Natural Family Planning Methods – Mom Prepares (2024)

Having children is one of the most beautiful and rewarding parts of life. Yes, children can be messy, noisy, and a lot of responsibility, but they’re also precious treasures that you will guard with your life.

As exciting as it can be to have a baby, not every couple would be ecstatic to find out they’re pregnant at this point in their lives.

Maybe you’re not ready to settle down yet or you want to improve your financial situation before bringing a new life into the picture.

Whatever the reason may be, birth control is typically the go-to method to prevent pregnancy without giving up intimacy altogether.

However, birth control is not for everyone. For those attracted to natural alternatives, there are a few options for you.

Natural Family Planning (NFP) is an alternative to conventional birth control methods, and it can be used for planned pregnancy and prevented pregnancy.

Babies are life-changing, so I don’t blame you for wanting to plan that rite of passage when you feel the most prepared.

To get the most out of NFP, here’s what you need to know:

• How fertility works and why it’s important
• Natural methods to encourage or prevent pregnancy
• NFP effectiveness, pros and cons, and resources

If you want to see if NFP is right for you, keep reading.

Natural Family Planning (NFP) is a natural alternative to contraception, birth control, and other family planning services.

It’s used to control the number of children in a family as well as the time between pregnancies.

Essentially, NFP can be used to increase or decrease the chances of becoming pregnant.

Another way to look at NFP is how it relates to fertility. Some experts even refer to NFP as Fertility Awareness Methods (FAM).

This is because NFP relies heavily on a woman’s fertile window, which consists of the days of the month she is most likely to get pregnant.

There are several different methods used in NFP. All of them require basic knowledge of women’s fertility and how fertility contributes to the likeliness of becoming pregnant.

Using different fertility tracking methods, you can determine the days that you’re most fertile.

It can take several months to collect reliable data. Using this data, you will adjust your sex life accordingly.

For example, let’s say you wanted to increase your chances of pregnancy. Fertile days are your friend.

On these days, you can engage in unprotected sex with your partner in hopes of conceiving a baby.

On the other hand, you can still use these methods if you don’t want to become pregnant right now.

In that case, you will either abstain from sex or use other forms of birth control, such as condoms, on fertile days.

Either way, you can still be intimate as normal on days where you’re not fertile and therefore less likely to become pregnant.

Fertility can be confusing and intimidating, but it’s really not that complicated.

The word “fertility” refers to a population’s rate of reproduction. It can also refer to an individual.

Each woman’s fertility indicates the likeliness that she will become pregnant if she has unprotected sex. In order to predict this, you must be in tune with your menstrual cycle and overall fertility.

Each woman has a menstrual cycle (a.k.a. a period) that runs on a monthly basis. Though we experience this every four weeks on average, many of us don’t know what’s actually happening to our bodies.

Essentially, your period happens because your body has prepared for pregnancy, but a baby was not conceived.

In that case, your body proceeds to discard the lining of your uterus or womb that built up during the month.

This results in the bleeding that we’re all too familiar with.

So, why is this important to NFP?

The days you are most fertile align with the days of your menstrual cycle.

When you keep track of these days, you can better predict when you are most likely to get pregnant if you have sex.

The first day of your period is Day 1 of the cycle. Most experts agree that women are the most fertile near the cycle’s halfway point.

This is because an egg is released during this time.

Ovulation is when the ovary releases an egg, and that egg will stay in the reproductive system for 12-24 hours.

Pregnancy is more likely if sex occurs during the days leading up to ovulation because sperm can stick around for 3-5 days.

...And we all know what happens when a sperm cell meets up with an egg.

You can use this knowledge to plan or prevent pregnancy according to your personal goals.

NFP is suitable for women with regular periods. The average menstrual cycle is 28 days, but every woman’s cycle can differ.

As long as your cycle is around the same number of days, you have what’s considered a regular cycle.

To calculate the days of your cycle, count the days between the first day of your last period and the first day of your most recent period.

These natural methods are also for women who need or prefer a hormone-free form of contraception.

If you’ve experienced negative side effects from other forms of birth control, NFP may be a safer option since it’s all-natural and free of health risks.

Some people also turn to NFP because of latex allergies. Most condoms are made with latex, which is unfortunate for people who are allergic to this material.

If you or your partner have a latex allergy, NFP may be an alternative to condoms.

Get Pregnant Naturally in the Next 60 Days!

Who is Natural Family Planning NOT for?

Women with irregular periods should avoid NFP because the data may not be reliable. If your cycle is unpredictable, then your fertility window is also unpredictable.

NFP is also not for people who aren’t willing to consistently track their menstrual cycles and fertility.

This form of family planning requires daily dedication. Forgetting to monitor or losing count of your days may cause unwanted results.

There are three main methods as well as a fourth method which is a combination of the other three.

These methods are the core of NFP.

The short answer is...most of the time, but not all of the time.

Like other forms of contraception, NFP methods aren’t 100% effective. More research is needed to determine the effectiveness, but here’s what health organizations say:

According to Planned Parenthood, NFP is up to 88% effective. They believe effectiveness increases when multiple methods are used in conjunction.

Even when these methods are used perfectly, Planned Parenthood acknowledges that an unplanned pregnancy may still occur.

They also acknowledge that these methods are more difficult to use than other types of birth control, so they’re less effective.

TheU.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)estimates a lower rate ofapproximately 75% effective. Out of 100 women, they estimate that up to 25 may become pregnant.

Like Planned Parenthood, HHS encourages women to use more than one NFP method to increase effectiveness.

One study suggests that NFP methods can bejust as effective as contraceptive pillswhen used correctly.

How do these figures compare to other types of contraception?

The pill isapproximately 91-99% effective, and condoms are between85-98% effective.

Still unsure if going the natural route is for you? Take a look at this breakdown of pros and cons to help you decide.

The main advantage of NFP is that it’s all-natural and hormone-free. Many women experience uncomfortable and long-lasting side effects of hormonal birth control, such as the pill and the shot.

This is a much safer alternative, and it allows women to better understand their bodies and fertility.

The greatest disadvantage of this birth control alternative is the lower rate of effectiveness. If avoiding pregnancy is a high-priority to you, this method isn’t as reliable as other forms of contraception.

The amount of women who use NFP over conventional birth control is low. An estimated 1-3% of women report using natural birth control methods.

You’re not alone, though. There are many resources available to you to learn more and start practicing these methods.

Let’s go over some tips and resources to make NFP even easier.

There are so many forms of birth control out there, each one with its own pros and cons. Natural Family Planning (NFP) is another option, but many people don’t know enough about it to put it to use.

If you’re willing to put in the consistency, NFP is a painless alternative that’s free of side effects.

Just be sure to take all the necessary precautions to increase its effectiveness.

Whether you’re trying to grow your family now or hold off until the future, NFP can help you with those goals.

If you use all the methods, tips, and resources laid out in this article, the odds may be in your favor.

Are you thinking of switching to natural birth control? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.