NFP News
CCL in Postpartum?
It is quiet in the garden these days outside our office window at the Holy Spirit Center. Seemingly little happening there; however, just like at CCL, the “groundwork” for growth is being established. It is, in fact, a very busy time for us! I had our team laughing when I remarked that CCL was in…
Read MoreOur daughters deserve better
It happens way too often. I’ll hear from one of the young women learning NFP from CCL who would like help reviewing their chart. That’s the good part. The frustrating part is that they often don’t know enough to help me answer their questions. Our daughters deserve better. One example is a 29-year-old woman who…
Read MoreTeen fertility awareness: Helping our daughters reclaim the true meaning of their bodies
Many parents, and I was one of them, dread having to have “the talk” as their child approaches puberty. We aren’t quite sure what to say about teen fertility awareness, and we fear what questions we may get. Looking back, I see that practicing fertility awareness helped my husband and me grow comfortable talking about…
Read MoreAlphonsus Liguori united two purposes of marital act
Many of us know that the teachings of the Church on marital love are founded on the inseparable connection between the two meanings of the conjugal act: the unitive meaning and the procreative meaning (HV #12). Less well-known is that it took centuries and the teaching of several doctors of the Church for this foundational…
Read MoreMore evidence that periodic abstinence is good for marriage relationship
New research confirms that despite the challenge of periodic abstinence, the use of natural family planning can be beneficial for marital relationships. The study, “Natural Family Planning and Marital Chastity: The Effects of Periodic Abstinence on Marital Relationships” (Linacre Quarterly, June 12, 2020) by Richard J. Fehring, PhD, RN, and Michael D. Manhart, PhD, found…
Read MoreLearning NFP? Start with Sympto-Thermal
OK, you’ve been hearing about fertility awareness-based methods. You like that they are safe and healthy. But how do you know which method to learn? You could search online to find advice or surveys that help match a method to your personality, lifestyle or needs. There’s good logic behind that. But I recommend everyone start…
Read MoreGrowing in devotion to St. Joseph as my spiritual father
As I help prepare for our family’s Father’s Day celebration this weekend, my thoughts happily keep turning to the foster father of Jesus, thanks to recently working on a Consecration to St. Joseph. I must admit my sorrow at neglecting a deeper relationship with him before now. As a woman, I pretty much relegated St.…
Read MoreFebruary: 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.
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