QuestionHi,
I appreciate your response and am going to bookmark and look through the website you gave me. It really doesn't seem any worse than remembering to take a stupid pill every day. And I love how there aren't going to be any side effects; when I took the pill originally a few years ago, I was so sick from it that I thought I was pregnant. I threw up, was dizzy, low blood pressure, it was terrible.
I also just wanted to tell you that my husband is a very "unique" person in that it's hard to tell what he really wants. And he was raised Mormon, though he doesn't actively practice, he still has certain "things" that he thinks about and believes and he isn't too keen on birth control. And though NFP seems to be moral and everything I am just not 100% sure of his reaction. He was very upset when I took the pill. I also don't want him to think that something is wrong with us or him or our marriage and that is why I am postponing pregnancy. Thanks again for your detailed reply.
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The text above is a follow-up to ...
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Hi there,
I am a recently married 20 year old female who recently started on this new "kick" (my husband calls it that) about health, nutrition, etc. I exercise, eat right, do yoga, etc. and though I am at a healthy weight, I am trying to become HEALTHIER. Having said that, though I am looking for a birth control method, I am against putting chemicals and other things in my body. I was on the pill a few years ago and it made me very ill. In addition, I'd rather my husband not be fully aware of my birth control endeavors.
I know next to nothing about natural family planning but would love to know more. I've asked some people and been told to simply go to CVS and get an ovulation tracker and simply not have sex on those days but isn't there more to it than that?
Anyway, would love to know more when you have a chance. Thanks in advance!
Michelle
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I'm a little perplexed by your desire to not include your husband in your family planning. IT would really not be a good idea to get pregnant or keep from getting pregnant without him being a part of that decision.
NFP is more than an ovulation tracker. But that is what you do and then you do also avoid sex on the days that are fertile.
The basic approach is to take your temperture every morning before you get out of bed. Preferrably, at the same time every morning. Put the number in a special chart and keep track of what it does, like a graph.
In addition to the temperature sign, you are to keep track of the cervical mucus sign that ebbs and flows during the first part of the month leading up to ovulation. After ovulation, the mucus disappears. But the quality and quantity of the mucus is a sign to you of the nearness of ovulation, so it is important to be aware of it and keep track of that, too.
There is also the cervix sign, which involves noting how high in the vagina you cervix is but that isn't totally necessary but works as another way of noting the approach of ovulation in case the other signs are not very clear.
It sounds like a lot to bother with but it takes seconds and gives you a lot of information about your health, your fertility and your periods. You can become aware of pregnancy much earlier than with a pregnancy test using NFP. You will know exactly when you get pregnant and will be certain about your due date, too.
There are lots of good books but the place I recommend for information is this website: www.ccli.org
You are very wise to avoid the pill and other chemical hormones. NFP is just as effective with no risks to your health.
AnswerYou can't go wrong with the NFP approach. Thanks for explaining about your husband. HOpefully, he will find NFP, when you explain it to him, to be very understandable and he will cooperate with you. He sounds like a good man, especially since he also didn't like you taking the pill. You guys are on the same page there! Congratulations and enjoy yourselves in your new life together.
The website I sent you to is pretty Catholic but there is quite bit of overlap between Mormons and Catholic in some areas. I work at a Catholic law school and there is a very good sized portion of our student body who are Mormon because they appreciate the strong moral values that the school lives by and teaches.
