice of learning a woman’s natural signs of fertility, keeping track of those signs, and then using that information to avoid pregnancy naturally, to achieve pregnancy, or to monitor health.

Why would I use NFP?

NFP means working with your body. God made a woman’s body to cycle and natural family planning respects that rhythm. Alternative contraceptive options, such as hormonal birth control (including IUDs), shut down the woman’s natural cycle and change the uterine lining so that it is incompatible with sustaining an embryo, even if one is formed while on these hormonal contraceptives.
NFP means working in partnership with your spouse. When used for avoiding or achieving pregnancy, natural family planning helps you and your spouse work together and communicate about where the woman is at in her cycle and what that means for your intimacy. The responsibility for family planning lies with both spouses.
NFP is effective! Natural family planning methods are up to 98% effective for avoiding pregnancy when following a specific method and working with an instructor to get started. Alternative, birth control pills are 91% effective for avoiding pregnancy.

Video: NFP: the healthiest way to manage fertility and your health: https://youtu.be/VSd-rg87CBg

Natural family planning methods:
There are multiple methods of natural family planning. Different NFP methods use different signs that tell you when you are going to ovulate or have ovulated (aka fertility signs).
Video: How do I know if I ovulated? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_21AHHnAcI

Choose the method that has you monitoring a fertility sign you can keep track of every day. Choose an instructor who is a good fit for you. All NFP methods are effective, but only if you follow the method.

Marquette Method: option of tracking cervical mucus alone, urine hormone levels alone, or a combination of cervical mucus and urine hormone levels, with the opportunity to add on basal body temperature tracking
Video: What is the Marquette Method? (includes comparison to other methods): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlhSrfpvxp0
Creighton Method: track your cervical mucus using a standardized rating scale
Billings Ovulation Method: track your cervical mucus based on look and feel
SymptoThermal Method (Couples to Couples League): track cervical mucus and basal body temperatures, with the option of observing cervix feel/position changes

Find an instructor: Minneapolis-St Paul Archiocese page - scroll down to “Downloads” for natural family planning class schedule https://www.archspm.org/marriage/natural-family-planning