What NFP is and what it is not
Church teachingThe US bishops describe natural family planning as the general name for scientific, natural and moral methods that help married couples either achieve or postpone a pregnancy. Every method rests on the same fact: a man is fertile throughout his life, while a woman is fertile only for a few days in each cycle. Her body gives clear signs of those days, and a couple can learn to read them.
NFP is not the old calendar rhythm method, which tried to predict fertile days from past cycle lengths and failed often. Modern methods observe what is happening in the current cycle, day by day. NFP is also not only for avoiding pregnancy. The same observations help couples who hope for a child to identify ovulation, and they often reveal health problems that deserve a doctor's attention.
Because nothing is added to or taken away from the marriage act, NFP sits inside the larger vision of Catholic intimacy and marriage rather than beside it. Spouses who chart together usually find that they talk more openly about their bodies, their plans and their reasons.
Natural Family Planning (NFP) is the general title for the scientific, natural, and moral methods of family planning that can help married couples either achieve or postpone pregnancy. NFP methods are based on the observation of the naturally occurring signs and symptoms of the fertile and infertile phases of a woman's menstrual cycle.
Why the Church accepts NFP and not contraception
Church teachingThe Catechism teaches that spouses may wish to space the births of their children for just reasons, and that this desire must come from generosity rather than selfishness. Saint Paul VI taught in Humanae Vitae that when there are well grounded reasons, arising from the physical or psychological condition of the spouses or from external circumstances, couples may use the natural cycles and come together only in the infertile times.
He added that this differs essentially from contraception. A contraceptive act changes the act itself so that it cannot give life. Periodic continence leaves every act as it is and simply chooses the time. The Catechism says such methods respect the bodies of the spouses, encourage tenderness between them and foster authentic freedom. The full moral comparison is laid out in our page on NFP vs contraception.
The Church does not set a list of approved reasons. Health, finances, the needs of the children already born, housing, emotional strain and many other circumstances can be serious enough. The couple judges this before God, ideally together and in prayer, and remains open to a generous answer when circumstances change.
If therefore there are well-grounded reasons for spacing births, arising from the physical or psychological condition of husband or wife, or from external circumstances, the Church teaches that married people may then take advantage of the natural cycles immanent in the reproductive system and engage in marital intercourse ...
The main methods compared
Medical informationAll modern methods look at real signs of fertility, but they watch different signs and teach them in different ways. None is the single correct Catholic method. The best one is the one a couple understands, trusts and can use consistently, taught by a qualified instructor.
The Creighton Model and the Billings Ovulation Method both rely on cervical mucus. The sympto-thermal method adds waking temperature and sometimes the position of the cervix. The Marquette Method adds a home hormone monitor that reads urine test strips. In studies, methods that are well taught show perfect use effectiveness above 98 percent for avoiding pregnancy; typical use depends heavily on teaching, motivation and how clearly the couple agrees on its plan.
| Method | Signs observed | How it is taught | Often chosen when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creighton Model | Cervical mucus described with a standardized vocabulary and recorded with colored stamps | Introductory session and a series of individual follow ups with a FertilityCare practitioner | A couple wants a precise chart that a doctor trained in NaProTechnology can also read |
| Billings Ovulation Method | Sensation at the vulva and the appearance of mucus through the day | Small group or individual teaching, then follow up chart reviews | A couple wants a simple method with few tools that works in any cycle pattern |
| Sympto-thermal | Waking temperature, cervical mucus and optionally cervix position | Class series for couples, often in a parish setting, plus chart support | A couple likes cross checking two or three signs against each other |
| Marquette Method | Hormone levels in morning urine measured by a home monitor, often with mucus | Individual instruction, much of it online, with chart review | Signs are unclear, such as while breastfeeding or approaching menopause |
Learning a method well
Pastoral guidanceThe US bishops stress that NFP is based on scientific research, not guesswork, and that any married couple can use it, including women with irregular cycles, mothers who are breastfeeding and women approaching menopause. What makes the difference is good teaching. A certified instructor of a specific method explains the rules, reviews the first months of charts and helps when something unusual happens.
Many dioceses list instructors or require a specific course as part of marriage preparation. Ask your parish office which methods are taught nearby and whether your diocese recommends one. If you want to understand all the options before choosing, a general course such as our NFP course online can prepare you, and a method instructor then takes you further.
Plan to learn together. Charting is the wife's observation, but the decisions are shared, and husbands who read the chart and keep the record often say it changed how they understand their wife and her health.
A woman need not have "regular" cycles. NFP education helps couples to fully understand and interpret their combined fertility, so that they can discern when to postpone or attempt pregnancy.
Living the abstinence with love
Pastoral guidanceWhen a couple has a serious reason to postpone pregnancy, they abstain from intercourse during the fertile days. This is honestly hard for many couples, especially when desire is strongest around ovulation. Saint John Paul II described periodic continence as involving a different understanding of the person and of sexuality, one in which spouses learn to express love in many ways and not only through the marriage act.
Practical help matters. Talk about the plan at the start of each cycle rather than in the moment. Keep affection, time together and conversation alive during the abstinent days. Revisit your reasons every few months, because they can change. If abstinence brings resentment or frequent conflict, speak with a priest, a Catholic counselor or your NFP instructor before it hardens.
Thus the innate language that expresses the total reciprocal self-giving of husband and wife is overlaid, through contraception, by an objectively contradictory language, namely, that of not giving oneself totally to the other.
NFP and health
Medical informationA chart is also a health record. Very short or very long cycles, bleeding between periods, a short phase after ovulation or unusual mucus patterns can point to thyroid problems, polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis or low progesterone. Bring your charts to your doctor if you notice anything that worries you. The Church does not object to medical treatment, including hormones, when it is truly given to cure a disease, as Humanae Vitae 15 explains.
After a birth, fertility usually returns gradually, and the signs can be confusing while breastfeeding. Many couples work with an instructor during this time, and Marquette or Billings teaching is often used. The first postpartum months also bring questions about recovery and closeness that we cover separately.
Sources
Every source below is linked to the full text on vatican.va or usccb.org. Quotations are short and given word for word.
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USCCB NFP Pastoral guidance
USCCB, What is Natural Family Planning?
Natural Family Planning is the general name for scientific, natural and moral methods that help married couples either achieve or postpone pregnancy. The methods rely on observing the natural signs of the fertile and infertile phases of a woman's cycle, with no drugs, devices or surgery, and they respect the unitive and procreative meaning of the conjugal act.
Read the source -
Is NFP based on guesswork? Pastoral guidance
USCCB, Is NFP based on guesswork?
NFP is based on scientific facts about fertility, not guesswork. Research on cyclic changes in cervical mucus and the temperature rise after ovulation led to programs that teach couples to observe and interpret these signs, and research continues to refine the methods.
Read the source -
Who can use NFP? Pastoral guidance
USCCB, Who can use NFP?
Any married couple can use NFP; a woman need not have regular cycles. The methods can be adapted to different reproductive situations, including irregular cycles, breastfeeding and the years approaching menopause, ideally with help from a trained NFP instructor.
Read the source -
CCC 2368 Doctrine
Catechism of the Catholic Church 2368 (The Sixth Commandment)
For just reasons spouses may wish to space the births of their children. They must ensure their desire does not come from selfishness but fits the generosity of responsible parenthood, and they must conform their behavior to the objective criteria of morality.
Read the source -
CCC 2370 Doctrine
Catechism of the Catholic Church 2370 (The Sixth Commandment)
Periodic continence, the methods of birth regulation based on self-observation and the use of infertile periods, conforms to the objective criteria of morality: these methods respect the spouses' bodies, encourage tenderness and foster freedom. By contrast, every action intended to render procreation impossible, before, during or after intercourse, is intrinsically evil.
Read the source -
HV 16 Magisterium
Pope Paul VI, Humanae Vitae 16 (1968)
If there are well-grounded reasons for spacing births, arising from the physical or psychological condition of the spouses or from external circumstances, married couples may take advantage of the natural cycles and have intercourse only during infertile times. This differs essentially from contraception, which impedes the natural process.
Read the source -
HV 15 Magisterium
Pope Paul VI, Humanae Vitae 15 (1968)
The Church does not consider illicit the use of therapeutic means necessary to cure bodily diseases, even if an impediment to procreation is foreseen, provided that the infertility is not directly intended for any motive.
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FC 32 Magisterium
Pope John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio 32 (1981)
Contraception contradicts the native language that expresses the total reciprocal self-giving of husband and wife with an objectively contradictory language of not giving oneself totally. Respecting the cycle with periodic continence involves a different understanding of the person and of sexuality.
Read the source -
USCCB Married Love Pastoral guidance
USCCB, Married Love and the Gift of Life (what NFP is)
NFP is based on a woman's cycle: a man is fertile throughout life, a woman only a few days each cycle. NFP today is not calendar guessing but learning to read clear signs of fertility; it can be very effective for postponing pregnancy and also helps couples who want a child identify ovulation.
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