Discovering NFP and Finding Faith
In some love stories, discovering Natural Family Planning (NFP) and finding faith go hand in hand. For Hannah and Michael Polisei, learning NFP became a surprising turning point—a path that deepened their love, strengthened their marriage, and ultimately led Michael to the Catholic Church.
Their journey shows how understanding fertility can do more than improve health. NFP can open hearts to grace and service to others. Today, Hannah and Michael not only live the NFP lifestyle but also teach it. They are helping other couples experience the same transformation that changed their own marriage.
Healthy Resolution
Hannah and Michael got engaged at Niagara Falls, four years after meeting in college. While Michael wasn’t Catholic, he dove enthusiastically into marriage prep with Hannah at her childhood parish. This included their Natural Family Planning class. “We walked out of it and were like, ‘Why didn’t we know half of this?,’” they remember.
After marriage and several months of hoping to conceive, Hannah and Michael wondered if there was a health issue needing resolution. Thanks to the fertility awareness that NFP provides, Hannah already had a clear record of her cycles. “Luckily, with the charting… we knew when we were ovulating. When we went to an appointment with my OBGYN, I had data to show and that was really big. Instead of having to do tons of bloodwork and getting misdiagnoses, we moved to physical testing.”
With an excellent fertility doctor’s help, they diagnosed a septum on Hannah’s uterus that would have made it difficult to carry a baby to full term. “I had a surgery to correct it and then had to heal and the rest is history,” Hannah says. “We have babies now!”
Finding Faith
Having already “bought in” to NFP’s benefits, Michael took the leap of faith to become Catholic when their third child was a few months old. “Having the kids around and wanting to set the example really pushed me… now was the right time,” he says.
United in their faith, they are convicted of a call to spread the word about NFP through healthy conversations about fertility in their home as their children grow, and beyond their home too. They’ve trained as a CCL Teaching Couple to teach NFP and mentor engaged couples at their parish. “There’s so much we talk about in society, like women’s empowerment, but no one’s talking about the most important thing and that’s the ability to know your cycle and have children and that’s empowering,” Hannah says.
In It Together
In thinking about what men often need to hear about fertility, Michael points to how pregnancy is something you can’t guarantee. While that’s not in your control, he says, “the best thing you can do is support and remind [your wife] that there’s a plan and we’re in this together and not make it something she takes onto her shoulders all on her own.”
About NFP, Hannah says, “It’s important information. If we can do something to influence another couple and have women feel better about their bodies and husbands feel more connected to their wives, it’s our duty to do that.”
For couples they work with, they hope to show how NFP is a strong part of a fun marriage. “You want to have God in your marriage and have good communication,” say the Poliseis. “You want to have fun, happiness, and silliness. NFP really puts it all together for you.”
For other couples who’ve learned NFP and may be called to share it, don’t let the time commitment to becoming teachers deter you, they advise. “The rewards of being able to help other couples is going to far outweigh what you had to put into it,” Michael says.
Written by Savanna Duca. This article first appeared in Family Foundations magazine, a benefit for donors to the Couple to Couple League. For engaged couples, find CCL’s NFP for Marriage Prep here. Find CCL’s PeakDay STMethod for married couples here.