How well did natural family planning work for you?

Beccaboo0713 · July 2011

DH and I are thinking of pulling out combined with charting. For those that do/did that how well did it work/is it working for you?

eta:

I can't use anything hormonal so that is out.

We do use spermicide too and I had to take medication to get pregnant with both my children because I have fertility issues...

NFP and pull out wouldn't be the only tricks in our bag.

mommy0411 · July 2011

I am lurking but my husband and I are catholic and therefore do not believe in using birth control, so we are using NFP to space our children. We use the symto-thermal method. I really like NFP but we got pregnant our first full cycle of charting after our wedding. I ended up ovulating early and missed a fertile sign while we were on our honeymoon. The result was our beautiful son.

I haven't started charting again because I am EBF and I have not had any mucus (this is the sign you watch for that your cycle is returning) and I am not pregnant again so that is a good sign

We really like NFP despite our surprise. It definitely takes self control and you both have to take charge of understanding your fertility. There are several different methods. We took a class from the Couple to Couple League. They are a catholic based organization as are many of the NFP teachers (they include catholic doctrine in the class). I hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any questions!

monkeyqueen · July 2011

Well.... my Catholic parents tried it and wound up getting pregnant by accident with twins. They don't believe in the effectiveness Natural Family Planning anymore ;p

Heifergal · July 2011

Have fun being pregnant! Hehehe j/k. Kinda.

ABizzity · July 2011

I got my first pp AF last month and I am EBF. I started a new chart and feel like my 2nd AF is knocking on the door so I may be back to regular cycles, who knows. In any case, I used NFP for 3 yrs before we had LO and we got pregant the first month of TTC because I knew my cycles so well and we were very lucky. For now, its the old pull and pray but I hope to get a pattern going with my charts now that AF is back. I tried taking the mini pill for a couple months after I had DS but it made me feel like crap and I could never remember to take it. NFP works better for me but you have to be very diligent. Beacause I am BF'ing, I dont really trust my cycles yet so Im not going to rely on my chart, pull and pray it is! We wont be heartbroken if we end up with #2 anyway.

lildayzees · July 2011

It works well for us (we avoided pregnancy this way for a year and got pregnant the first month we tried)...but you just have to be diligent about it and learn how to read the symptoms. I love being "in tune" with my body and knowing what's happening and why.

Having said that, I'm still not 100% sure I'm doing things correctly post-baby, since I'm BFing and have not had AF (even though I've met with a local NFP specialist) . Then again, DH and I would be okay with having another child right now, even though we're not actively TTC.

magdalina.h · July 2011

I charted to avoid for a year and charted while trying. I'm on the mini pill now because I can't use normal BCP and I really can't get pg for 2 more months. My body needs a break.

always4278 · July 2011

This worked well for me for about 8 months but then I ovulated early and surprise! I got my wonderful DD lol. You have to have a really regular cycle for this method to work at its best which mine isn't. Oh well she was definitely a blessing

missfire · July 2011

Everyone on this board has a baby, so, this might not be the best place to ask! You know, condoms really aren't that bad, and are very effective.

funchicken · July 2011

I recommend reading "Taking Charge of Your Fertility", and using at least 2 ways of estimating your fertile times. I chart and track my cervical mucous (too lazy to take my temperature every day). I've been doing this for 7 years, never had an oops, and it was helpful when I was trying to get pregnant, too.

kensbride08 · July 2011

Well I just found out Im pg again sooooo no it does not work. It has not worked for me anyways. I got pregnant with my DD on Day 12 (ovulated early) and these last 2 I got pregnant on day 21. Go figure. I swear my husband has ridiculous sperm.

drpayne · July 2011

mommy0411:
I am lurking but my husband and I are catholic and therefore do not believe in using birth control, so we are using NFP to space our children. We use the symto-thermal method. I really like NFP but we got pregnant our first full cycle of charting after our wedding. I ended up ovulating early and missed a fertile sign while we were on our honeymoon. The result was our beautiful son.
I haven't started charting again because I am EBF and I have not had any mucus (this is the sign you watch for that your cycle is returning) and I am not pregnant again so that is a good sign
We really like NFP despite our surprise. It definitely takes self control and you both have to take charge of understanding your fertility. There are several different methods. We took a class from the Couple to Couple League. They are a catholic based organization as are many of the NFP teachers (they include catholic doctrine in the class). I hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any questions!

LOL - Wow, I could have written this. Also Catholic, also got pregnant on our honeymoon, also went through Couple to Couple League. Also have a beautiful son

OP - I was also using a monitor - have you considered that? I really do believe in the overall effectiveness of NFP. We chose not to worry about it on our honeymoon and thought "What are the chances we'll get pregnant the first cycle? Surely we aren't THAT fertile." Ha. We do have a lot of Catholic pregnant friends so of course we joke about when NFP not working. The truth is, we could all probably tell you the exact date of conception... we just chose to take a chance at that time.

starsmaycollide · July 2011

Definitely read Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. There's nothing wrong with using NFP or charting as BC, I have a friend who did it for 5 years! but you really need to be diligent about it, AND use a barrier method during potential fertile times. After all, NFP will only fail you when you're fertile-so you have to protect yourself then. And cycles naturally adjust, and it's not always going to be at the exact same time every month.

We charted to TTC for about 4 cycles , and then charted to avoid for a few months, and it was fine. I got pregnant towards the end of our TTC 'break' when we were not really avoiding anymore and I had stopped charting so religiously. So it definitely didn't fail us-we chose not avoid a pregnancy that month.

ABizzity · July 2011

kensbride08:
Well I just found out Im pg again sooooo no it does not work. It has not worked for me anyways. I got pregnant with my DD on Day 12 (ovulated early) and these last 2 I got pregnant on day 21. Go figure. I swear my husband has ridiculous sperm.

Congrats!

Are you sure you are charting correctly? Your fertile period is not very long and you guys seem to hit it every time, LOL.

meltoine · July 2011

DH and I are Catholic too and we love NFP. Pretty much all of our friends use it and were able to successfully postpone or conceive when they wanted to. I definitely recommend taking a class and being extra strict with the rules for a while until you're totally comfortable reading your own fertility signs. Become friends with your teaching couple and call them if you have any questions.

JessiRaye · July 2011

It worked well for me for 15 months, then see pic below of baby #3:) We were okay with getting pg though so NFP was fine for us.

kensbride08 · July 2011

ABizzity:

kensbride08:
Well I just found out Im pg again sooooo no it does not work. It has not worked for me anyways. I got pregnant with my DD on Day 12 (ovulated early) and these last 2 I got pregnant on day 21. Go figure. I swear my husband has ridiculous sperm.

Congrats!

Are you sure you are charting correctly? Your fertile period is not very long and you guys seem to hit it every time, LOL.

Thats what I thought as well! How was my LP long enough to sustain the egg? So random! I think since having babies my cycle has just switched around.

And thank you!

JustOne · July 2011

My best friend is Catholic, and was doing NFP when she got pregnant with their son. She is now on the non hormonal IUI, Paragaurd. They decided on this because she can NOT get pregnant again (it could kill her and the baby), and this was the only BC that they were comfortable with.

Bluescarf · July 2011

I used the Fertility Awareness Method, which is basically the same thing. It worked great for us. I was able to not get pregnant until I wanted to, then I got pregnant on the first try both times. I was able to pinpoint right when I was ovulating. I know not all women have as abvious signs as I did though, but I love it.

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