Tag: NFP

On
Kevin Wondrash

Natural Family Planning classes offered in diocese

MADISON — The Couple to Couple League (CCL) will offer classes on the sympto-thermal method of Natural Family Planning (NFP) at several locations this winter and spring.

Each course is taught by a married couple who are certified NFP instructors. The main NFP course is offered in a three-part series.

Mobile fertility tracking

CCL now offers on-the-go mobile fertility tracking, CycleProGo, which allows couples to chart electronically, record fertility symptoms, and determine the fertile and infertile times of the cycle.

All those who register for a CCL course will receive a free 90-day trial of fertility tracking with CycleProGo.

Postpartum classes

Postpartum classes are scheduled and offered by appointment throughout the year. A postpartum class is designed to provide specific information on how to interpret fertility signs during the transitional stage between childbirth and the return of normal fertility cycles.

Couples interested in taking a postpartum class need to complete a CCL main NFP course or be concurrently enrolled in a main course or a CCL home study or virtual online course.

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On
Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service

Married life is better with NFP, says couple at synod

Jeff and Alice Heinzen, Synod on Family 2014
Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, talks with Jeff and Alice Heinzen of Menomonie, Wis., as they leave the morning session of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family at the Vatican October 13. The couple are auditors at the synod. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Catholic couples who ignore Church teaching on contraception “don’t know what they are missing,” said a U.S. couple invited to address the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family.

Alice and Jeff Heinzen, family life leaders in the Diocese of La Crosse, spoke at the synod October 7, urging efforts to find new ways to share its teaching about the beauty of family life.

Natural Family Planning

Although the couple has practiced Natural Family Planning (NFP) for 27 years and taught NFP — Alice is a member of the NFP advisory board for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops — they did not speak specifically about family planning in their presentation to the synod.

 

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On
Kevin Wondrash

Postpartum NFP classes in Janesville

JANESVILLE — The Couple to Couple League (CCL) will offer postpartum Natural Family Planning (NFP) classes taught by Elaine and Tom McDonald in their Janesville home. Register for one class on one of the following dates: Thursday, Sept. 25, or Monday, Dec. 8, at 7:30 p.m.

A postpartum NFP class provides specific information on how to interpret fertility signs during the transitional stage between childbirth and the return of normal fertility cycles.

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On
Alison Hetue, For the Catholic Herald

What is Natural Family Planning?

Natural Family Planning (NFP) is an umbrella term for certain methods used to achieve and avoid pregnancies. These methods are based on observation of the naturally occurring signs and symptoms of the fertile and infertile phases of a woman’s menstrual cycle.

NFP is not “Rhythm.” The Rhythm (or Calendar) method was developed in the 1930s. It was based on the scientific theory that ovulation could be predicted by calculating previous menstrual cycles. This method was often inaccurate because it did not take account of the unique nature of each woman’s menstrual cycles.

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On
Kevin Wondrash

Natural Family Planning classes offered

MADISON — The Couple to Couple League (CCL) will offer classes on the sympto-thermal method of Natural Family Planning (NFP) at several locations this winter and spring.

Each course is taught by a married couple who are certified NFP instructors. The main NFP course is offered in a three-part series.

CCL now offers on-the-go mobile fertility tracking which allows couples to chart electronically, record fertility symptoms, and determine the fertile and infertile times of the cycle. All those who register for a CCL course will receive a free 90-day trial of fertility tracking with CycleProGo.

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On
Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Nickels, dimes, and family size

Making Sense out of Bioethics column by Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

A few years ago, I spoke with a young man preparing to get married. His aunt told him that she thought he and his fiancée were too financially-strapped to have a child, and that it wouldn’t be fair to bring up a baby in poverty. Keenly aware of his joblessness and his minuscule bank account, he concluded she was probably right.

The young man and his fiancée were ready to tie the knot in a few months and they expected that she would be at the infertile phase of her cycle around the time of their honeymoon, so they would be able to consummate the marriage while avoiding bringing a child into the world.

They agreed they would use Natural Family Planning (NFP) after that to avoid a pregnancy. A few years later when they felt financially secure, he told me, they would have their first child.

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On
Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Natural Family Planning and the telos of sex

Making Sense out of Bioethics column by Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Married Catholics today often struggle to understand the moral difference between using contraceptives to avoid a pregnancy and using Natural Family Planning (NFP).

NFP relies on sexual abstinence during fertile periods in a woman’s cycle, as assessed by various indicators like cervical mucus or changes in body temperature.

NFP and the Catholic Church

To many, the Church’s prohibition of contraception seems to be at odds with its acceptance of NFP because in both cases, the couple’s intention is to avoid children. That intention, however, is not the problem, as long as there are, in the words of Pope Paul VI, “serious motives to space out births.”

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