What Have You Experienced with the Natural Family Planning Method?

I have tried birth control as well but did not mesh with me as well. I took a class on NFP and I am doing it now. I love it! It is easy and really works best for me and my body. I have two children now and plan on wanting more in the future but not for at least another year. I did not like all the side effects of birth control and with NFP you are letting your body do its own thing. If you would like a name of an instructor let me know and I can send you her contact information.

1 mom found this helpful

I really like NFP. I have been using for three years. You have to be organized and able to check your body everyday. I don't use the tempature method, just mucus. I recommend taking classes at www.tcnfp.org, You get 8 classes with an individual instructor and then you have them to call anytime with questions. Best of luck!

Love my Mirena. If insurance covers it (mine did) you could get it and always have it taken out.

Check out the book "Taking Charge of your Fertility" by Toni Weschler, PhD. It is awesome. Most OB/Gyn think it's crazy, but it has proven VERY accurate for me, and I am completely "irregular" Tracking morning temp and cervical fluid combined will tell you when you are or are not fertile. There'a a little more to it than that, but it's worth the read--very reader friendly, simple terms, etc. Every woman should have this book whether they want children or not! Good Luck!

It can work well if you are extremely disciplined. Although everyone I know who has used it has taken a chance when they shouldn't have and become pregnant. I wouldn't use NFP unless you are open to surprises.

Hi there! I used NFP after the birth of my first child and now I have two girls 14 months apart. I knew exactly when I ovulated, etc., etc. etc. I used the Nuva ring prior to that and loved it! In fact...I am using it again so I don't have another incident like the first one. =)

HI,
I read and used most of the method in the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weshler. Have used this for 8 years and I've enjoyed being off the pill. As I got used to the method I figured out what I needed to do (rather than doing all that she suggests) but adhered to it pretty completely in the first year. The benefit was figuring out my cycle! Good luck.

I used my basal body temp to GET pregnant or plan accordingly, many use it to PREVENT pregnancy. Read Taking Control of Your Fertility and it explains. Take your temp BEFORE you get out of bed at the SAME time every morning, record it.. you will know when you are ovulating. It will take a couple months to know your own schedule,etc

Don't listen to those that say you can't conceive while breastfeeding.......I have 3 friends that did and their children are, needless to say, very close together!

Hi,
I just thought I would respond as I have the Mirena. I had terrible migraines from the pill, so after our son was born, I needed another alternative. My doctor recommended the Nuva-ring or Mirena. I chose the Mirena and haven't regretted it for one second! As with any birth control, there's always side effects, but I have been fully satisfied with the Mirena.

If you're not breastfeeding, I LOVE the Nuvaring. Three weeks of not thinking about it and one week out. My husband stopped noticing it after the first couple of times and it was so EASY!

We use the Creighton Method, Naprotechnology, and I love it. It helps you get to know your body and how your body works. It not only helped us to space our children, it has helped diagnose some health issues that were going undiagnosed.

I use the Billings Ovulation Method that tracks cervical mucus and not my temperature. I completely love the system and our NFP instructor. I'm now pregnant with our third child (I miscarried our second child). I know I would not have been able to achieve my pregnancies without our instructors assistance. A good website to find a teacher in your area and to learn more about it is www.fertilitycare.org. The method, if tracked and used properly, has the same success rate as birth control pills. Our instructor has two children so don't think it is completely hard to track and you'll end up with more children than you want. The best thing is you aren't putting any chemicals in your body, it is low cost (cost of instruction and charts and stamps) and you can decide at any time if you want to avoid or achieve pregnancy.

D.

Don't let the internet scare you about the mirena. The information on it appears slanted. I've had it for over a year and love it. I spoke with my OB after reading all the stuff online and he told me he's only removed 1 mirena due to unusual side-effects in the years he's been placing them (he has a very busy practice). It may be worth it to ask your OB more about it. The family planning method is tough--and unless you're willing to have a child unplanned, I would seek an alternative.

I was able to successfully space apart my two older sons with using mostly NFP. I religiously followed the guidelines from the book "Taking Charge of your Fertility" which has been recommended to you already. I was not bf-ing and I do have a fairly regular cycle so that helped. I do have to note that the NFP didn't work so well when I was bf-ing my younger son and I now have beautiful surprise twin girls 13 months younger than my youngest son:) I was fully breastfeeding him and he didn't even have a pacifier but my cycle came back really quickly probably to do with the fact that I had attempted to put him on a schedule and ended up pregnant when he was 4.5 months old. Obviously something you are probably trying to avoid. That's why I would only recommend NFP if you took an in depth class with your hubby (your husband has GOT to be on board if you want it to work) as well as if you are a person who can handle being anal about charting. I was good about charting but never attended a class which I think was my downfall. Despite the fact I ended up with a double surprise blessing while using the NFP method I still think it has a lot of merit. It was so wonderful to be in charge of my cycle, not relying on drugs or anything else to tell me what was going on with my own body. I do not know how you would find a class. I am Catholic so I know my parish would have information so you could start by calling your nearest Catholic Church. You do not have to be Catholic to attend any of the classes on NFP that they offer.
K. H.

I really like NFP. I suggest a book called 'taking charge of your fertility'. I think it is great that you are willing to learn how your body works rather than take drugs that alter it. Once you get the charting down you can decide to abstain, or use another method during those few days.

A.

We are going on 2 1/2 years with my being on no birth control at all. I use beads that I think are called "moon beads" or something like that. If a person has a regular cycle of 28 to 34 days then the moon beads can be used. It helps mark off the fertile days. I do that and also watch my body "signs" for the time frame of when ovulation should happen for me.

T.

Whatever you decide, think long and hard about an IUD (Mirena or otherwise). I had the most horrible experience with mine, and wouldn't wish that on anyone. Having something "implanted" in my body created such chaos with my whole being--I was a mess. Anyway, good luck with your quest!

Sorry to add yet another response...but I wanted to add the website I use to track my cycles. I read the book many suggested "Taking charge of your fertility" and it is wonderful. I use the website www.fertilityfriend.com and have for many years. I do have very regular cycles so it works well for us and I used it for over 3 years to prevent getting pregnant.

Good Luck and I hope you find something that works well for you and your family.