Natural Family Planning

Comment

Comment by Heather Stein on October 17, 2009 at 7:33pm

Cherylyn, I also wanted to add (in addition to Ericka's very helpful comment) that there is a free online resource at www.nfpandmore.org. CCL (the method Ericka mentioned below) was recently revamped and the method at NFPandMore is similar, the original method of CCL. I only mention it because you can download the manual free off their site. There is a lot of attention given to return of fertility postpartum because that is one of the "specialties" of the method.

You might also check out the book "Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing" by Sheila Kippley, co-founder of the methods above. Hugely helpful for someone in your situation—answers tons of questions you might have.

Comment by Ericka Soileau on October 17, 2009 at 7:21pm

Cherylyn: My best advice would be to look into classes. Couple to Couple League offers NFP classes, including postpartum, which is VERY helpful, especially if you are new to NFP because the postpartum period is very difficult to figure out what is going on, even for seasoned users. CCL also has a postpartum guide that you can buy, though it is really meant for people who have already taken their basic NFP class; however it might be helpful. Their website is http://www.ccli.org/ It is a huge organization with teachers everyone, so I am sure there will be some near to you. I follow a sympto-thermal method very similar to FAM, and the most important thing to remember postpartum is to ALWAYS watch for mucus, and if you do have mucus, abstain for 4 days if you are trying to avoid pregnancy. Charting is hard, especially because sleep is hard to come by so temperatures aren't always helpful, though I recommend getting into the habit! I had a period before I ovulated for the first time, which is common if your fertility returns before 6 months; after 6 months you may ovulate before you have any menstruation...

Comment by Cherylyn on October 17, 2009 at 7:08pm

I read the book "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" when I was nursing my little girl, and I only had one menstrual cycle before I got pregnant again. My baby is 3 months old now and I need to check the book out again and read it. I haven't used this method before, but I really want to, and I need to make sure I can do it right. Does anyone have suggestions on how to figure this out during breastfeeding before I have a regular cycle?

Comment by Bonnie P on September 13, 2009 at 8:59pm

Hee hee... "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" just came in the mail... a week after I found out I was pregnant! Oh well, it's still interesting and will be applicable after the baby is born!

Comment by Bonnie P on August 19, 2009 at 5:03pm

Hi, I'm new to the group. My husband and I are going to start trying this month and I've just ordered "Taking Charge of Your Fertility". Can't wait to delve into it and learn even more! Right now I'm pretty certain I know when I'm ovulating (just through day counting and cervical mucous), but I'd like to be certain, especially since I'm still breastfeeding very frequently throughout the day and night (I really hope I am ovulating!). I also want to learn more about NFP so that we can use it instead of barrier methods in the future when trying to avoid pregnancy. Besides, learning about your body is always a good thing, right?

Comment by Heather Stein on July 3, 2009 at 12:32pm

Ericka, I haven't tried the software...if it was free, I would but...since I don't spend much time in cycles anyway (I'm either in breastfeeding infertility or pregnant most of the time), I can't justify the expense. I guess I'll just have to use my noggin :)

Comment by Rene' Dierking on June 21, 2009 at 6:28pm

In the Creighton model, you have 56 days, 8 weeks, of infertility after having a baby. If you don't chart after that you could get pregnant because you'd miss important signals from the mucous or spotting that may occur. Another thing to remember is that everyone's body is different regarding when their cycle returns. A friend of ours didn't get her cycle back until 14 mos after having their son. I hope that won't be the case for me.

I also want to point out that whatever method of NFP you are using, you have to stay consistent with that approach. Each method works, but it's usually the user who fails and that can result in an unplanned pregnancy.

Comment by Ericka Soileau on June 21, 2009 at 5:54pm

Has anyone tried out the new software?

Comment by Ericka Soileau on June 2, 2009 at 8:47pm

Thanks a bunch Heather! I have not been 100% consistent with my nap!

Also I have to put in a plug for my new favorite NFP tool...Story is we learned Creighton model and now are learning Symptothermal. Long and short--we got this great computer software program that you put in your temps and mucus signs, and it graphs it and also tells you fertile and infertile times, and if you become pregnant, there is a due date calculator built in! We have been using it for a month and love it!

http://www.ccli.org/software

Comment by Heather Stein on May 22, 2009 at 11:01am

Oh, and one more thing...in her books, Sheila Kippley talks about women who say ecological breastfeeding didn't "work" for them. In almost all cases (I don't know that she even actually found an exception), the women were not following all the Seven Standards. Usually they were not sleeping with their baby, either at night or during a nap. A lot of women will skip the nap sleeping and fertility returns. In her new book she really emphasizes the daily nap as crucial to ecological breastfeeding.

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next ›
• Page