NFP offers spiritual, physical benefits

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
July 12, 2007

Those who are informed about Natural Family Planning and know of its many positive side effects encourage others to give it a second look.

Ultimately, Natural Family Planning is a means of either achieving or avoiding 

Vera Ludwig, family programs director of the diocese, pointed out that Natural Family Planning is the only church accepted form of fertility care for couples.

"If people are contracepting, they should look at why they are. I would challenge them to look at why it would be better for them not to," noted Ludwig. "They should educate themselves."

She recommended that they listen to the audio CD from Janet Smith, featuring her presentation Contraception Why Not.

While there are several different models of Natural Family Planning, two fertility care methods are taught in the diocese - the Couple to Couple League and Creighton Model Fertility Care System (Hilgers). The Couple to Couple League is based on the sympto-thermal method of NFP that provides awareness of fertility by daily observation of three signs: the mucus, the cervix and the basal body temperature. The Creighton Model is an ovulation method that is based on the external observation of cervical mucus as a sign of fertility.

Presently, NFP is taught in three locations of the diocese: Boone, Carroll and Sioux City.

Ludwig mentioned that not only is NFP healthier for the woman and doesn't cost anything, but it increases communication and one of the by-products is a healthier marriage.

Suellen Pometto, who teaches the Couple to Couple League method of NFP with her husband Tony, referred to NFP as "marriage insurance." She pointed out that while the overall divorce rate in the American population is 50 percent, couples using NFP have a divorce rate of less than 5 percent. Some research shows a 2 percent divorce rate for couples using NFP.

"Besides being a totally natural and healthy method of spacing your children, it has many benefits to the marriage as well because it improves couples communication and the sharing of their love in an intimate way - even during the time they abstain," said Pometto.

She mentioned that many people do not realize that artificial birth control methods are abortifacient. In addition, many of these forms have health risks such as the pill increasing chance for blood clots and greater chance for breast cancer.

Mary Egan, a fertility care practitioner of the Creighton Model at Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City, said it makes for a spiritually and physically healthier relationship.

With some of the chemicals used in contraceptives, she said she questions if they are at the root of many women's infertility problems.

"If we can get the young couples started with this - then they are so much more in tune with it and in tune with their bodies and they are in tune with each other," said Egan. "It opens up the line of communication because when couples contracept, they don't really talk about it. It's either his responsibility or her responsibility."

One of the sayings that goes along with the Creighton Model is that it creates SPICE in marriages - because it provides for spiritual, physical, intellectual, creative/communicative and emotional aspects of relationship.

"It brings you closer together as a couple," agreed Becky Behrens, fertility care practitioner in Carroll. "This is such a personal subject - if you can talk about this with your spouse, you can talk about anything."

She has taught the Creighton Model of Fertility Care for about 13 years and continues to do so because she said she believes in it.

"It is in line with the teachings of the church - the doctrine of the church is engrained in the method," noted Behrens. Through teaching and practicing NFP said she "you come to understand why God wants it to be this way and not use contraceptives and why it is good for a family."

The Creighton Model and other methods of NFP, she said, promote the dignity of the marriage and the dignity of women and recognize the gift of life.

Another value of fertility care methods such as the Creighton Model, Behrens noted, is that it enables women to track their health record.

"It can be used at any stage of a woman's reproductive health - you can achieve or avoid pregnancy with the method and you don't have to have regular cycles," she said.

With motivated and educated couples, Pometto said NFP is 99 percent effective.

In the 29 years that she has been teaching NFP, she noted that she has seen an increase in the earlier use of the pill, so much of what she does is try to teach couples how to get off of artificial contraceptives.

"We taught in Idaho for 12 years before coming to Iowa and I do think there was more growth and openness there than there is here in Iowa," said Pometto.

If people wish to learn more about NFP, they can contact one of the instructors or Ludwig in the diocesan office. The practitioners also encourage engaged couples to seek education about NFP prior to the wedding.

"To improve education, one of the things that we desperately need are individuals who would step up to the plate and be instructors in one of the approved methods," said Ludwig.