Latest / The Cyclical Doula Podcast: Fertility Awareness, Charting Cycles, and Reproductive Health Education / NFP Week: What Actually is Natural Family Planning?
Transcript
- emmamma: Hey, welcome back to the Cyclical Dual Podcast. This week is Natural Family Planning Week or NFP Week. and so I want to take some time today to talk about what the NFP actually is, how a couple goes about choosing a method and something that trips a bunch of people up the difference between using these methods as natural family planning versus just using the same body literacy skills for general health tracking. So whatever season life you're in, whether you're married, engaged, ⁓ Emmamma: Thanks so much for being here today on the cyclical doula podcast. If this episode resonated with you, the most powerful thing that you can do is to share it, send it to a friend, text it to your sister, forward it to that group chat. This is how conversations about our bodies start changing, quietly, organically, woman to woman. you are listening and thinking, ⁓ ⁓ want help applying this to my emmamma: single ⁓ just you keep hearing about NFP thrown around in Catholic circles, ⁓ might be a helpful episode for you. All right, let's get into it. Emmamma: I offer free cycle clarity calls. It's a relaxed conversation over Zoom we talk through your goals, your charting practices, and kind of support that would actually make sense for you. can book one at emmamma.com / free. And if you already, make sure you're following or subscribe to the Cyclical Doula - podcast so that you don't miss future episodes. And if you feel called to leave a rating or review, it genuinely helps more women find this work. So thank you. You deserve to understand body. You deserve to feel confident in your reproductive choices. And you ⁓ have to figure it out alone. I'll see you next week. Thanks for being here. emmamma: All right, so let's start with a definition because natural family planning gets used pretty loosely sometimes. And a lot of people confuse it with that concept when we were kind of grouping them all of the rhythm method or the calendar method, assuming that everybody ovulates at the same time, which is not the case. so NFP is an umbrella term used for a group of different types of methods that a couple can use to achieve or avoid a pregnancy. By observing the naturally occurring signs of a woman's fertility throughout her cycle. So you just pay attention to what the body is already telling you. There's a bunch of different signs that you can use, and different methods use different combinations of them. those ⁓ or signs that we see, the biomarkers that we see from the body, are cervical mucus. And so ⁓ that cervical mucus increases when estrogen increases. And changes, there's also a change into cervical mucus that is more like a plug after ovulation place when progesterone is present. We also can see changes in basal body temperature. ⁓ So woman's waking temperature shifts ⁓ due to changes. So after ovulation, it's gonna be about half a degree higher ⁓ overall as trend. And then the cervix also changes. So the cervix changes in position, things like that throughout the cycle. And so we can track the physical changes of the cervix as well. ⁓ And also there's hormonal changes. So you can track these with different types ⁓ of tracking, for example, like ⁓ urine test strips with ⁓ glutenizing Emmamma: Welcome to the Cyclical Doula podcast. I'm Emma, a certified fertility awareness educator, miscarriage doula and the founder of Emmamma emmamma: So different methods are going to rely on one or more of these signs, and that's when choosing a method ⁓ is an important part of this. So we'll get into that in just a second. But if a couple wants to avoid a pregnancy, they'd abstain from intercourse and genital contact during that fertile window. And if they want to achieve a pregnancy, they target that same fertile window. So it's the same body literacy, two different goals. Which is a really cool part of it because you can switch depending on what goal you have for that specific cycle. It works for spacing pregnancies, achieving them, and also preventing. So this is why it's super different from the rhythm or the calendar method. So those try to predict fertility based on past cycle averages or just as a general whole as a society. But NFP and these fertility awareness-based methods really observe what's actually happening in the Emmamma: This space is for women who want to understand their bodies deeply, not just memorize information, but actually feel confident in interpreting their cycles. Here we talk about ovulation, hormones, cervical mucus, basal body temperature, and all that's messy in between emotional layers that come with being woman. We talk about trying to conceive, avoiding pregnancy ⁓ hormones. emmamma: ⁓ real time, cycle by cycle, day by day. And that's a huge difference, especially for people with irregular cycles or in different phases of life that cycles aren't super predictable, but also just for the effectiveness of it. So natural family planning isn't just this of these methods because all of these methods could be used ⁓ anybody with any aspect of things. And the the key difference, when we're ⁓ usually to NFP or natural family planning is that it's within the Catholic Church's ⁓ definition what these methods are. And so the Catholic Church, Emmamma: postpartum transitions, pregnancy loss, perimenopause, and everything in between. Because body literacy isn't just about charting. It's about the autonomy. It's about informed consent. It's about not outsourcing your reproductive decisions to guesswork or fear. Each week, you'll hear conversations with women's health professionals, ⁓ workers, ⁓ emmamma: these methods and has ⁓ based on them ⁓ ⁓ with their beliefs with beliefs life and all of those things. but the important thing to is that the method itself, ⁓ although might be rooted in faith ⁓ the science behind it is the same regardless of whatever moral beliefs or life situations they're in Emmamma: and researchers along with solo episodes where I teach practical skills you can apply to your own cycle right away. if you have ever felt like you should have learned this information sooner, if you have ever felt disconnected from your cycle, emmamma: So the Catholic Church ⁓ strongly suggests to use NFP ⁓ because it reflects the of the human person within marriage. ⁓ It calls for mutual responsibility, ongoing communication between spouses, and it treats fertility as something be lived and respected, ⁓ not a problem to be managed or suppressed. the Catholic Church ⁓ strongly suggests to use NFP ⁓ because it reflects the dignity the human person within a ⁓ It calls for this responsibility, ongoing communication between spouses, and it treats fertility as something to lived and respected, ⁓ not a problem to be managed or suppressed. Emmamma: If you want to raise the next generation without shame around their bodies, you are in the right place. So grab your tea, open up your notes app, and let's build a cycle confidence together. emmamma: if you're deciding to use natural family planning, the of the questions should be which method are we choosing to use? And there's not just one NFP method. And I think that's really important to ⁓ note. there's several different methods. They're generally grouped by which fertility sign they track. So there's cervical methods, these rely primarily on tracking changes in the cervical mucus to identify fertile and infertile days. There's symptom hormonal methods, so these incorporate hormonal monitoring. Sometimes through urine test strips or monitors, along with other signs. And then there's symptothermal methods. So these usually combine cervical mucus and basal body temperature, sometimes additionally with like cervical position as well. a couple things to think about when you're trying to ⁓ a specific method is what is your learning style? Some of these methods are gonna be more paper chart-based. Some of them are going to use apps, some of them are going to use monitors, some of them have protocols for using all sorts of stuff online. Some is just going to be in person understanding and teaching. So those all are important. And then you also need to take into account your life stage. So if you're in postpartum, if you're breastfeeding, ⁓ menopause, that can make certain signs sometimes harder to read. And some of these methods handle those transitions better than others. So ⁓ ⁓ if you're in some of those situations and not just in a typical cycle length, looking into what that specific method recommends for those seasons of life can be really helpful. Another thing to think about is access to instruction. So this is a big one. Natural family planning really isn't meant to be learned not just like pieced together. It's meant to be learned from a certified instructor. ⁓ methods have different certified. Teacher networks. ⁓ so availability, depending on where you are, is gonna be different. So if you're listening to this, obviously you know who I am. I teach some of these methods, I teach them online. So you you have that accessibility there. But sometimes people teach only in person, and that could be an option as well. and then also just like personal comfort. So some people are gonna be very comfortable checking cervical mucus. at the cervix itself. Some people are not gonna be wanting to touch cervical mucus. Some people find temperature really helpful ⁓ some people don't. Some people are grossed out by the idea of testing urine. ⁓ people are like, this is the only thing I want to do. So right, so you gotta figure out what works best for you ⁓ and figure out which one is going to be the best. there's not a right method for everybody. It's really about what you're gonna use consistently and accurately. ⁓ That consistency piece really matters for effectiveness. So when a couple's properly and follow the method's rule according to their goals, NFP can be up to 99% effective with perfect use for spacing and limiting pregnancies. The couple who ⁓ like don't follow the rules pretty well. ⁓ Their effectiveness is going to drop quite a bit. So that choosing method step isn't just about preference. It's also about picking something that you're generally going to learn well ⁓ can apply faithfully because the method only works as well as it's followed. So my recommendation is always to talk to a certified NFP instructor ⁓ to look into what that looks like. So ⁓ you are Catholic and you're listening to this and want to know which methods of ⁓ NFP are by the church. ⁓ you can go to the USCCB.org website and see all about that. there are specific recommendations either from your diocese or just as a whole. ⁓ Not all fertility awareness methods are like quote approved by the Catholic Church. So ⁓ ⁓ if that's something that you're wondering about, feel free to also just reach out to me and ask because I have a lot of knowledge in that as well. All right, ⁓ the last thing that I want to talk about is just about the difference between why there's this phrase of natural family planning, NFP, versus just fertility awareness. So we talked about before these biological signs, cervical mucus, basal body temperature, cervical changes, hormonal changes. These are just facts about how the female reproductive body works. Anyone can learn to track them. ⁓ you can have All of this information, it's using the same underlying science. So, what actually makes something natural family planning versus just awareness for health purposes really comes down to the intention and how it's lived out, not the biology itself. So if a woman is trading her cycle purely to understand her own health, say to flag irregular cycles for a doctor to monitor hormonal condition or just out of personal curiosity, ⁓ ⁓ Like in a general whole, we're going to refer to that as fertility awareness or using a fertility awareness based method as a health tool. it can be diagnostic, it's all about information. When we're referring to natural family planning, on the other hand, ⁓ that same body of knowledge, but the Catholic Church says it's applied within marriage as a shared practice between spouses oriented towards a family planning decision. So whether that's achieving or avoiding pregnancy. ⁓ It's not just I know when I'm fertile, it's a couple together making a decision about marriage and family and then acting on that decision through mutual abstinence or mutual pursuit of that fertile window. it really is more about the discernment and understanding of their family planning. when we're about health tracking. as a whole it can be entirely solo a woman ⁓ data maybe involving a health professional of some sort NFP is inherently a shared experience with spouses and the Catholic Church has a very explicit about that that it calls for mutual responsibility and communication between the husband and wife the goal when we're talking about health tracking is just about information right it's understanding what's happening in the body All of those things. NFP is about decision and action ⁓ and what couple does with that information regarding intercourse. So NFP is specifically framed within the marriage ⁓ as part a couple's shared life and openness to God's plan for their family, whereas using fertility awareness-based methods for health can just be completely outside of that context. ⁓ So you have two people using the exact charting method. The exact same signs, even maybe the same app or the same charts, all of those things. But one is doing it with as NFP within their marriage to make family planning decisions, and the other is doing it purely to get data for health information. Again, same science, different purpose, different lived reality. So I think that's what's really at the heart of it is that the method is just the tool. When we're talking about NFP, It can be what happens when that tool is picked up by a married couple in the service of decision about their family, not just simply as a personal health metric. So to sum up, ⁓ natural family planning is a one of those methods built on observing the body's natural fertility signs. And then once you're using that method to understand how were Determining in a cycle when you're fertile and when you're not. So choosing a method, it comes down to which signs you want to track, what season of life you're in, getting really solid instruction from a certified educator. And then that line between NFP and general health tracking isn't about the science, it's about that shared intention behind it. ⁓ If this if you're interested in learning a natural family planning method specifically, again you can look at the USCCB.org website or reach out to your diocesan's Office of Marriage and Family Life to find a certified instructor near you. I also teach SymptoPro which is one of those options. ⁓ and you can go to my website, emmamma.com/ symtopro, ⁓ and see when our next course is coming up. I usually have them seasonally. and I'd love to teach you that as well. So thanks so much for listening. I hope you found this a little bit helpful during NFP week to understand the difference between what NFP really is within the Catholic Church views versus just using a fertility awareness-based method. ⁓ If have more questions, feel free to reach out to me. I would love to hear them. ⁓ follow on Instagram at cyclical doula. ⁓ And ⁓ I'll you time.