Natural Family Planning Ministry

Natural family planning (NFP) is a general name for the methods of family planning that are based on a woman’s menstrual cycle. A man is fertile throughout his life, while a woman is fertile for only a few days each cycle during child-bearing years. Modern methods of NFP are based on extensive medical research and are able to account for variable length cycles. A woman experiences clear, observable signs indicating when she is fertile and when she is infertile. Learning to observe and understand these signs is at the heart of education in natural family planning.

When a couple decides to postpone pregnancy, NFP can be very effective. NFP can also be very helpful for couples who desire to have a child because it identifies the time of ovulation. It is used by many fertility specialists for this purpose. Thus a couple can have marital relations at a time when they know that conception is most likely to occur.

Use the QR Codes to listen to Fr. Mike Schmitz read these rich excerpts of the Catechism and the reflect on their meaning. 

Testimonials

• "It's reassuring that NFP is what God wants us to do in our marriage. We feel blessed to have this knowledge of our bodies that generations in the past did not have. It's helped us appreciate each other's bodies as a beautiful gift from God, rather than as an object to be used for our own gratification. Because of NFP, we have grown closer physically, emotionally, and spiritually." ~Trent & Ashley
  
  
• "The couples I know who practice NFP tell me how much it helps their marriage since it requires ongoing conversation about the most intimate part of their relationship." ~Fr. Jim Deiters, St. Clare Parish in O'Fallon
  
  
• "If you open up your mind and heart to the teaching of the Church on contraception, through the intercession of Our Blessed Mother, conversion to Christ is possible. Natural Family Planning frees the heart to live as God intended all along." ~Dr. Rick Brennan, MD
  
  
• "My husband and I had used contraception on and off for the first 13 years of our marriage, but when we discovered The Theology of the Body in 2002, it changed our lives forever. We learned for the first time what real love is, how it is communicated, and how to live it within marriage. The truth of “free, faithful, total and fruitful love” pierced our hearts. We wanted the real thing—and no longer desired the counterfeit of contraception. We threw out the contraception, received the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and we have never looked back. It was the best decision we ever made for our marriage, for our family life, and for our faith life!" ~Patty Schneier