Observations from NFP Classes
–I notice there is a deep hunger amongst couples for a different way of doing things. Many times both people in the relationship are not sold on the whole NFP, but all it takes is one to get a conversation and questions going. Thus far, the women have been open and not the men. Very interesting.
–I HATE looking at a birth control chart and seeing signs of fertility. LADIES, do you know that your Pill does not prevent ovulation? It may instead thicken the cervical mucus making it act more like a barrier method to sperm, but for those little spermies that make it through?
–I can tell from looking at the guys at the class who is contracepting and who is not. The men whose women are taking hormones are the one who sleep and are completely disengaged from the class. The men whose women are learning NFP are the ones asking questions and taking notes. They WANT to help their women. From what I can tell, NFP makes communication happen between husbands and wives (or partners as well).
–I have learned about NASTY medical conditions that use the Pill for relief. It makes me VERY SYMPATHETIC to what these women endure.
–Eating Omega 3 Fatty Acids in your daily diet is CRUCIAL for good health and fertility. A diet rich in Omega 3s also can help alleviate heavy bleeding and cramping. Eat your greens, Ladies! Just do it!
–There are as many people taking NFP classes to GET pregnant than to avoid pregnancy.
–The couples humble me, even the ones not sold on Church teaching. There is something about them listening, taking notes and asking questions that teaches ME about being open to God.
–Lastly, for EVERY 1 Year a woman is on Hormonal Contraceptives, her cervix ages TWO YEARS! Since more and more women are getting married in their late 20s and early 30s, more and more of them are spending their key fertility years on hcs. Think about it! Just think about it.
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Very interesting. Neither my wife nor I are Catholic, or doctrinally committed to avoiding birth control, but we took an NFP class and thought it was great information and a great experience.
This is something we have covered a few times at out group blog Per Christum (http://blog.ancient-future.net/index.html)… One of our contributors is a priest from the Holy Cross Fathers who recounts how it was his sister who gave him a copy of Janet Smith’s venerable tome, Contraception, Why Not? when he was in seminary, and it was from his sister and Smith that he came to think with the mind of the Church on this one.
His sister told him about how getting off the hormones made her normal again – made her herself. Why NFP isn’t being marketed as “organic” in a world that loves its Whole Foods, I cannot say… Too much at stake to be that natrural…
The dietary comment is an excellent one too. A physician I know has explained that first generation immigrants are perplexed at the cramping their daughters experience here… when back in the “old country” they never knew of such problems… The diet turned out to be the key… They ate more seafood and veggies, not McDonalds and friend potatoes…
Another sore spot for me are the lies that teenage girls suffering menstraul irregularities should be put on it to “help with their periods” or “clear up their skin.” This is as insidious to me as offering cocaine to a student to study for an exam.
The irony that science actually begins to affirm “Rome’s foolishness” is not lost on me. The way in which Rome alone toes the line on this one with seeming “foolishness” in the face of ridicule when all others are retreating actually served to keep me Catholic… And then bring me back again years later.
It would seem a real feminist would be outraged that women have been objectified in this fashion and been sold on the idea of being drugged up to keep their bodies from working. It would seem they would also want to know why better natural preventitive measures aren’t explored to make women healtheri. Largely they don’t seem outraged at either.
Why is that?
A Simple Sinner: NFP IS being marketed for the organic crowd. It is called Organic Sex. In the secular mainstream it is called “Fertility Awareness Method” or FAM for short.
The difference between the secular method and the Christian method is that the Christian one demands chastity and self-restraint, whereas the secular version allows for “protected” sex without hormones.