NFP Awareness

Welcome to Natural Family Planning
Awareness Week!

July 21 - July 27, 2019

Frequently asked questions about Natural Family Planning

Natural Family Planning Awareness Week is a national educational campaign.  The Natural Family Planning Program of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops develops a poster each year with basic supportive materials.  It is the individual dioceses however, that offer a variety of educational formats in the local church to focus attention on Natural Family Planning methods and Church teachings which support their use in marriage.

The dates of Natural Family Planning Awareness Week highlight the anniversary of the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae (July 25) which articulates Catholic beliefs about human sexuality, conjugal love and responsible parenthood.  The dates also mark the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne (July 26), the parents of the Blessed Mother.  For further information, contact nfp@usccb.org. 

If you are a parish and are looking for resources you can find a resource booklet here: 
2018 NFP Resource Book for Parishes

Please note, July 25, 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of Humanae vitae. Throughout this anniversary year new resources will be published and special events will be held. You can find this on the USCCB's Page by clicking HERE. 

Frequently Asked Questions About NFP:

Q:  What exactly is Natural Family Planning (NFP), anyway?

A:  NFP is an authentic method that is used to achieve or postpone pregnancy.

The Church encourages married couple to learn about NFP methods because it represents authentic family planning that is used to achieve or postpone pregnancy. NFP uses periodic abstinence from sex based upon the observation of the women’s natural signs of fertility, in order to space births or to limit the numbers of children when there is a serious reason to do so. No drugs, devices, surgical procedures, or other artificial means are ever used to avoid pregnancy. This practice fosters in married couples an attitude of respect and wonder in their openness to human life, which is always sacred! It also fosters profound respect for one’s spouse, which is necessary for authentic intimacy.

Q:  Is Natural Family Planning actually reliable?

A:  Yes! Studies show that couples who follow their Natural Family Planning method guidelines correctly can achieve an effectivenes rate of up to 99%!

Modern methods of NFP are not at all related to the “rhythm method” of decades ago. Many years of medical and scientific research have helped couples and medical professionals to more fully understand a woman’s complex fertility cycles in order to provide reliable methods of family planning. A woman’s reproductive health can affect many other aspects of her body and today’s NFP methods offer a more holistic approach to women’s reproductive health. Today’s NFP is not only reliable, but it is the only authentic method of family planning. Since NFP methods are not ‘contraception’, their effectiveness works to both achieve and avoid pregnancy. When couples wish to achieve a pregnancy, they can time sexual intercourse to the fertile window of the woman’s menstrual cycle, thereby optimizing the possibility of becoming pregnant. When wishing to avoid pregnancy, studies show that couples who follow their NFP method’s guidelines correctly – and all the time – achieve effectiveness rates of 97-99%!

Q:  Isn't Natural Family Planning just contraception for Catholics?

A:  No. There is a big difference beetween Natural Family Planning and contraception.

Contraception actively employs a drugs, device or surgical procedure to inhibit or block the natural effects of the sexual act. It always strives to separate the bodily union of the man and woman from any possible procreative effects of that union. NFP teaches mutual respect of the spouses, always drawing them closer together in every way. NFP allows spouses to avoid conception by identifying the naturally occurring infertile times of the woman’s cycle when they have a serious reason to avoid conception. NFP can also help spouse’s achieve pregnancy, and in some cases, even when there are significant fertility issues. Natural Family Planning always values fertility as a gift, never as a problem, works with the body, not against it, and respects God’s design for married love.

Q:  Is Natural Family Planning only for women with "regular" cycles?

A:  No. NFP does not depend on women having a regular menstrual cycle.

NFP treats each woman and each cycle as unique. These methods rely on daily observations of the woman’s signs of fertility. NFP works with menstrual cycles of any length, any degree of irregularity, during breastfeeding, just before menopause, and in other special circumstances. NFP allows a woman to understand the physical signals that her body gives her to indicate when she is most likely to become pregnant (around the time of ovulation). Once the woman understands this information, she is able to better understand her own basic gynecologic health and she, with her husband, can use the information for individual family planning intentions (i.e. to either achieve or postpone pregnancy).  Instruction in NFP provides women with information about their bodies that is specific and observable which can be used throughout a woman’s reproductive life. When special circumstances occur (e.g., stress, illness, breastfeeding, post-miscarriage, peri-menopause, etc.) NFP instructors can provide additional guidance in interpreting signs of fertility.

Q:  Does the Church encourage Natural Family Planning because they want couples to have as many kids as possible?

A:  No. The Church encourages the use of NFP because they want to inspire people to be both generous and responsible stewards over their fertility.

In this view of “responsible parenthood”, married couples carefully think about the just reasons they may have to postpone or avoid pregnancy. When making decisions about the number and spacing of children in their family, they weigh their responsibilities to God, each other, the children they already have and the work in which they live. Responsible parenthood is lived within the structures that God has established in human nature. The nature of sex, which is both life-giving (pro-creative) and love-giving (unitive), reflects a Divine plan. That is why the Church teaches that husband and wife must not actively intervene to separate their fertility from their bodily union. NFP methods respect the Divine plan and are at the service of authentic married love.