What is Natural Family Planning?
Natural Family Planning (NFP) means understanding a woman’s natural cycle and using that knowledge to achieve or avoid pregnancy based on her fertility. Most women are fertile for only a few days per month (though most methods will extend this “fertile window” a bit to account for uncertainty). If a couple avoids having sex when the woman is fertile, they can avoid pregnancy without using artificial birth control.
There are several popular methods of NFP including Marquette, Creighton, Billings, Sympto-thermal, and others. Though these methods differ somewhat in their approach (what and how they monitor), their goal is the same – to identify the fertile window (when a couple can become pregnant). This knowledge can help a couple conceive (by having sex during the fertile window) or help a couple avoid pregnancy (by avoiding sex during the fertile window).
Effectiveness
Some people worry that natural family planning isn’t very effective – particularly when compared to other modern forms of artificial birth control, but this actually isn’t true. According to a 2011 study, Contraceptive failure in the United States, the typical use failure rate for condoms is 18% and the typical use failure rate for the pill is 9%. Modern methods of NFP like the Marquette Method have a typical use failure rate of 9-13%, about the same as the pill1.
Natural family planning is not “the Rhythm method”. While the Rhythm method is one type of NFP, it’s an outdated method that doesn’t work very well. (It’s only about 75% effective at avoiding pregnancy.2) Modern NFP methods like Creighton and Marquette are much more effective, and are similar to common forms of artificial birth control in their effectiveness. If you’re interested in learning more about the effectiveness of different methods of contraception and natural family planning, read Understanding The Numbers: How to Compare NFP Methods
Catholicism and Natural Family Planning
Natural family planning is often associated with the Catholic church. This is because Catholics believe the use of artificial birth control (like condoms or the pill) is sinful because it separates the procreative aspect of sex from the unitive aspect of sex. Catholics don’t consider natural family planning to be sinful in the same way as artificial birth control because NFP works in harmony with a woman’s natural cycle rather than artificially rejecting her fertility. As a result, several Catholic universities (such as Creighton and Marquette) contribute some of the leading NFP research.
But you don’t have to be Catholic to use NFP! Many women who aren’t Catholic come across natural family planning because they’re looking for alternatives to artificial hormonal contraceptives. Natural family planning is a great solution because it allows you to understand your body better and work with your body’s natural rhythm rather than putting artificial substances in your body that could cause harm.
Methods of Natural Family Planning
Natural family planning can feel overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. Fortunately, there are many good resources available. The Marquette Method and the Creighton Method are two of the most common methods for natural family planning. The Marquette Method uses an electronic fertility monitor to measure hormones in your urine, and charts these measurements to identify your fertile window. In contrast, the Creighton Method relies on daily observations of mucus (recorded in a chart) to identify the fertile window. Both methods are very effective, and you can read more about them here: How does the Marquette Method compare to other NFP methods?