Hello MamaSource Mamas!
I am trying to find info on Natural Family Planning. My husband and I were kind of following it (by that I mean we had unprotected sex right after my period) it worked for almost a year and then we got lax and got pregnant. We are Catholic and right now have been using condoms which is causing guilt. We dont want to abstain. We absolutly CANNOT afford another baby, we are in debt and barley afloat finacially right now and cannot afford the classes. I am just wondering if there are any moms out there who can help.
Thanks!
My husband and I are also Catholic and follow NFP. I'm proud of you for making this choice. The couple to couple league has information on their website. ccli.org
I am a member of ivillage.com message boards. They have a Natural Family Planning board that I go to every day. It is an amazing resource! My husband and I used it as birth control until we were ready to TTC. It worked very well for us and now we are using it to conceive. There are plenty of articles and links to information along with a wonderful group of women for support. Maggie knows EVERYTHING you need to know! LOL Swing by and feel free to ask any and all the questions you have. Good luck! Natural Family Planning can be an amazing way to get to know your body and be a responsible mommy.
You need the book, "Taking Charge of your Fertility." Natural Family Planning is a very tricky subject. YOu cannot count on the fact that your cycle is 28 days and a period might not be a true period if you didn't ovulate which is why so many woman get pregnant using this method. This book has all the information you need, it is easy to read and comes with charts so you can chart your cycle. Good luck!
PS I highly recommend using condoms until you've charted for a few months. A little guilt is better than an unwanted pregnancy!
Hey N.,
I'm not sure where you live but St. Pauls in Ham Lake have an Excellent class on NFP. If you want you can email me at ____@____.com and I can also help you out with any other questions that you may have. There is also a website that helps you with your charts.. you can keep it tracked right on your computer. My husband and I use NFP and it works great! My cycle is not regular and this paticular instructor at st. paul's helped me to do NFP even when my cycle was not normal. Now, It's a breeze.. email me and I can set up a time..we can exchange numbers and I can help answer any questions that you may have. :)
hope this helps.
C.
I agree with PP that the book Taking Charge of your Fertility is an excellent read. I don't have regular cycles and we NFP as well. We are Catholic and feel great about our choice. This book has been my sole educational resource and it works very well for us. We have two kids and I can tell you the exact day they were conceived thanks to NFP. Good Luck!
Hi N.,
I just wanted to add a caution about NFP that I recently discovered. Charting your basal body temperature while you are still in bed will NOT work (according to some) if you are a mouth breather. That is, if you are congested and sleep with your mouth open or partially open, then these readings are not accurate. This is what happened with me and it was only confusing and frustrating. However, you can still use the other indicators of NFP even if this is true. Good luck to you!
R.
HI!
I have a one year old and my husband and I were practicing Natural Family Planning. I read a book and thought I knew what I was doing...but apparently did not because we got pregnant within the first month! I would highly recommend talking to someone at your chuch (you said you were Catholic so I'm assuming you go to church, hopefully) :) All catholic churches should hold NFP classes throughout the year....our church holds a meeting twice a year and friends of ours swear by it! Good luck!
My husband and I are Catholic and did natural family planning for awhile. It works just fine if you follow all the rules. I bet there are some extra books lying around at some Catholic churches that would help you be more accurate without taking the classes. I would call your church and explain your situation. I'm sure they would be more than happy to help. It's really too complicated to explain in an email...suffice it to say it involves taking your temperature right before you get out of bed every morning and checking for signs of ovulations. . . you really need a book and some blank charts.
Well it looks like you became pregnant and don't want to become pregnant again, is that correct? is birthcontrol an option?
Planned Parenthodd - Natural Family Planning - has a website at: plannedparenthood.org. This should help you. I know that they also have lectures and discussion groups. Hope this helps. B..
Check out the book, "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler. I got it when I was trying to get pregnant, but it also has good information if you're trying not to as well.
