Natural Family Planning (NFP) is an umbrella term for modern, healthy, scientifically accurate and reliable methods of family planning. It is based on fertility awareness and has been proven scientifically sound in both theory and in practice.

NFP monitors the actual physical signs of fertility in each month's cycle so that couples can make accurate decisions bout avoiding or achieving pregnancy. NFP works with menstrual cycles of any length and any degree of irregularity. It can be used during breastfeeding, just before menopause and in other special circumstances. It can be used effectively throughout a woman's reproductive life. The methods are progressive, which means that they monitor the current, day-to-day signs of the woman's cycle.

NFP methods are different from and better than artificial contraception because they:

• Cooperate with, rather than suppress a couple's fertility
• Can be used both to achieve and avoid pregnancy
• Call for shared responsibility and cooperation by husband and wife
• Require spousal communication
• Foster respect for and acceptance of the total person
• Have no harmful side effects
• Are virtually cost free

NFP is unique because it enables its users to work with the body rather than against it. Fertility is viewed as a blessing to be lived, not a problem to be solved.

"Giving our whole selves to each other intensified the sensations and the feeling of unity in this expression of our love."

The Catholic Church teaches that intercourse belongs in marriage and that every act of marital intercourse is to be open to the possible creation of a new human life. Sexual intercourse is, by nature, both life-giving (procreative) and love-giving (unitive). In fact, husbands and wives who give and receive the gift of one another totally in marriage both understand and reveal something very profound and beautiful about the total and unconditional love of God, each other, the children they already have and the world in which they live when making decisions about the number and spacing of their children. Because NFP uses the observation of the woman's fertility to assist couples in determining whether or not to engage in sexual intercourse, it makes it possible for couples to live out responsible parenthood while still respecting the total gift of each other and the teaching of the Church.

For further information on certified teachers in your area or for information on the purchase of our home study kit with internet and phone follow-up, please call 1-800-788-4616 or 674-9825. If you would like to schedule an introductory class for your youth or young adults or an evening for parents and teens, please call the above numbers and ask for the Family and Respect Life Ministry Office.

If you are an NFP user and would be interested in being trained to help spread the good news about Natural Family Planning, call the above number and ask for Pat McCarthy.