One of the Side Benefits of Natural Family Planning

How Knowing Your Fertility Can Catch Diseases Early

I taught Natural Family Planning (NFP) at Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C. for 15 years with my husband. It was a great experience. And what a blessing NFP was for our marriage especially when I had cancer and was on chemo and my cycles went haywire!

Our bodies are integrated. If something is going wrong in one part of the body, it's likely to affect other parts. NFP is a wonderful way to understand the gift of fertility with which we've been blessed. It's especially helpful for couples having infertility problems. I once had a client who came to a follow up class and told me her infertility doctor asked her where she "learned to do that." (i.e., chart her cycles) It eliminated several tests he would have run. Another client had a doctor who was treating her to get rid of the normal discharge associated with ovulation! I think I'd switch doctors.

It's a good idea to take some responsibility for your own health, and NFP can be part of that. It truly is part of the good news for the family.

Yikes: Read the Description of How this Birth Control Device Works....

FDA announces additional risks of Essure birth control device

Essure is a permanent type of birth control in the form of tiny metal coils inserted into women’s Fallopian tubes. When the coils are implanted they are supposed to stay in the Fallopian tubes, where they create a chronic infection that will cause scar tissue to form around the coils, effectively closing the tubes and rendering the woman sterile....

At least five deaths of women, and five deaths of fetuses in women who’ve been implanted with Essure, have been reported. Other side effects many of the “Essure Problems” women have experienced include perforated organs, coils lodged in colons, fetal disfigurement due to nickel poisoning, chronic pain, exhaustion, bouts of depression, and suicidal thoughts.

Would you use it? If yes,

Good News for Women, Couples, and Families: Natural Family Planning!

I never apologize for the Catholic Church's teaching on human life and love. The Church's condemnation of artificial birth control is morally correct and a life-affirming doctrine. NFP is not "Catholic birth control," but a way of life that respects and honors the "word" of love spoken between a man and woman. And the proof of God's blessing is evident in the outcome.

Those who practice contraception have high rates of divorce; 96% of NFP couples stay together. Contracepting couples also have higher rates of suicide, breast cancer, and sexual dysfunction. When you defy the natural law, results are rarely positive.

Chemical contraceptives are poison; most are also abortifacient. Not only do they damage women, but "endocrine disrupting chemicals" (EDCs) which are also used in fertilizers, pesticides, etc.) have a broader impact on the population and the environment. Many of the articles on EDCs don't mention hormonal birth control (It's not politically correct.), but the Guttmacher Institute, Planned Parenthood's research arm, acknowledged as early as 1997 that birth control drugs fit into that class of chemicals:

Natural Family Planning is Good News for Women!

My husband and I taught NFP at Providence Hospital in Washiington, D.C. for about fifteen years. We met many couples who were having fertility problems and were looking for help to achieve a pregnancy. We were thrilled when they did. One client told me the fertility specialist asked her where she "learned to chart like that." Another couple who came to our class ended up training to be teachers themselves. He was a D.C. minister and told his wife if they came and got an anti-baby message they were outa there. (Must have heard about Margaret Sanger's plan to eliminate blacks.) They came up to us after class and said they were sold when we introduced ourselves, said we had five children, and emphasized that NFP was about "planning to HAVE families."

Most people assume they are as fertile as rabbits,

It's Contraception, Stupid! It's Fatal to the Faith!

Yup, a root cause of our crumbling society is contraception. Mike Voris pegs it. All the sexual deviancies have their foundation in the rejection of the truth that sexual union and procreation are inextricably connected and cannot be separated without creating a spiritual explosion equivalent to splitting the atom.

Are you unsure about contraception? Read both Humanae Vitae and Fr.John Hardon's article Contraception: Fatal to the Faith. If you are practicing contraception you are in danger of hell. If you are promoting contraception to others, you are in danger of hell. Medical professionals who prescribe and dispense contraceptives are in danger of hell. That is the hard truth. We will be marching on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, but Roe was an aftershock of the real earthquake, Griswold v. Connecticut. I remember a statement from one of my Natural Family Planning (NFP) students. "I was on the way to hell, and NFP saved my life." God made us in a way that allows the spacing of children. The Church teaches that couples may use NFP for serious reasons. When I had cancer and was on chemotherapy at age 39, NFP allowed my husband and me to comfort each other in sexual intimacy without fearing we would endanger a child's life. NFP and the Church's teaching on marriage and sexuality are not punishments; they are part of the good news. Embrace Church teaching on this issue that is so central to who we are as body/spirit persons. Like my young friend realized, the freedom you experience is life and soul-saving!

NFP: It's About Planning to Have Families

Earlier today, I read a blog entry about Human Life International and did a double take at a comment accusing Fr. Paul Marx, HLI founder, of "supporting birth control." Reading on, I realized the individual was talking about natural family planning (NFP) which he obviously considered immoral and one more item in the Planned Parenthood inventory. As a long-time NFP teacher, I couldn't disagree more.

NFP is all about being open to life and planning to have families.

Contraception Destroys Love

Read this article and reflect on the reality that those couples who use Natural Family Planning to plan TO HAVE families, experience little divorce and are often more happily married than their contracepting neighbors.

It isn't just the Church that opposes birth control pills!

The "Cancer-Causing Convenience" All Women Should Avoid

Here are some of the risks a woman faces from use of oral contraceptives according to this article:

Cancer: Women who take birth control pills increase their risk of cervical and breast cancers, and possibly liver cancer as well.

Thinner bones: Women who take birth control pills have lower bone mineral density (BMD) than women who have never used oral contraceptives.

Heart disease: Long-term use of birth control pills may increase plaque artery buildups in your body that may raise your risk of heart disease.


Fatal blood clots: All birth control pills increase your risk of blood clots and subsequent stroke. And if your prescription contains the synthetic hormone desogestrel, your risk of fatal blood clots nearly doubles!

Impaired muscle gains: A recent study found that oral contraceptive use impairs muscle gains from resistance exercise training in women.

Long-term sexual dysfunction: The Pill may interfere with a protein that keeps testosterone unavailable, leading to long-term sexual dysfunction including decreased desire and arousal.

Migraines Weight gain and mood changes Yeast overgrowth and infection

Since there is no conflict between God's moral teachings and science, this information is not surprising to Catholics. You can't fool Mother Nature because her laws were made by the Creator.

Obviously I don't agree with the recommendation for all the other gadgets offered as "safer" alternatives that directly attack the good of pro-creation, but it was encouraging to see Natural Family Planning presented positively. It is the only method that enhances a couple's relationship while they remain open to life. It is morally legitimate to use when there is a serious reason to delay pregnancy or avoid it altogether. Couples who practice NFP rarely divorce, which is certainly not true of other birth control methods.  

Follow Catholic teaching for a healthier, happier life!

Doctors Turning Away from Contraception

Can a doctor make it without prescribing contraceptives? Dr. John Bruchalski and his medical staff at Tepeyac Women's Center in northern Virginia have been doing it for several decades. And more doctors are turning away from the pill and other destructive methods of birth control and turning to natural family planning instead. In the process they often recover their faith and experience a renewed sense of really helping their patients. Artificial birth control hurts women physically as well as spiritually and damages relationships as well. Check out some of the documentation here.

Please pray for pro-life doctors. A few, like Dr. Bill Hogan and Dr. John Bruchalski, are icons in the pro-life movement. But the unique story of each of these doctors illustrates the miracle that happens through grace. Their conversions invite imitation. If you have a pro-abortion doctor, why not print out and share one of these testimonies. You may the catalyst God uses to soften a hard heart.

Read Dr. Richard Brennan's story.

Read Dr. Kim Hardey's story.

Read Dr. Bill Hogan's story.

Read Dr. John Bruchalski's story.

Dr. William Germann battles for life.

Find a pro-life doctor.

American Association of Pro-Life OB/GYNs