Respect Life

Basic Theory and Practice of Natural Family Planning

By Rev. Julius Ntalo, OCD. Father Ntalo is a certified Natural Family Planning instructor with a degree in Public Health, previously based at Santa Cruz Parish, Tucson.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives us the teaching on marital relations, that sex is a gift with a two-fold purpose: 1) union / bonding; 2) procreation / babies (CCC 2363).

The regulation of birth is an aspect of responsible parenthood (CCC 2368). “If there are well-grounded reasons for spacing birth, married couples may take advantage of natural cycles immanent in the reproductive system … thus, controlling birth in a way which does not in the least offend the moral principles” (Cf, Humane Vitae 16). 

Natural Family Planning is child spacing through observing periods of abstinence during the woman’s fertile phase. 
There are several methods of Natural Family Planning. To choose the best for you, you should get a certified instructor either online or nearby and she/he will help you to choose. Various methods work well according to menstrual cycles: the short cycle of (18 – 25 days), the medium cycle (26- 32 days), the long cycle (33-50 days), and the irregular cycle. 

Why is instruction in the theories and practice of Natural Family Planning good for all? It promotes self-knowledge about one’s cycle, it promotes self-control, it encourages communication between the couple, it is easy to learn, and it can be used to both achieve pregnancy or postpone pregnancy.

Who can use Natural Family Planning? Women with healthy cervical secretion and who can check cervical secretions daily. This is a habit that can be developed. Couples who communicate well have a great success with Natural Family Planning. NFP also promotes healthy communication in couples.

When to start: Women can start using observation at any point of their cycles. 
 

The Fertility Cycle

The female fertility cycle can be divided into three phases:

• Phase I begins on the first day of menstrual bleeding, and normally includes a few infertile days after menstruation.
• Phase II begins as soon as a woman’s daily observations detect the onset of signs of fertility. This fertile time lasts up to and a few days after the time of ovulation (when an egg is released from the ovary). In a normal, healthy woman, Phase II will typically last up to 12 days.
• Phase III is the post-ovulation time and is a time of infertility. Phase III typically accounts for the last one-third of a healthy woman’s cycle.

The three phases of the female cycle are the result of the interplay of four key hormones – estrogen, progesterone, follicle – stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone. These hormones are also responsible for the fertility signs that a woman can learn to observe.

All NFP methods are similar because of a foundational understanding of the woman’s reproductive system. They all rely on the charting of observable signs of fertility and infertility in the woman and abstinence from all genital contact during the fertile time to postpone a pregnancy. They are all reliable, highly effective, and free from side effects and the abortifacient nature that haunt all chemical forms of contraception and IUDs.

Single women and couples alike should take classes on Natural Family Planning for more in-depth education and analysis of the fertility cycle. National providers can be found on the USCCB website.

Creighton Model

The Creighton Model FertilityCare™ System relies upon the standardized observation and charting of biological markers that are essential to a woman’s health and fertility. These biomarkers tell the couple when they are naturally fertile and infertile, allowing the couple to use the system either to achieve or to avoid pregnancy. These biomarkers also telegraph abnormalities in a woman’s health.
 

MARQUETTE Model

The Marquette Model uses hormonal monitoring technology (ClearBlue Easy Fertility Monitor) and additional cervical fluid observations to estimate a woman’s fertile window. Couples may use this method to postpone or achieve pregnancy by detecting the rise in estrogen and the LH surge through urine testing. 

Sympto-Thermal Method

Self-Observation / 2-days Method

Self-observation uses cervical secretions as an indicator of fertility. The woman checks daily for the presence or absence of cervical secretions of any type. In the absence of secretions, the male gamete dies within one to two hours in the acidic environment of the birth canal. However, when cervical secretions are present, the male gamete can live up to three days. 
The function of the cervical secretions is to protect the male gamete against the acidic environment in the birth canal and to transport the male gamete to meet the egg after ovulation. 

The general rule with self-observation is that if a woman notes secretion TODAY and/or YESTERDAY she is considered to be fertile TODAY. If a woman doesn’t note secretion TODAY and/or YESTERDAY she is considered infertile TODAY. Other methods of NFP outline more specific ways of tracking fertility using temperature and charting.

1. Michele Grantham, NFP instructor in Tucson
   ✉ [email protected]
   ✆ 520-235-1400
   
   

2. Contact [email protected] for an introduction class. Classes are open to all couples preparing for Holy Matrimony; single women aged 18 and up, or younger if accompanied by a parent; and all married couples who are experiencing their reproductive years, including pre-birth, post-partum, or perimenopausal. The course offers hybrid video follow-ups. Discover how the Church assists the couple in learning about responsible parenthood. The course and materials are free.