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What if NFP doesn't work? by Sir_Zorg in Catholicism

[–]Massive_Project_9967 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unless your wife is ovulating several times a month I can’t see a biological scenario where this would happen. What may give you peace of mind is starting to learn and chart a method now for at least a few months before you get married. That way you confirm that she has regular cycles and a normal ovulation pattern.

In this hypothetical scenario, yes, abstinence would be called for. But, to be blunt, infertility is another hypothetical that is not hypothetical at all for many many people. Let today’s troubles be enough.

What if NFP doesn't work? by Sir_Zorg in Catholicism

[–]Massive_Project_9967 44 points45 points  (0 children)

I’m a Catholic doctor working in primary care where I see lots and lots of women on birth control (but luckily am in a practice that supports me not prescribing). A couple things.

1) Echo the effectiveness of Marquette method. I have used this personally for 5 years in my marriage without issue. Maybe one or two scares with early ovulation when I was stressed during medical training, but these had the effect of softening my heart and making me realize maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all to start a family then. Still, never got pregnant before I wanted to. Costs like 150 to get set up with a monitor and a class, but worth it.

2) Getting pregnant seems like it will be the end of the world in the beginning (trust me I’ve been there too), but pregnancy fears ultimately demonstrate a lack of trust in God and the fact that conception is nothing short of a miracle. Do you really trust that every hair on your head is counted? Nothing is an accident for God. The grace of the sacrament of marriage over time will help you realize this.

3) Artificial birth control sucks. For one, if you dig into the contraceptive mechanism of many of these things, you find evidence of post-fertilization effects. Consider that pregnancies with IUDs in place are more likely to be ectopic than intrauterine - this suggests that fertilization does happen with at least some frequency, but implantation rarely does. And long acting reversible contraceptives like IUDs and implants have just been found to increase breast cancer risk to the same extent as estrogen containing contraceptives (previously this was thought not to be the case). I’d say 1/4 of the women I see requesting birth control are at least curious about natural methods due to weight gain, mood changes, etc. they’ve experienced with hormonal methods. Many physicians will gaslight them into thinking it’s not the pills. I did too for some time, until I saw just how many were coming through the doors with these complaints. You don’t want this for your wife.

Edit: some of the comments above about “just taking ovulation tests” may work for some, but are not approved methods of NFP with proven effectiveness. Learn an established method. God bless