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Posted on 02/21/2007 6:25:14 PM PST by samiam1972
HEIDELBERG, Germany, February 21, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A new study by German researchers shows that a method of natural family planning is statistically as effective as the contraceptive pill in delaying pregnancy.
Researchers from the University of Heidelberg studied the statistical effectiveness of the symptothermal method (STM) to avoid achieving pregnancy. Unlike contraceptives that either suppress a woman's natural fertility cycle or act as a barrier to conception, STM helps a woman to understand the natural signs of her fertility in order to achieve or temporarily delay pregnancy.
The study involving 900 women was published in the journal, Human Reproduction, and found that the correct use of STM to delay pregnancy led to a rate of 0.4 pregnancies per 100 women per year. The lowest pregnancy rate was found among women who abstained from sex during their most fertile period identified through STM.
In contrast, women who used a barrier method, such as a condom, had a pregnancy rate of .6 pregnancies per 100 women per year. Women who had sex (without contraception) during the fertile period had a pregnancy rate of only 7.5 pregnancies per 100 women per year, however researchers noted that this was a quarter of the rate one would usually expect.
(Excerpt) Read more at lifesite.net ...
I have since given the information to two young women who were having trouble conceiveing, and voila! Babies!
About time. NFP is truly a godsend.
Thus, the article doesn't surprise me and it's nice that other people are now discovering this little known fact.
I found a computer program called Ovusoft, and I can't recommend it enough -- it was so much easier to chart everything, and it predicted at least three cycles ahead.
I am a cradle Catholic, but only became truly aware of NFP back in 2001. Until then, I am ashamed to say, my husband and I used ABC, except while we tried to conceive our first child, born in 1998 (we married in 1995). In late 2000, dh left the military and we moved to Oklahoma. I never refilled my prescription, and that was okay with us, because we were planning on another child (at that point, we said 2 was our limit).
In the fall of 2001, I became involved with Project Gabriel through my parish in Oklahoma. In my training, I received information about NFP and a copy of 'Humanae Vitae.' Well, soon after that I bought a copy of the Kippley's book, and two months later, I was pregnant with our son, who was born in September of 2002. It was at that point that we became open to having a larger family.
Shortly after our son's first birthday, we were surprised with pregnancy number three (looking back, it was more of an error in my charting than anything). In June of 2004, our second daughter was born.
Fast forward to the beginning of this year. My charting has not been as consistent over the last several months, but I am fairly regular and knew when the fertile times were. Last month all three kids and I were sick with the norovirus, which I believed threw everything out of whack for me, although I did not realize it at the time. Two weeks ago, we were given another blessing when we found out about baby #4, due this October. Our oldest is thrilled at having another sibling, and our son is asking when he can play cars and dinosaurs with his baby brother (he is convinced it is a boy!).
I know it's a long post, but if were not for NFP, I would only have the two children we had 'planned' to have. I cannot imagine life without our younger daughter, who is just precious (although she has been nicknamed 'the little banshee' by her father and me). The last two pregnancies have not proved that something went wrong, but that something went right.
I will also note that the people in our parish are thrilled to hear of our good news, as larger families seem to be pretty common here.
Yes, money is going to be tighter, but we are going to have those precious memories of first steps, first words, and other milestones that money can't buy :)
I agree that keeping track is important for every female past puberty, whether married/having sex or not. It reveals so much about one's body, and helps us females understand things like our mood, energy level, etc at various times of the cycle. I was amazed at how little I knew about my own body until I started keeping track.
I also discovered low thyroid function via this method ... going gluten-free cured that for me, as well as many other things!
People do confuse NFP with the old "rhythm method."
I have a couple of children that I'm not sure how they happened, too. Oh well! I wonder if it's significant that I know when the boys were conceived, but not the girls?
I suppose if I find I'm expecting #9, saying "When did this happen?" then it will be a girl!
If nothing else, knowing when to expect your next period is very useful. You don't want to plan a scuba vacation, or a marathon, on days that you can't go more than 5 steps from the bathroom!
I mean, "when they happened." "How" is pretty obvious.
LOL! Except for this one, I can pinpoint pretty much when the other three were conceived. I think that my ovulation occurred earlier last month than expected (or maybe later, but I am more inclined to believe the former). Oh well, I guess in the grand scheme of things, it isn't really that important after all!
We couldn't get pregnant for the longest time -- my ob/gyn (a Catholic) told me about NFP . . . and, voila, a baby!
You just don't want your doctor to think you're past-due if you're not.
Well, I do know when my last cycle started, and I can pinpoint within a close (meaning one or two day) time frame as to when conception happened. I'll give her all that info at my first visit and we can straighten it all out then (I hope).
That should work. I'm always pregnant before the previous baby is weaned, so my menstruation dates aren't worth anything.
It also works great if you actually want to have children....
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