The Catholic Church teaches that sex within marriage has two purposes: to bring the couple together (the unitive purpose) and to create children (the procreative purpose). Both purposes must be honored each time a married couple has sex.
Sometimes a couple may want to be united sexually and yet think it would not be a good time to conceive. The Church recognizes that this is a dilemma for a faithful couple. NFP allows a couple to respect the gift of procreation and be responsible about bringing a new life into the world. They become educated about the wife’s fertility cycle and make choices for sex that work with the cycle.
It is common in our culture to see the woman’s fertility as a problem to be eliminated. With NFP, however, her fertility is recognized as a healthy part of who God made her to be and it needs to be worked with, rather than suppressed.
Furthermore, some forms of contraception allow conception of a baby to take place and then abort the baby before it can be implanted in the uterus. With NFP, there is no risk of conception because the married couple does not have intercourse or genital contact when it can happen.
NFP is as effective as contraceptive methods. It does not use chemicals and is free of harmful side effects.
NFP works with irregular cycles and during postpartum, breastfeeding and menopause.
NFP is highly effective in achieving pregnancy without chemicals or surgical procedures.
It is virtually cost free.
Seem like it may be hard to restrain yourself? Couples who use NFP acknowledge that can be true but they grow closer because they have to work on developing other ways of showing romantic love and being intimate during fertile periods if they are avoiding pregnancy. By respecting the love-giving and life-giving natures of marriage, NFP can enrich the bond between husband and wife.