Natural family planning (NFP) is using knowledge of a woman's cyclical fertility to avoid or achieve pregnancy. By identifying a woman's brief fertile window each month, a couple can choose to either unite or abstain during this time, depending on their family planning intention. It's a safe, highly effective method that can have many positive benefits. Sounds great, right? Now you may be wondering, how do I start? Though learning to observe and chart a woman's fertility signs isn't difficult, it is an unfamiliar skill that must be carefully learned. Thankfully, there are a variety of paths one might take to become a confident NFP user. Here is a brief overview of 3 different ways to learn. 1. Self-study Pros: There are many resources available such as books, websites and online forums that make learning NFP on your own possible. This can be a great method for someone who is self-motivated, detail oriented and resourceful. Cons: When you are on your own, there is no one available to review your charts or answer your questions. Different resources may teach slightly varying guidelines and rules, which can cause confusion. This can be especially challenging for those who are postpartum, coming off the Pill, or have difficult or irregular cycles. Learning on one's own can be isolating. 2. In-person instruction Pros: An instructor has real life experience and professional training, can personally evaluate your charts and answer any questions that might arise. They can thoroughly explain new concepts, and help to guide you through any tricky cycles or unusual circumstances. Classes are often held in small groups that allow for community building and discussion. Cons: May be logistically tough for those with small children or busy schedules. Someone who is shy may dislike a classroom setting. You might not have an instructor in your community. 3. Online instruction Pros: Online instruction is often a self-paced course featuring the support of a trained instructor. This can be the best of both worlds for someone looking for flexibility and guided learning. Cons: No group discussion or community support, instructor may have a lack of knowledge of local resources. We are blessed to live in such an exciting time when use of NFP is becoming more common, meaning that there are multiple resources and methods available. So if you're interested in learning, a little bit of research can help you find the perfect fit for you. Feel free to contact me to sign up for an online class or for help finding a local instructor in your community! photo by freedigitalphotos/everydayplus
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Notice I didn't say 'everyone'. There will always be someone who plain just doesn't like natural family planning, for whatever reason. Maybe they can't get their spouse on board. Maybe they dislike paying attention to their body. Maybe they simply aren't interested, and that's okay. However, NFP can be for anyone. The ability to plan your family by charting your cycle and modifying behavior is not limited to a select few. I hear people say they don't think they can use NFP because: They aren't Catholic. They aren't 'crunchy'. They are too lazy. They are too busy. They have irregular cycles (or no cycles!) They are breastfeeding. They really really don't want to get pregnant. If any of this sounds familiar, you might be interested to know that natural family planning can absolutely work for you, and you may even surprised at how well it fits into your lifestyle. Let me address some of these right off the bat. But hormones are a good part of God's design! They are an integral part of our biology, just as much as our bones and our blood. Our hormones are simply the chemical messengers by which our brains and our organ systems communicate. Describing someone as 'hormonal' makes just about as much sense as calling someone 'kerantinish' or 'mitochondrial.' And it's quickly become a way of demeaning women. We even do it to each other, and ourselves! We somehow imply that because we are hormonal, we are less competent, less dependable, less able to make decisions. Yes, hormones often contribute to changing moods and emotions, but we need to stop acting like that's a bad thing. Human beings are vibrant and dynamic creatures. Women in particular experience a beautiful, cyclical existence, our very bodies undergoing a series of physiological changes on a monthly basis. Differing moods and energy levels are normal. Purposeful. Designed. What is not normal is having such severe highs and lows that you feel socially and emotionally crippled, and the fuel for tasteless jokes. If this is your situation, a hormonal imbalance may be present. But even then, your hormones are not the enemy. They are simply doing their job of sending messages, and an imbalance is a message that you are not well. So instead of ignoring, mocking, resenting, or even chemically suppressing your hormones, embrace them. Learn about them. Listen to them. Maybe you need to change your diet, sleep more, reduce stress, switch shampoo - there is so much that we can do to improve our hormonal and emotional health! And maybe in time, rather than an insult, 'being hormonal' will become just another way of saying 'being human.' When charting your cycle and tracking your fertility, one of the most important signs you can observe is your cervical mucus. This is because the quality and quantity of your mucus will change throughout the cycle, directly affected by your changing hormones. Fertile cervical mucus is what keeps sperm alive long enough to reach an egg, which is only released once per cycle. Because of this, mucus is one of the best and clearest ways to determine when your fertile window begins and ends, which is vital both for family planning purposes as well as learning about your health. Pretty amazing, right? But how exactly does one observe this mucus? Is it hard? Is it gross? It's natural to be a bit intimidated at the thought of tracking this sign, but it's actually fairly simple and easy to add it to your daily routine. Here are some tips to get you started. Natural family planning is a skill that, once learned, quickly becomes a daily habit. But what happens when you take an extended break? Pregnancy is a classic example, but you may take time off for personal or relational reasons as well. So what happens when your skills get rusty? I am now a few months postpartum myself so I am experiencing this very thing. Even though I'm an NFP teacher and I'm very familiar with the theory, I'm out of practice with the application aspect. Here are five tips that helped me to get back into the groove of using NFP on a daily basis. 1. Get your spouse involved Having a second person around to help remind you to check and chart your fertility signs is extremely helpful. But equally important is having good discussions about your family planning intentions. Are you avoiding pregnancy? Actively trying to get pregnant? Just waiting to see what happens? If you just had a child, are you hoping for a certain spacing before the next one? Or do you feel done having children all together? It's vital to have open communication about your family planning intentions with your spouse. Not only is partner involvement essential for effective use of NFP, but it's also important for a healthy relationship. You may not necessarily be exactly on the same page, but at least be aware of how the other feels. 2. Employ visible reminders
I normally keep my chart on my bedside table, so I can easily write down the day's observations at the end of the night. But I'm not going to lie; the first day I tried to get back to charting, I walked into my bedroom just before bed, spotted my chart, and said, "Oops." I had completely forgotten to observe my fertility signs (after all, I hadn't done it in over ten months!) So try keeping your chart somewhere more visible. Or if you are worried about privacy, use other reminders; a sticker on the bathroom mirror, a special bracelet, a note on the fridge, etc. Do whatever you have to do to remind yourself to pay attention to your body. You probably won't have to do this long; pretty soon, you'll naturally be in the habit of checking your fertility signs again. In my experience, most of us women who don’t know much more about how our bodies function other than the fact that we get periods once a month and that those periods have something to do with baby-making. Part of the reason I am so passionate about fertility education is that I believe that all women deserve to know how their bodies really work. As women, we need the complete picture, not just snippets of information we picked up in school or on the internet. Here are some of the most common myths and misconceptions about our bodies; I hope reading this will leave you feeling a little more enlightened and hungry for more knowledge! 1. Women should get a period every 28 days. I thought I’d start with this one since it’s the most common myth that I come across. While it is true that many women have regular, 28 day menstrual cycles, that is not the only cycle length that is considered healthy. In fact, typical menstrual cycles can be between 23-40 days long. It’s also normal for an individual woman’s cycle to vary month to month by as much as 10 days. As such, cycle length alone normally doesn’t tell a woman if her cycle is normal or healthy. The best way to do that is for a woman to learn to chart her fertility signs, which are her body's physical symptoms of fertility. 2. Women can get pregnant any time. Unless you’ve done any research into trying to conceive, you may be surprised to discover that it’s not actually possible to get pregnant any time you engage in intercourse. Men are always fertile, but a woman’s fertility is cyclical. This means at a specific time during her menstrual cycle she is able to conceive, and at other times, she is not. Whether she is fertile or not depends on many factors, such as hormone levels, the presence of an egg, the quality of her cervical mucus, and more. When it comes to pregnancy, timing is very important. A woman can identify her fertile window by learning to chart her fertility signs and practicing natural family planning (NFP) In the past, I cared very little about health and wellness. However, since becoming a wife and mother, my attitude has changed. Being responsible for the well-being of a house full of precious souls has suddenly made living a natural, healthier lifestyle very important. But where to start? It can feel overwhelming to consider transitioning to more natural living, so my best advice is to do a little bit at a time. Take baby steps, and don't try to do everything at once. Here are some areas in which you can start to slowly change your lifestyle. If you take it in small pieces, you'll soon gain confidence as you build new habits. 1. Get rid of harsh cleaning chemicals Most mainstream household cleaners are pretty nasty. They are filled with harsh chemicals and artificial scents designed to give that 'clean' smell. Often without thinking, we spray these chemicals into the air, wash our clothes with them, and wipe them on our kitchen and bathroom surfaces. These substances can be especially harsh on small children and their growing bodies. Now, don't feel like you have to raid your closets and throw away hundreds of dollars in product! Simply replace your cleaners with safer versions as you run out. There are many great cleaning products available that are non-toxic and chemical free. Another option would be to make your own. Here is a wonderful article on cleaning your house using simple ingredients like baking soda and vinegar. 2. Change up your beauty routine Another source of toxins and chemicals in our homes is our beauty products. Makeup, soaps, hair products, deodorants and lotions are often full of harmful substances. Xenoestrogens (estrogen-mimicking chemicals) are especially concerning, since they can disrupt our normal hormones and body processes. Putting these in direct contact with our largest organ, our skin, is certainly not a good idea. Much like with the cleaning supplies, you can replace your beauty products one item at a time. There are an increasing number of natural cosmetics available, try looking in natural food stores or on the internet. Or, go without. I've personally stopped wearing makeup all together and I find my skin is healthier, not to mention it's better for my budget! Another option is to try to make your own beauty and skin care products. The internet is full of fun ideas and tutorials on how to make safe and delightful products with ingredients such as shea butter, coconut oil, and essential oils. I am a fertility educator and natural family planning (NFP) instructor. Looking back, I never would have imagined developing such a passion for women’s menstrual cycles. It’s kind of a strange thing to be interested in, much less to devote so much time and energy to. On nearly a daily basis I am either writing or talking to someone about their periods, cervical mucus, or sexual behavior. So how did I get here? It started when I was 20 years old and got engaged to my husband. We didn’t want kids right away but I was afraid of the side effects of hormonal contraception, so we decided we’d better try to learn a natural method before getting married. I read as many books on fertility awareness as I could get my hands on, and we took a class together at a local Catholic church. From the very beginning we were impressed by the ease and logic of natural family planning, as well as the extensive research behind it. We had no doubt that we’d be successful at both preventing and achieving pregnancy when we desired, and we were right! Inspired by our success, I became determined to share my knowledge with others. I couldn’t believe that more people weren’t using this method, and that there was so much misinformation out there about NFP. I trained through Northwest Family Services’ SymptoPro certification program, and shortly afterwards I started Wellspring Fertility Education. I’ve been teaching women and couples how to use NFP ever since. So what exactly is it about NFP that I find so incredible? The practice of natural family planning (NFP) involves a woman observing and charting multiple signs of fertility. These signs change throughout a woman’s menstrual cycle, reflecting her hormone levels on any given day. With the SymptoPro sympto-thermal method of NFP (taught by Wellspring Fertility Education), the two primary signs of fertility that one observes are basal body temperature and cervical mucus, noticed by tissue and sensation. By recording these signs on a chart, a woman can determine which days of her cycle are potentially fertile, and then either abstain from intercourse on those days if she is avoiding pregnancy, or have intercourse if she is trying to conceive. The method is free to use, has zero side effects, and is over 99% effective when practiced correctly. So what’s the catch? Well, some women and couples are intimidated when first considering NFP. Maybe the couple is overwhelmed by the sheer amount of new information. Maybe a woman is uncertain if she will be able to correctly interpret her chart. Like any new skill, NFP does require practice and patience in order to build confidence. To help out, I’ve put together some helpful tips and tricks to give you peace of mind and success. 1. Establish a routine Practicing NFP may seem like it involves a lot of extra work, but building fertility observation habits into your daily routine can soon make it second nature. Set your alarm for the same time every day. Leave your chart by your bedside. Check your mucus every time you use the bathroom. Notice your sensation every time you pause to eat, check your phone, or some other task you do throughout the day. Write your observations down once at the end of the night. After a week or two these once unfamiliar actions will turn into habits, and will be almost impossible to forget. You’ll soon get your stride. Remember, the total time it takes to observe your fertility signs and record them on your chart should only take about 2 minutes a day! 2. Leave the thermometer in As I mentioned above, one of your fertility signs is your basal body temperature. This is simply your body’s resting temperature taken first thing upon waking. Charting your temperature pattern reflects your body’s progesterone levels, which allows you to confirm the end of your fertile window. Most women are able to detect a classic bi-phasic (two level) temperature pattern after charting their very first cycle. However, for good measure and added accuracy, it’s a good idea to leave the thermometer in your mouth for an extra minute after the beep. This is because modern digital thermometers are designed for speed, but will continue reading your temperature and may even adjust a tenth of a degree or two after it’s ‘done’. This is important, since temperature shifts during your cycle are often quite slight. Letting the thermometer finish reading can help to clarify your pattern and make your chart easier to interpret. (This article may contain affiliate links) When looking for resources about women's health and fertility, the sheer amount of information available can be overwhelming. There are countless books, blogs, magazines, websites devoted to the topic, some of which offer conflicting advice. I'd like to start writing some reviews about resources that I've found to be informative, research-based and useful. The first one I'd like to share with you was easy to pick - I use this book as a reference on at least a weekly basis! It's called Fertility, Cycles and Nutrition by Marilyn M. Shannon, M.A., and it is by far my favorite book on menstrual health that I've ever read. The author holds a master's degree in human physiology and biochemistry, and she has a special interest in nutrition and reproductive health. She is also a natural family planning instructor with decades of experience. Fertility, Cycles and Nutrition could be read through from cover to cover, but it may be more suitable as a reference guide for everything related to nutrition and menstrual health. Part One of the book consists of basic nutritional advice - useful for everyone, not just women! Chapter titles include Twelve Rules for Better Nutrition, Obtaining and Preparing Nutritious Food, and Basic Supplements to Consider. Part Two, which encompasses the majority of the volume, is titled Overcoming Reproductive Problems and Challenges. Shannon describes a number of ways that nutritional deficiencies can lead to or exaggerate reproductive issues, and how proper nutrition, supplementation, and other natural remedies can provide significant improvement. This section deals with a variety of topics including PMS, painful periods, thyroid function, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, luteal phase deficiency, yeast and vaginal infections, low sexual desire, endometriosis, infertility, miscarriage, and more. There are also sections focusing on optimal health for pre-conception, pregnancy, postpartum and breastfeeding. Throughout her book, Shannon gives specific vitamin recommendations, including dosage, to support various conditions. Her advice is clear, practical and easy to implement. Best of all, Shannon's background as a natural family planning instructor means that she readily understands and describes how charting fertility signs and interpreting that chart can provide valuable clues to a woman's overall health. I highly recommend this book to any woman of reproductive age, whether avoiding pregnancy, trying to conceive, or simply looking to improve her menstrual cycles and general well-being. The latest edition can be found here. |
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