Despite its many misrepresentations and misunderstandings, Natural Family Planning (NFP) can be a true source of fulfillment for a married couple whether they wish to conceive a child or have good reason to avoid having children.

As a part of their Catholic wedding vows, married couples pledge to “accept children lovingly from God.” In order to live out this vow in union with the Catholic Church, married couples should practice the Natural Family Planning (NFP) methods that require periodic abstinence from sex.

Popular Catholic NFP Methods

Billings Ovulation Method

The Billings Ovulation Method (BOM) uses the sensation in the vulva and cervical mucus to identify fertile or infertile periods in a woman’s menstrual cycle.

Creighton Model of NFP

The Creighton Model of NFP uses observations of the stretchability and clarity of cervical mucus to determine the phases of fertility and infertility. The leading provider of information about the Creighton Model of NFP is the Creighton Model Fertility Care System.

Marquette NFP Method

The Marquette Method of NFP endorses the observation of cervical mucus and basal body temperature, but adds the use of the ClearBlue Easy Fertility Monitor to measure hormone levels to estimate the beginning and end of the time of fertility. The NFP Center at Marquette University endorses this method.

Sympto-Thermal Method

Made popular by the Couple to Couple League, this method uses three signs to identify days of fertility and infertility: cervical mucus, temperature, and the cervix.

Northwest Family Services also provides training in SymptoPro Fertility Education, which uses the three signs of temperature, mucus, and (optionally) cervix.