Michelle answers:

Hi,

I have been using NFP on and off for 10+ years and my husband & I have taught NFP for over 7 years. It is a shame that people don’t know more about NFP because it is very effective. But people have such a knee-jerk reaction to NFP for a number of reasons. The first is that they equate modern NFP to the old rhythm method – “Oh my grandma had 12 kids so it doesn’t work.” Modern NFP is so different from the rhythm method, yet that perception still exists.

Then they see NFP families and yes, NFP couples tend to have more children. However, is that because NFP doesn’t work? Not usually. In most cases, NFP families are more open to children than those who chronically use contraception. So yes, they have 5 kids, but if you talk to them about their 5 kids, you find out that they know exactly when each child was conceived and how they knew they were in their fertile period and knew they could get pregnant.

Our own personal experience is that we used NFP to postpone for the first 2 years of our marriage, though some very challenging situations. We then used NFP to help diagnose a medical disorder that would go on to give me infertility issues. Thanks to NFP I was able to conceive twice during cycles where, if I hadn’t been using NFP, I never would have known to keep trying because I ovulated so late in my cycle.

If it makes you feel any better, one of the first couples we ever taught used NFP successfully for over 5 years before they decided to try for their first child. A college friend and his wife have been using it for their whole marriage, 3+ years now. Our other local teaching couple used it to plan their 6 kids and to postpone for 3 years since their last child was born. I could go on and on.

Most couples who have a “surprise” pregnancy with NFP do so because they try to have sex too late in the early part of their cycle. With NFP, as soon as you see any type cervical mucus you are automatically in the fertile part of your cycle. But some of those “surprise” pregnancies were because a couple took a chance after seeing that they were entering the fertile part of the cycle. So they weren’t really surprises… I don’t see many people who do everything right and get pregnant. I have seen a few non-planned pregnancy charts and in each case the couple broke a rule somehow; sometimes knowingly sometimes by forgetting.

So the key to effective NFP is to take a class and learn the method well. Start charting for months before the wedding day so that you can feel confident in the method. Stay in contact with your teacher and follow-up to make sure you are interpreting correctly. After a few months of charts, you should have enough confidence to use the method very effectively. There are also some extra conservative rules that you can use if you are nervous. For example, you can add a day to the rules so instead of waiting for 3 days of cervical mucus dry-up, you can add a day and make it 4 days of dry-up. Same with the temperature sign.

You can also set up a cut-off in the early part of your cycle so that you aren’t having sex too close to ovulation. Instead of using the last dry day rule, I know a few couples who just said – we’re going to stop having sex on day 9 even if still dry. You are probably being way more conservative than you have to be, but if you have a serious reason to postpone and feel uneasy about the risk, this is one way that you build in even more security.

The key to effective NFP is understanding the science behind it. If you look in some of my other answers, you can read some of the explanation behind that; since it sounds like you are already pretty knowledgeable I won’t repeat that here.

I hope this helps. Keep in mind also that some of the “conflicting reports” on NFP are sometimes studies paid for by condom companies, pharmaceuticals, and Planned Parenthood. They aren’t exactly objective. There are plenty of scientific studies by the World Health Organization, medical journals, etc to feel confident in the effectiveness of this method. Good luck!!

Michelle answers:

Some natural products they don’t recommend like herbal medicines and teas because they are not studied or regulated by the FDA. But don’t you want to use as many natural products as possible to protect you and your unborn from any chemical exposure that is not necessary. That even being said i would way rather drink some tea and take a valerian root to help me sleep (even though pregnancy risk line says they don’t suggest it) against ingesting tons of chemicals in an Ambien.

Michelle answers:

Vit D is low test your thyroid levels and b12 an anemia tens unit, massage therapy

Michelle answers:

My son is 3 months old and i’m pregnant again