Pope John Paul II

MYTH: NFP IS JUST ANOTHER METHOD OF BIRTH CONTROL.

Truth: NFP is an organic choice-giving, lifestyle-improving, health monitor with positive spiritual and relational side effects.

The beauty of NFP is that there is so much more to it than avoiding pregnancy. NFP can also be used to achieve pregnancy, improve relationships, monitor well-being (since fertility is strongly linked to the overall health of women), promote better self-care, pinpoint possible illnesses before other symptoms arise, promote environmental awareness and even improve spirituality.

MYTH: NFP MEANS BIG FAMILIES.

Truth: NFP means an attitude of generosity towards responsible parenthood.

Let’s get this through everyone’s head: There is no correct family size. The only correct family size is the one God wills for your family. Families with no children can be valid families. Families with four children can be valid families. Families with 16 children can be valid families. (After all, it is possible that some people actually like children.) For some parents, responsible parenthood means more children; for others, it means less.

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MYTH: NFP IS INEFFECTIVE AT PREVENTING PREGNANCY.

Truth: Every major method of NFP has comparable correct-use effectiveness — and often even better typical-use effectiveness — than most forms of contraception.

Contrary to some widely-spread but flawed statistics, most NFP methods really do rank with contraceptives in terms of effectiveness, both for correct (perfect) and typical (human) use. In other words, NFP is as good as or better than any other pregnancy-avoiding method out there. [1] The only forms of contraception with failure ratings superior to NFP are irreversible surgical procedures and implants — both of which can create severe side effects. NFP is non-surgical, non-hormonal, non-foreign, and still does everything (and more!) those other methods do.

MYTH: NFP DOESN’T WORK WITH IRREGULAR CYCLES.

Truth: NFP works with all cycles.

There is an enormous difference between modern NFP and the infamous Rhythm Method from the 1930s. We only endorse modern NFP.

The rhythm method has several major drawbacks, not the least of which is that it’s not actually monitoring anyone’s cycles. It’s simply a method of counting days on a calendar, following the phases of a 28-day model cycle that was formerly assumed to be the “average” cycle of a woman. Turns out it’s not so average. At all. In fact, only about 12 percent of women’s cycles are 28 days long.[2] So for the other 78 percent of women — with longer, shorter, or irregular cycles — the rhythm method doesn’t accurately reflect fertile phases and therefore isn’t reliable.

Modern NFP, on the other hand, actively tracks and assesses each cycle independently in real time. NFP monitors hormonal changes by tracking the observable symptoms they create. These hormones are directly responsible for ovulation, so NFP can determine a woman’s fertility with scientific certainty, day by day, no matter how irregular her cycle may be.