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July 2014
Living the Sacrament of Marriage with Natural
By: Christie Bourg
Family Planning
With the current trends in holistic medicine
and “all natural” products, there seems to be one very
important element that gets very little attention:
Natural Family Planning (NFP).
In the 1930’s, a Catholic physician discovered
a calendar system of family planning called the
Rhythm Method. When done correctly,
the success rate was only 91%.
Through the years, however,
more effective methods of family
planning were developed. After
decades of research, doctors designed a
natural family planning method with an
all-time high effective rate of 99%
when used properly. Enter NFP.
NFP uses a woman’s daily
symptoms and temperature to
determine the time in her cycle when
she is most fertile. Married couples can use this
simple method to achieve or, when appropriate, to
postpone pregnancy. After learning the method, all
that is required is a thermometer (to log temperature
daily), and pen and paper (to record symptoms.)
There are many advantages to using NFP. It
can be used to achieve or postpone pregnancy, it
strengthens marriages, it can be used by women in all
walks of life and income levels, and it is in accord
with Catholic teachings.
Other methods require
prescriptions, may take months to work,
and may take months to reverse the
effects if pregnancy is desired. In
addition, they are not in union with the
Church and may have serious, longlasting side effects such as blood clots,
stroke, migraines, blurred vision, and
much more.
Side effects of NFP? Well, there
aren’t any. While other methods
introduce hormones and foreign objects
to the body, interfering with the body’s
natural functions, NFP adds nothing to the body and
works with the body’s natural functions.
July 20-26 is National NFP Awareness Week.
Help promote good physical and spiritual health by
learning more about NFP and telling others about it.
For more information, visit ccli.org or contact the
Archdiocesan Family Life Apostolate at 861-6243
Differences Between NFP and Contraception
Natural Family Planning (NFP)
Is in harmony with fertility
Treats fertility as a gift
Couple remains in communion with Christ
Can change use of the method to postpone
or achieve pregnancy at a moment’s notice
Is open to God’s will for life
Economical
No side effects
Contraception
Interferes with fertility
Treats fertility as a disease
Separates couple from Christ & His Church
Requires time to “reverse” effects if pregnancy
is desired
Is closed to beginning a new life
Requires doctor visits and prescriptions
May cause serious side effects
When used correctly, Natural Family
planning is MORE EFFECTIVE THAN THE
PILL or ANY OTHER FORMS OF
ARTIFICIAL BIRTH CONTROL, all of
which break church law!