NFP =\= Catholic Birth Control

There is a huge misconception about NFP, that it is merely Catholic “birth control”. While NFP can be used to avoid pregnancy, it is also highly effective at tracking and treating women’s health issues without the use of the ‘band-aid’ of birth control. NFP has proven effective at helping women deal with their gynecological issues (endometriosis, PCOD, PMS, pelvic pain, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, etc), as well as space their pregnancies, accurately date their pregnancies, and effectively determine any problems with pregnancy. Even when NFP is used to avoid pregnancy, to do so requires great sacrifice and daily planning and acceptance. That essentially prevents most casual “birth control mentality” users from abusing the system.

Not only is NFP a moral alternative to avoiding pregnancy; it is also highly effective at achieving pregnancy. That is yet another reason why NFP is not Catholic birth control -- the exact same system can be used to achieve and maintain pregnancy! No birth control drugs can claim that! Contrary to what many main-stream media outlets (including American Pregnancy, the CDC, WHO, etc) indicate, NFP has been thoroughly reviewed in peer-reviewed journals. Not to mention that NFP has been used with approximately a 100% effectiveness rate for avoiding and a 71% effectiveness rate for achieving pregnancy (the first statistic is true for Third World countries; the second is for couples with primary or secondary infertility in the US). As a matter of fact, NFP is more successful and much less invasive than IVF.

Another misconception the mainstream touts is that NFP is difficult to learn, practice, and understand. Learning NFP is no more difficult (and far less invasive) than being examined by a doctor to be given a prescription for birth control. Most methods have a manual, online information, and face-to-face instructors (complete with email addresses, phone numbers, etc) to guide you through the learning (and practice) issues you may encounter. As a matter of fact, NFP instructors invariably have actually used the system themselves. While having control over your urges for intimacy can be difficult, the benefits far outweigh the deficits. After all, no other method lets you bond as intimately as NFP. Tracking fertility signs literally takes about 3 extra seconds for each use of the toilet. Actually, evaluating the fertility signs is probably something most women do without realizing it on a daily basis. So, all-in-all, the mainstream (yet again) misinforms the public about the best option for family planning.

So from a women's health perspective, NFP has many more benefits (and less deficits) than birth control. From a moral perspective, again, NFP has many more benefits than deficits than birth control. From a financial perspective, once again, NFP has more benefits than deficits. It is hard to believe that it is not more widely taught and practiced. There is no risk of personal harm when NFP is practiced, unlike birth control, abortion, and IVF. So why not investigate NFP instead of blindly following the mainstream?

This is a site claiming no ties to any particular NFP method. http://nfpsite.aldred.org/primer.php

This is a site that embodies care for women as it's purpose. http://www.naprotechnology.com/ncwh.htm

This site has a list of references to NFP, what it does, who it can help, and journal articles about it. http://www.naprotechnology.com/references.htm

This is a page that explains the scientific foundation of the Creighton Model of Fertility Awareness. http://www.unleashingthepower.info/PDFs/IA-SciFoundationCrMS.pdf

This is a page with information on NFP verses IVF. http://www.physiciansforlife.org/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=2059