natural family planning

We are a NFP family. There is a great book out there called TCOYF or Take charge of your fertility. And I was charting on the fertilityfriend website. Tons of info and help there too. You can use it for TTC and TTA as well.
Oh, and yes. Monitoring your temp IS a PITA. :)
Liv

We used it, but I can't remember whether we were using to fall pregnant or not to fall pregnant. ;-)(Long time ago). I do remember being pretty satisfied with it at the time. It does give you a very clear picture of what is happening in your body. In fact I got to know my cervix very well through NFP. Taking your temp isn't so bad once you get a routine going.

I think it is a good idea to find a teacher though. A book is OK, but there is nothing like the personal touch. I found an NFP Forum the other day while I was googling cervixes, so that is another avenue of support and info.

It has also been useful to have under my belt on the runup to menopause too.

I think all women should learn it because it can be used for making babies, or preventing babies or navigating your way through menopause. It gives you a great deal of knowledge about your reproductive tract and familiarises (particularly) young women with their own organs and gets them over that block about touching their own genitals.

I just think it is so clever!

Cheers

Louise

I took my temp for a few months to see if i was even ovulating, and it wasn't too bad. just have to remember right away, which is hard with waking little ones, but not impossible. my cycle is all over the place though, so it won't work for me. i think it can be very effective as long as your cycle doesn't shift.

i didn't even think about nauli and IUD's--I am thinking seriously about getting one as i really really don't want to get pregnant (SPD was too bad to consider what might happen next time). And with my LS hormones are just not an option... i don't like the idea of a foreign body in my body, as i do believe in energy flow...but i just don't know what other options i have!
would firebreathing also be out of the picture with an IUD in place? i read it might make it fall out, but nothing else...

kiki

I was going to get an IUD placed in June, now I won't!!! I obviously didn't research the facts - didn't realize you couldn't nauli with it in place. Now I'm not sure what to do for family planning as I don't want to go the hormone route. I think we're done with 2 kids, but as we all know, never say never! Any ideas? Family planning is a bit too risky for me - especially at my stage of recovery.....Just an FYI, I did have a copper IUD in place between my 1st and 2nd children. I had no problems at all, just slightly heavier periods.....I don't think it contributed to my prolapse, but the thing that kiki said of about energy flow makes sense!

it's so hard! i'm also struggling and have wondered about options for the last year. problem is, there aren't many!!! if we don't want to go hormonal, then that only leaves...

Natural Family Planning (can be very effective, but i'm far to irregular for it to be an option for me),
condoms (not reliable enough for me really),
diaphram / cervical cap (can't imagine i could use it with a prolapse),
IUD
abstinence

so now i'm left wondering what to do. i was all set to get an iud even if we affect energy flow...but can i really not do firebreathing or pelvic rocks or any of that?
if the problem is it might come out i can live with trying. if the problem is i might get a perforated uterus...eek!
anyone thoughts?

Is any IUD prohibitive to nauli and mayan massage, or just the copper one? What about the Mirena IUD? It's supposed to be (as per the ad) soft, plastic, and flexible. I would think that something soft and plastic would not cause perforation, no matter how much you nauli. But, it does release a low level of hormones . . .

My sister is really into NFP (more pc to call it Fertility Awareness lol) and has been practicing it with her boyfriend for at least a year now. I was going to start, but we got pregnant on purpose first. I agree with others, get the book, "Taking Charge of Your Fertility." And, take a class. The Catholic church is a good resource, and you needn't be Catholic. (My unmarried sister and boyfriend took one though the Catholic church!) Irregular cycles shouldn't matter, as you get very clear signs of fertility, and temping is really less than two minutes out of your life. You really are only fertile for 24 hours every month, but this becomes a week with the viability of sperm and two extra days to "be sure." So, in theory, you can have spontaneous, unprotected sex for the other three weeks every month.

Ahh, this question of birth control is a dilemma for me, too.

Hi Kiki

I noticed that you mentioned difficulties with NFP if your cycle shifts or is irregular. That's not really the case, once you understand fully how it works, and what your particular body does. My cycles were very irregular before babies, very regular during and for about twenty years after, now dying out. I could always tell when I was ovulating, and NFP made it easy to tell exactly when I would be menstruating following ovulation. It was really neat. Even now, close to menopause I can tell when my ovaries are trying to ovulate. They don't get far these days!!

And Kiki, DS2 was conceived spontaneously after two pregnancies resulting from infertility treatment. DS2 is living proof that you have to be *very* careful when you are relying on condom use. We love him dearly, and he is our family example that we have used when educating all our kids about safer sex and the importance of taking contraception very, very seriously!!

And Gmom, a teacher will show you how you can use NFP through lactation and beyond, right through to menopause. They are very personal guidance oriented. I don't know that they would be keen on you taking the mini-pill though. Many of the teachers come to NFP via the Roman Catholic Church, which regards NFP as the only acceptable method of 'monitoring' fertility, so the Pill (inc minipill) is not generally regarded as OK. I am sure somebody will correct me if I am wrong on this.

Cheers

Louise

this whole post just cracks me up. It's like going to the store and buying condoms and a pregnancy test (btdt:)).
Ya NFP - that is the book I read it was cool. As for temping- we had planned for my dh do it before he left in the morning- we have a thermal head scanner for temps- and then he would write it down- so I didn't have to get up at all. Since you need to take it around the same time every day and my wake ups were variable.

Are you anti a vasectomy? I am pretty anti right now- but then I also don't feel done growing my family- who knows how I will feel later on- I might beg dh to have the procedure.

With NFP there is a range of fertile days- and you need protection on those days- condoms are what most people use- abstinence is also a choice but many women find it hard to abstain when they are ovulating-

In the book I think the first chapter they list all possible forms of birth control - there are something like 20 for women and only 2 for men. It is crazy- we need more research into how to control male fertility- geez they are the ones who are fertile 24/7....

my understanding of the problem with NFP and irregular cycles is that as sperm can live for 12 - 24 hours if you ovulate suddenly when you aren't expecting, then even if you stop having sex then, sperm can still be hanging out to fertilise and egg. so, you have to block out your sex free period based on the earliest you might ovulate (for me in theory day 7 if i have a 21 day cycle) to the latest (if i have a 35 day cycle then probably day 21), so i could end up with cycles where i can only have sex during the first 7 days of my cycle when i'm on my period as i might never get past day 21. i guess if i'm taking my temperature i'll see that i've ovulated at day 7, but i've had months where i seem to ovulate and then get my period very soon after (i said i was all over!)
Louise, please tell me if i got this all wrong??? I've read loads about it, but it's been a little while.

if your mucus changes very distinctly then that is a really good clue, but mine no longer does so i can't rely on that--so i'd have to go on temperature, and your temp rises to say "hi, you've ovulated"--too late for me. so, as much as i'd love to use NFP, for me it would result in no sex.
yep, spermacide makes it hard to read mucus, so you could use it once your mucus changes but tricky before.
But, saying all this, i do think NFP can be absolutely brilliant and is a great way to take control of our bodies--it's just mine is a bit out of control right now!

mirena--googling iud's and yoga came up with a million horror stories about mirena. apparently it really plays with your hormones, even though it is a small amount.

Gmom--don't know about progesterone only pills as we are all so individual. Friend who has been having horrible premenopausal symptoms has found it's changed her life for the best, so it's not all bad.

Louise, yep i know condoms are not perfect. i'm rather paranoid using them because they can fail.

so brings me to the question...IUD and no breathings, or not much sex???

so eek, no idea. (sorry, i feel like i'm raining down on teh contraception parade here!!!)

Alemama, I was a bit ho-hum about vasectomy, but the unexpected third pregnancy after the slow condom episode (They only work if they are on! Der!) kind of swayed me into suggesting it to DH. I got *really* keen on the idea two years later, when I was trying not to bleed to death in Hospital Emergency after a half hour, midnight ambulance trip, in the process of miscarrying a fourth pregnancy. The D&C fixed me up, but I was very sad for a while. Nobody needs that experience. Needless to say, DH was booked for the vasectomy the following week. There is nothing like a crisis for helping you to make up your mind when we live in a world of infinite possibilities, none of which is perfect. We have no regrets.

Kiki, you are right, now I come to think about it, re the safe time. It is a bit limiting unless you are prepared to think of NFP as the contraception method you use only in the second half of the cycle. It was not such a drama for me because my postmenstrual mucous got slippery and stretchy for a full week before ovulation, then went off instantly after ovulation. It was very easy for me to judge when was OK, and when wasn't. There is no way I would risk sex when I had any clear mucous at all, but having said that, I have never ovulated earlier than about day 14 anyway, so we always had a few days post menstruation before my mucous went clear. Actually, now I think about it, we never had sex very often in those years with little kids anyway, so another couple of nights off was no big drama.

I think it shows that there are different methods for different times in your life, and there are two people involved, so can be hard to decide. No method is perfect, but in hindsight, I prefer methods that don't involve semi-permanent foreign bodies and don't involve messing my hormones around. I feel a bit uncomfortable about my daughter being on The Pill, but she is in very much of a transition stage in her life, and is not prepared to take any pregnancy risks, though she is in a committed relationship.

Just as a side issue, one of her friends became pregnant after having an implant, before she finished Uni, which really put a spanner in the works. There was some immune or sensitivity reaction of some sort and it just didn't get the hormones out into her system. The good news is that Sam and her boyfriend have been partners ever since, and were married a couple of weeks ago, and their little boy is beloved by all his Uni aunts and uncles, and very much loved by his parents.

Enough raves for now.

Louise

Not saying that all teachers have a religious interest in NFP, or that they will be wanting to convert you, simply that NFP is widely promoted by the Roman Catholic Church (my teacher was RC), so you need to be aware that you might find that your teacher is a Roman Catholic who has a different attitude towards other forms of contraception, or may be negative about them. Apart from anything, some other forms of contraception can interfere with mucous, cervix etc. as somebody pointed out.

Cheers

L

and have been doing NFP for 14 years. Our NFP book is The Art of Natural Family Planning by Kippley and published by CCL. We learned it through a couple, great teachers. The book has both method and philosophy -- the method part is very instructional, so if you're not into the philosophy part, I wouldn't discount the book. The method part is really comprehensive. I find the hardest part of NFP post-partum. I always got large amounts of mucus post partum so it was really hard to tell what was fertile time and not. There's a great chapter in the book on it. I didn't read all the posts in this topic, but I did want to say I personally knew of a woman who had an IUD, with serious health repercussions which started with making her infertile and then turned into a host of other health issues which resulted in lawsuits, etc. Haven't been in touch with her in a long time so don't know what the ultimate outcome was, but her story was enough to scare me. NFP works really well for us.

Marie

you all have inspired me to make an appt with a NFP teacher so left a message at my local clinic where they have someone. think it at least might give me a bit of advance warning on what my crazy cycle is going to do each month so i'm not left wondering if it's a 3 week or 5 week month!
read that IUD's also can lead to more yeast infections, which i get far too regularly anyway...so that really seals the deal for me. no firebreathing / nauli, and more yeast...no thank you!
anyway, will see how it goes...

kiki