What is Natural Family Planning?

Natural Family Planning
Coordinator: Alice Heinzen (click to email)
1-800-255-6226

What is Natural Family Planning?

Natural family planning (NFP) is a means of either achieving or avoiding pregnancy based upon the couple’s own knowledge of their naturally occurring cyclic phases of fertility and infertility.

NFP is not contraception – it is true family planning and provides the couple with the means to be able to freely express their reproductive potential. Unique among methods of family planning, NFP works with the body rather than against it.

How does NFP work?

Natural family planning instruction allows a couple to distinguish between the fertile and infertile phases of each cycle. If a couple wishes to achieve pregnancy, they have intercourse during the fertile time of the cycle. If a couple wishes to avoid pregnancy, they have intercourse and any genital contact outside of the fertile time.

No artificial methods are used during the fertile time as these would interfere with a woman’s observation of her fertility signs.

What are the signs of fertility?

A woman’s body provides three basic ways to identify the fertile and infertile times of her cycle. Recognizing the pattern of those physical signs forms the basis for all methods of natural family planning.

A primary sign of fertility is the mucus released from the woman’s cervix. A woman learns to identify the normal, healthy cervical mucus, which indicates when a pregnancy is most likely to occur.

The second sign is her basal body temperature. Due to normal hormonal activity, a woman’s resting temperature changes during the menstrual cycle. Lower temperatures indicate that ovulation has not yet occurred. Higher temperatures indicate a rise in progesterone, which signals the end of the fertile time.

The third sign is a change in the shape or texture of the cervix. Finally, secondary signs such as minor abdominal pain or pressure at the time of ovulation can also be observed.

Is NFP rhythm?

Natural family planning is not calendar rhythm. The “rhythm method” was developed in the 1930’s and tried to mathematically determine the probable time of ovulation for the average woman. It did not account for individual differences. Modern advances in the science of NFP make it possible to profile each woman’s individual cycle.

Who can use NFP?

Almost any couple can use natural family planning! A woman need not have regular cycles. Natural Family Planning can be applied to all variations of a woman’s reproductive life including breastfeeding, pre-menopause, and low fertility.

How effective is NFP?

With proper teaching, cooperation and motivation, natural family planning is as effective as any other family planning method and more effective than most. It is the only method that gives the couples the self-awareness to achieve or avoid pregnancy.

Statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and a recently completed World Health Organization study indicate that the method-effectiveness rates for avoiding pregnancy are over 98% for modern NFP methods.