NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING: Honoring and Understanding the Gift of Fertility

Over 50 years ago, Pope Paul VI released an encyclical letter called Humanae Vitae (Of Human Life), addressing the topic of contraception. In this letter, he anticipated several outcomes that would result in the popularization of birth control, an increase in marital infidelity, a general moral decline, and a loss of respect for women, among other things.

Today, we see that many of those projections have come true.

But, for many who have only known a world where contraception is readily available and accepted, it can be hard to grasp the Church’s rejection of something that, on the surface, seems to bring convenience and control. It is important to understand that, at the heart of the Church’s teachings against contraception, is the dignity of the human person. The Church has always believed and taught that a person is worthy of love, and never to be used by another. In separating the unitive — uniting, bonding — and procreative aspects of the sexual act, through birth control, it becomes easy to view the other person as an object to be used, rather than a person to be loved.

So, what is the answer? If not birth control, what is the answer for couples who have prayerfully decided that they want to postpone a pregnancy, for the time being, or even indefinitely?

The Church, which calls people to “responsible parenthood,” understands the need for spacing and delaying pregnancy for various reasons, and hopes to give couples the resources they need to respect the dignity of their spouse and marriage during those times. Natural Family Planning, or NFP, is designed to help couples understand the gift of their fertility, and honor it, even when they are planning to avoid a pregnancy.

St. Joseph’s parishioners Morgan and Austin Hiepler are high school sweethearts who were married last summer. The couple took NFP classes through the Zoom conferencing platform as part of their marriage preparation.

“I was not aware of NFP until we started marriage counseling with Fr. Paul,” Morgan says. “I knew that contraception was against the Catholic Church, and going to these courses made me realize how to go about avoiding pregnancy and accomplishing pregnancy in the Catholic Church.”

“We learned about starting a family, in a natural and Christian-appropriate way,” Austin adds.

Natural Family Planning is designed to teach women to understand and track the natural cycles of their body, however simple or complex they may be. With this knowledge, couples are then able to identify the specific times when the woman is fertile and to abstain if they are choosing to avoid a pregnancy. This knowledge allows spouses to truly accept and embrace all aspects of each other, including fertility.

“There are so many things about a woman’s fertility that I had no idea about,” Morgan says. “We both learned so much together, that will help us down to the road to starting a family.”

Natural Family Planning also beneficial to women’s health overall, avoiding artificial hormones and other devices that often lead to various health issues and complications. NFP can also help with the diagnosis and treatment of many women’s health problems, including infertility.

“I would encourage couples to consider NFP whether they are trying to avoid or accomplish pregnancy,” Morgan says. “You think you know a lot, but I learned so much about my own body that I had no idea about. It is fascinating and gives me more confidence in knowing my body more.”

If you would like more information on Natural Family Planning, or to connect with an NFP instructor, please contact St. Joseph parishioner, Beth Gilb, MSW, FCP at 307-202-2322, bethgilb@gmail.com.

Austin and Morgan Hiepler took NFP classes through the Zoom conferencing platform as part of their preparation for marriage.

Austin and Morgan Hiepler learned the practice of Natural Family Planning while preparing for their wedding.