hormones Archives

Ditching the Pill …and Other Contraceptives

An excerpt from Marilyn M. Shannon’s book, Fertility, Cycles & Nutrition. **** Congratulations on your decision to discontinue birth control pills or other hormonal contraceptives! You have taken a giant step toward better health. As hormone specialist Diana Schwarzbein, M.D., has written, you cannot achieve optimum hormonal balance while you are on the Pill, because hormones…

NFP Uncensored: PCOS

NFP Uncensored is a series of candid accounts of the way NFP informs every aspect of life. You can follow the posts by searching for “NFP Uncensored” here in the Living the Love blog (use the search bar on the right-hand side of this page), or by searching #NFPUncensored on social media. Lying on a restaurant bathroom…

20 Reasons Why Our Members Chose NFP

We asked our members why they chose NFP. Here’s just a sampling of their answers: 1. “My wife did years ago because she didn’t want to take any more medications. She wants her health and wants to do things naturally.” – E.G. 2. “My husband was raised Catholic and I was baptized in the faith…

Chuck and Laura’s Love Story

Real couples really do use NFP, and we asked them to tell us their NFP story. We will be sharing them here on the blog — the good parts and the struggles. Each of these couples is writing their own love story, and have chosen to do so by following God’s plan for marriage. Here…

The Continuum of Fertility: Breastfeeding

An excerpt from Marilyn M. Shannon’s book, Fertility, Cycles & Nutrition. **** The experience of a nursing mother — as she follows a continuum from complete infertility to normal fertility — is instructive for non-nursing women with irregular cycles or unexplained infertility. At the beginning of breastfeeding When the hormones of ovulation — FSH and LH…

Mom’s Hilariously Relatable Pregnancy Posts go Viral

Pregnancy is an exciting time! But in the throes of morning sickness, insatiable hunger and feeling like a beluga whale, all of those “Yay! Pregnancy is so great!” posts on social media can be more than a little annoying. Meet Maya Vorderstrasse, Instagram celebrity, Brazilian mom of Irish twins and optimistic realist of all things…

Candid Advice from a Happy Housewife

From the Family Foundations archives **** Isn’t this totally a fun topic?! Thank you so much, dear fall of Adam, for wreaking havoc on our sexuality! In all seriousness — and I do mean, in all seriousness — it has taken me nearly 20 years to appreciate the blessing and gift of our marital covenant. And I…

Chris and Summer’s Love Story

Real couples really do use NFP, and we asked them to tell us their NFP story. We will be sharing them here on the blog — the good parts and the struggles. Each of these couples is writing their own love story, and have chosen to do so by following God’s plan for marriage. Here…

Independence from the Tyranny of Chemicals

Happy Independence Day! We hope you have had a pleasant weekend full of cookouts, fireworks and, most importantly, family and friends. Amidst the unwinding and fun we should also remember why we have this wonderful holiday—we are celebrating the freedom and independence we have as a country and as individuals, and the men and women who have…

Keep Chemicals in the Lab, Not in Your Body

I received a tip recently that to eat healthier, you should only shop on the outside perimeter of the grocery store — avoid the aisles, which often contain foods processed with chemicals and preservatives. While difficult, this can be a good strategy, especially for those who pay attention to the ingredients in their food. With a rising awareness of the…