Why couples learn NFP online
Pastoral guidanceMany couples want to learn natural family planning but cannot easily reach a class. Instructors may be far away, evening sessions clash with work or small children, and some couples simply want to understand the basics privately before choosing a method. Others used contraception for years and want to start again quietly, at their own pace.
An online course answers these needs, but only if it is honest about what it is. Learning about the cycle and the methods is one thing. Becoming confident in one specific method usually takes a trained teacher who follows your own charts over several months. Our program is built to do the first well and to support the second, not to replace it.
The aim is not only fewer surprises. It is a marriage in which spouses understand each other, decide together and live Catholic intimacy and marriage with peace rather than fear.
What the Church teaches about NFP
Church teachingThe Catechism teaches that spouses may space the births of their children for just reasons, with a generosity that fits responsible parenthood, and that methods based on self observation and the use of infertile periods respect their bodies, encourage tenderness and foster freedom. Saint Paul VI wrote in Humanae Vitae that using the natural cycles in this way differs essentially from contraception.
Every lesson in the course rests on these sources and shows the paragraph numbers, so you can read the teaching yourself. Our guide to natural family planning and our page on NFP vs contraception are good companions to the course.
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 ...
Inside the NFP from zero course
Medical informationNFP from zero is a self paced course included in Membership and therefore in the Couples Program. It covers everything a couple needs before choosing a method and an instructor, in short lessons you can read together in an evening.
- What NFP is and is not. Modern methods compared with the old calendar rhythm method.
- How the cycle works. Hormones, cervical mucus, temperature and the fertile window, in plain language.
- The methods compared. Creighton, Billings, sympto-thermal and Marquette, with their strengths.
- Just reasons. How the Church asks couples to discern, generously and together.
- Charting together. Sharing observation and decisions, so neither spouse carries it alone.
- Abstinence as a couple. Affection, desire and patience on fertile days.
- Special situations. Irregular cycles, breastfeeding, approaching menopause and trying to conceive.
The course is educational. It explains how methods work but does not teach the full rules of one method to the standard a certified teacher does.
How the online program compares with a method course
Couples often ask whether to take our program or a certified course for one method. In many cases the answer is both, in that order or side by side.
| Question | Couples Program | Certified method course |
|---|---|---|
| What you learn | The cycle, all main methods, Church teaching, living NFP as a couple | The full rules of one method, such as Creighton or Billings |
| Who teaches | Self paced lessons, plus an NFP instructor in the quarterly consultation | A certified teacher of that specific method |
| Chart support | Your own cycle notes, reviewed in a 30 minute consultation every 3 months | Regular follow ups on your charts, often more frequent at the start |
| Diocesan requirements | Ask whether your parish accepts an online program | Often the option a diocese recommends |
| Best for | Understanding and choosing, ongoing support and questions | Becoming confident in one method |
Cycle notes and chart review with an NFP instructor
Pastoral guidanceIn your account you keep private cycle notes, so your observations, questions and decisions stay in one place. Once every three months (four times a year on yearly billing) you can book a private 30 minute video consultation and choose an NFP instructor. Bring your chart, and the instructor reviews it with you, answers questions about unclear days, and helps you judge whether you need more support.
Be honest with yourselves about what this is. A quarterly review is real help, but if you are learning a method from the start, your diocese may recommend a full certification course with a certified teacher of a specific method, such as the Creighton Model or Billings, with regular follow ups. Our program complements that course: it helps you understand, choose and keep going, and the consultation adds an outside eye on your chart. If your chart shows signs of a health problem, see a doctor.
What the Couples Program includes
Pastoral guidanceThe Couples Program includes everything in Membership: the library, all courses including NFP from zero, and the monthly live expert Q&A. On top of that you get five guided 8 week programs (Rekindle, Libido Mismatch, Postpartum Intimacy, Rebuilding Trust after Porn, and Engaged, Preparing for the Wedding Night) with weekly exercises and conversation cards, a completion certificate for the Engaged program that lists every module completed, Ask with Sources with 300 questions a month answered from Church documents, and one private 30 minute video consultation every 3 months with a Catholic therapist, a Catholic sex therapist or an NFP instructor, including NFP chart review.
The price is $49 a month, or $24 a month billed yearly ($288). There is no free plan. If you are engaged and need NFP for marriage preparation, ask your parish whether it accepts an online program; the certificate lists every module completed. Parishes can also use the self serve Parish plan.
Consultations are not a replacement for ongoing licensed therapy or medical care. To start, choose the Couples Program or see pricing.
Couples Program
For a couple who wants guided programs and a counselor. Two logins, one plan.
$24 /month
Billed $288 yearly, or $49 billed monthly
Choose the Couples Program- Five guided 8 week programs, including Engaged
- Completion certificate listing every module
- One private 30 minute video consultation every 3 months
- Catholic therapist, sex therapist or NFP instructor
- Ask with Sources, 300 questions a month
- Full library, courses and monthly live Q&A
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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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 -
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 -
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 -
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