February: National Self-Check month
his February — which is National Self-Check month — commit to making your fifth vital sign your most important self-check. Don’t accept vague dismissals about what “normal” periods look like (after all, normal and healthy are not always the same). Don’t be fooled by the artificial “stability” of the Pill or the lie that to be good, a female body must perform like a man’s.
Read MoreReactions to male birth control drug are telling
There’s something unsettling about implanting foreign substances into our bodies to stop them from working properly. Men should be repulsed by hormonal contraceptives in any form. Women should feel slighted that they’ve been kept in the dark about better alternatives and convinced that their fertility is a “burden” that falls only on their shoulders.
The beauty of NFP is that it respects the dignity of the human person in a way hormonal contraceptives just don’t.
Read MoreFertility fitness: How female athletes are embracing their cycles
In fact, fighting menstrual cycles — especially with hormonal contraceptives — can hurt athletic performance. Inadequate nutrition, sleep, and body fat negatively impact hormone levels, which in turn can create symptoms that disrupt training such as sluggishness, bloating, intolerable cramping or bleeding, and more. Medicating cycles away with artificial hormones can create further troubles, including poor bone density and increased risks of blood clots in otherwise healthy athletes.
Read MorePCOS? The reason your period app can’t tell
Here’s the dirty little secret: use of hormonal contraception totally voids any charting data that could be helpful in identifying a reproductive disorder like PCOS.
Read MoreCreighton doctor joins CCL Board of Directors
“I have a tremendous respect for CCL, particularly how it has reached out to younger couples utilizing social media and the like. I also greatly respect the goal of CCL to improve marriages overall. I always find the CCL message to be one of pro-family and pro-marriage.”
Read MoreHalloween traditions that honor God
There’s no reason to surrender a day of spiritual preparation to coincidental timing of peripheral pagan celebrations. Christ came to redeem! Even if secular Halloween has devolved towards the demonic, we Christians can and should purify our own traditions and use them as tools to evangelize and grow in holiness.
Read MoreThese 11 hilarious toddlers react to pregnant women
Kids already say the most ridiculous stuff, but compound that with the sensitive subjects like sex, pregnancy and nursing and the results are gold. We asked for some of your best toddler reactions to pregnant women, and you delivered.
Read MoreSelf-help for PCOS
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects roughly 5 million people worldwide, making it one of the most common causes of infertility in women. September is dedicated to PCOS awareness, but we’re willing to bet there’s some stuff even you armchair experts didn’t know about its detection and treatment. Check out this helpful infographic, compiled from the newest edition of Marilyn Shannon’s Fertility, Cycles and Nutrition, available digitally and in print next month!
Read More12 parenting tips from Fr. Floeder
Above all, nemo dat quod non habet — you cannot give what you do not have. For you to form your family in love, you must be striving to know love in Christ and live love in your marriage and family. Stay rooted in prayer, the sacraments and concrete daily acts of love for your spouse and you will be able to form your children well.
Read More‘Man up and love your wife!’
Our marriage is infinitely stronger, better, more exciting and more enjoyable because we stopped contracepting. Our sex is better. Remember when you got married, when everyone went away and you and your spouse were able to unite for the first time? Remember how amazing that was? When we’re in a situation where we need to abstain, we tend to be more flirtatious. We get to experience that honeymoon feeling again.
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