Natural Family Planning (NPR) is a term used to describe a set of methods that can identify a woman's fertile and infertile days. Partners who use NPR follow a woman's natural biological cycle. NPR is about self-control and trusting your body by listening to your internal biological rhythm and observing mucus, the condition of the cervix and the woman's body temperature. Find out what NPR is, learn about natural family planning methods and learn more about their effectiveness.

Natural family planningis a fully conscious and nature-compatible way of coexistence between two people. It requires a woman to pay a lot of attention to her body and makes sex dependent on her biological cycle. NPR is open to having children, accepting the natural cycle of fertility, and understanding partners during forced sexual abstinence.

Partners who wish to use natural methods of family planning must be patient and understanding, as the timing of their intercourse will be dictated by nature, whether for pregnancy or for reproductive purposes.

Contents:

  1. Natural Family Planning (NPR) - what is it?
  2. Natural Family Planning (NPR) - methods
  3. Natural Family Planning (NPR) - effectiveness
  4. Natural Family Planning (NPR) - Pros and Cons
  5. Natural Family Planning (NPR) - applications

Natural Family Planning (NPR) - what is it?

Natural family planning is a method of identifying the fertile and infertile periods of a woman's menstrual cycle using natural measures of fertility. NPR is designed to identify the pre-ovulatory infertility, fertility and post-ovulatory phases in the female cycle, and thus help partners achieve their goals depending on whether they want to have a child or want to use NPR as a method of contraception in a given period.

During NPR, a woman's fertility is measured primarily by factors such as the condition of the cervix, mucus quality and body temperature. This is extremely helpful both when trying for a baby and when you want to avoid an unwanted pregnancy.

Natural Family Planning (NPR) - methods

There are many NPR methods, so everyone can find the most effective and adapted to their goals. They are:

  • The Billings method- was developed by a married couple of doctors John and Evelyn Billings. It consists in checking the condition of the cervical mucus on a daily basis.

Check: How to use the Billings method?

  • Creighton's model- is a development of the Billings method. It is characterized by checking not only the cervical mucus, but also vaginal discharge and the intensity of menstrual bleeding.
  • Thermal method- consists in taking daily body temperature measurements, the results of which create a graph showing the woman's fertile days. They are determined according to the accepted pattern of a woman's body temperature, which determines her fertility.
  • Symptomatic thermal methods- combine the examination of the cervix, mucus and basal body temperature. It distinguishes between various methods that differ in the order of measurements: the Rötzer method, the CCL method, the English method and the German method.
  • Marriage calendar- this is the common name of the rhythm method, developed at the beginning of the 20th century. It assumes the woman ovulates about two weeks before her period. It consists in calculating the days subtracted from the longest and shortest cycle.

See: How to keep a marriage calendar?

Natural Family Planning (NPR) - effectiveness

If we are concerned with conceiving a child, the effectiveness of NPR is very high. However, many people use the NPR method for contraceptive purposes. Their effectiveness is measured by the so-called Pearl index, which gives the number of pregnancies per year in 100 women using a specific method.

With natural family planning methods, it is very difficult to determine their contraceptive efficacy. It depends on many factors, the comparison of which is very complicated. Moreover, NPR cannot be considered a typical method of contraception because it does not interfere with sexual activity in any way. It is the partners who decide for themselves when the intercourse takes place and for what purpose. Natural family planning is therefore not synonymous with the intermittent relationship with which it is often confused.

So far, a lot of research has been done to determine the effectiveness of NDP methods. A study by Marshall in 1968 showed 98.8% success with the thermal method. On the other hand, German scientists studying the symptothermal method in 2007 received 99.6% of its credibility.

In practice, you have totake into account other factors that may affect the effectiveness of NPR to procreate or become pregnant, such as the intrinsic motivation of partners, regularity of the partner's cycles, and for example the presence of alcohol in the blood or other means that delay the proper response.

Natural Family Planning (NPR) - Pros and Cons

Advantages:

  1. Versatility- Natural family planning methods have many uses. They are intended both for those who want to have a baby and for those who want to avoid pregnancy, and have sex for procreation purposes.
  2. Increasing self-awareness- thanks to the use of NPR methods, the woman's awareness of her body and biological mechanisms increases. Ladies also gain greater self-confidence and their body and learn more about the topic of female fertility, which is very important to them.
  3. Non-invasive- the natural methods of family planning do not require the woman to take any medications. Thus, she is not exposed to any side effects, so her sense of security increases.
  4. Acting in harmony with morality- NPR is the only method allowed by the Catholic Church. Believers can rest assured that they do not contribute in any way to acting against their morals and against the Catholic faith.

Disadvantages:

  1. Uncertain method of protection against pregnancy- Natural methods of family planning are quite controversial in terms of their use as contraception. If they are already used for this purpose, their effectiveness is really low. The functioning of a woman's body can be disturbed by many factors, such as illness or travel, so it is difficult to accurately calculate the fertile and infertile period each time. Natural indicators such as mucus, cervical length, and body temperature can sometimes be highly ambiguous and unreliable.
  2. Long Preparation Period- It takes some time for women to recognize the signs their own bodies give them. It is not as easy as it may seem. Taking the temperature every day, recognizing the quality of mucus, or touching the cervix by yourself - all of this requires practice and appropriate knowledge.
  3. No protection against sexually transmitted diseases- using NPR in no way protects against sexually transmitted diseases. Women who are not in a stable relationship and frequently change sexual partners should use condoms.
  4. Time-consuming- daily body temperature measurement, cervical position examination, mucus monitoringcervical - all this takes a lot of time and requires a lot of meticulousness and commitment. Moreover, an individual notebook with notes and observations regarding the phases of the cycle and fertility should be kept during NPR.
  5. Weakening of sexual desire and bond- practicing natural methods of family planning significantly reduces the quality of sexual excitement. The partners are then dependent on the biological cycle of the woman. If they do not intend to have a baby at the moment, they can only have intercourse with each other during the infertile days, so their desire is severely tested and any sexual spontaneity is almost ruled out. Many relationships fail to cope with the urgency of sexual abstinence and break up.

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Natural Family Planning (NPR) - Applications

Technology in the 21st century allows you to use many interesting and useful tools. Discover the most effective natural family planning support apps.

WomanLog Calendar- it is a clear and easy-to-use calendar of fertile days, allowing a woman to monitor the ovulatory cycle and its proper forecasting.

Menstrual calendar- is an application that allows you to calculate fertile days, predict menstruation and days on which we will not become pregnant. Attached to this is a secret diary where you can write down your feelings, weight changes and body temperature.

OvuView- This application allows you to observe the fertile and infertile cycles in a woman's body using symptomatic-thermal methods. It includes as many as fourteen methods of determining fertility.

Bella Calendar- facilitates daily functioning with notifications and reminders regarding cycle phases. In addition, we can write down our observations and observations in it.

My Days - Period & Ovulation- is an application in English that consists of a menstrual calendar and allows you to calculate the woman's fertile and ovulatory days.

Category:

Pregnancy