I was going to do a handout on Natural Family Planning for Assignment 4 but some family situations came up this week and seriously delayed my homework process. But here's some personal info anyway.
My husband and I use Natural Family Planning and condoms during the fertile time. I just wanted to add some info that some may not be aware of. This method is presented in the book as Fertility Awareness methods. Calendar method, basal body temperature, and cervical mucos method. In Natural Family Planning, these three are combined along with additional information regarding cervical positioning and it's reflection on fertility. The methods listed by themselves are more likely to fail. HOWEVER, when you combine all of the methods, which Natural Family Planning does, you have a very low failure rate.
We have practiced this method for 9 years. YES! we do have 3 children. But having planned for 4 we are actually right on track. I agree that this method of birth control is not for everyone. In general, those who use this method are those couples who are more open to unplanned pregnancies. Advance planning and self control is involved which isn't very popular.
In our case, with our first one, we knew we were in the "danger zone". With our second one, we threw caution to the wind. With our third, we had a condom failure. With all the other months of our marriage that we weren't pregnant or in breastfeeding amenorrhea we have sucessfully postponed pregnancy. Our children are 22 months and 35 months apart. We certainly were not "pumping them out uncontrollably". After we reach capacity, we plan for my husband to have a vasectomy.
The charting of information and checking the fertility signals really becomes second nature after a short time. I have the benefit of knowing why I cramp in the middle of the month (with ovulation) I know why my hormones are crazy before my period, I know my body well and the reasons it does what it does. While this method is not for everyone and definately not for protecting against STI's, I believe all women should understand their bodies in this way.
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Jennifer,
Thanks for being transparent and sharing your life experience regarding birth control. I do not know anyone who uses 'Natural Family Planning' because of the discipline it takes to be successful. It is good to know, outside of the textbook, that it WORKS! Unfortunately, our busy schedules and society has brainwashed us to believe that we cannot do it on our own, relying on oral contraceptives seems to be the better option for a woman to consider. I commend you on your successful efforts!
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