Tuesday, July 31, 2012

TOB Tuesday: New resource for Natural Family Planning

Natural Family Planning (NFP) is an approach to responsible parenting that fully respects the sacramental meaning and integrity of marriage and the "spousal language of the body." It is completely acceptable according to Catholic principles, is known to strengthen marriages (2% divorce rate, compared to the general 50% rate), and when properly learned and practiced it allows couples an amazing amount of "control" (with all due respect to God) in spacing out births. It can also help couples recognize serious female health issues long before symptoms might otherwise be noticed. But it is hardly known even among practicing Catholics.

To respond to that situation, a team of women have created the "I Use NFP" website, a comprehensive resource for all things NFP, starting with a helpful description that highlights just how counter-cultural NFP can be (the goodness of fertility?):
Natural Family Planning (NFP) is a lifestyle choice people make for a multitude of reasons. Some people come to it for religious reasons, some people come to it so they can be a better steward to the earth, and some people come to it as a last resort in their infertility journey. Regardless of why a couple chooses natural family planning the goal is that they learn the innate goodness of a woman’s body and her natural fertility.

Though the site is expressly created by women, for women, men's voices are not entirely silenced. Be sure to get James' story on what he learned about his wife from tracking her fertility charts (a "job" many NFP husbands assume): " I never expected NFP would help me understand what is really going on with my wife."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

NFP doesn’t cause a low divorce rate. The shared values which lead couples to practice NFP are what lead to a low divorce rate. NFP may be great for the relationship but if there are no shared values NFP hasn’t got a chance from the get go.

Sister Anne said...

An important clarification that only highlights the built-in opportunities an NFP couple has to grow in the profound intimacy that is a spiritual communion rooted in their sacrament. Let's pray for couples who are completely out of the loop on this extra and vital benefit that they can enjoy by not following the usual approaches.