Variations on a Theme: NFP

Still trolling for stories among friends, family and acquaintances and awaiting ones promised, I’ve decided once again to raid low-hanging fruit from other blogs.  Catholic Mom says it’s for “Catholic mothers who would like to talk to other Catholic moms about anything from Christianity to what color your babies poop was!”  What I found seemed to be a support group for women using Natural Family Planning and other natural methods.  Typical posts describe struggles with NFP; comments offer advice, share stories and rate NFP from awesome to zany.  Since it’s stories my blog is dedicated to, I will stick to them and edit out most other material.  Readers, to get the full picture I suggest you read Catholic Mom.  BTW, I am struck by the many allusions to prayer and to God’s will in Catholic Mom, not what I’m used to hearing among the Catholic moms I encounter to face to face.  All of the following taken from Catholic Mom were written in 2012.  Below is a post.

“Hi all! I hope you are all doing well. I'm writing today because this is really weighing on me. I went to the Dr. this past week for my postpartum appointment and the Dr as usual talked to me about birth control. I am exclusively breastfeeding and this being our first, we want to have the next one close in age... But not within a year of eachother. The Dr told me that it takes my body a full year to completely recover from the pregnancy. Many women get pregnant before and he said if I did I would be ok, but that my body would not be able to offer a fully functional uterus, etc. for the next baby.

“Now, we used NFP before & had trouble with keeping track because I have PCOS and am very very irregular (as are my signs of ovulation, in fact I have had to take medication for years to regulate me and get me to ovulate). The Dr told me that NFP isn't effective postpartum because my hormones are still all over and the normal signs of ovulation and cycle are not present for a while (different for everyone).

“He talked to me about a BC pill specialized for breastfeeding moms and of course condoms (which we have never used). My question is I don't feel right about either of those but I do not want to get pregnant so quickly, I am still not feeling 100% after my c-section and really would like at a min 6 months to recover before thinking about getting pregnant. But this scenario is not like with NFP where we know what times we can and can't be active so the only "natural" option here is not being intimate for 6 months - which I don't want either.

“I am so tied and am not sure what to do. I know that while breastfeeding my chances are less but I know moms who have started their periods 1 month after birth even with EBFing. On the other hand I know that if God wants us to get pregnant we will... So I am just so confused about what to do.
Am I seeing the entire picture or maybe missing another option? Any advice on what you all did? Thanks!”

 Here’s a story taken from a comment on the above post:

“I used the sympto-thermal method of NFP and it worked. I do have near constant fertile CM [cervical mucus] so it was tough and there was a lot of abstaining at first but by 6 months pp I got my cycle back and things got super easy. We've used it twice now and happily spaced our 2 boys.
“Condoms are way less effective than NFP in my experience (condoms are how we got our firstborn!) and the progestin only pill still can have side effects like you'll get a period back sooner (fake period but annoying nonetheless) and it can affect your milk supply (even though male doctors say otherwise I know lots of women for whom that happened) Any hormonal BC acts as an abortifacient, thinning the lining of the uterus so a new embryo cannot implant. Breakthrough ovulation with progestin pills is more frequent too because it's very dependent on taking it the exact same time every day.
“And regardless of all that, it'd be a sin against God and against your own body, you definitely don't want that on your conscience.”

Another comment:

“I just wanted to hop on here and offer my support to you!  I hope you are doing well and recovering from your birth.  I remember after my first birth, that I was so scared and nervous to conceive so soon again and thought I would have ample amount of time with breastfeeding for my fertility return.  However, I was naive, didn't take any NFP courses, and conceived my WONDERFUL daughter 10 months after my son was born.  At the time very scary and I didn't see God's plan for us but kept my faith in His timing....now I see His plan clearly and it is much more beautiful than I ever imagined.
“NFP does have a method for postpartum time period and I found that with me I couldn't rely on the "wet" sign for fertility but surely the mucous signs were very, very apparent before I became fertile again.  I think the method is if 'dry' for three days then it was okay to have sex...so for us I could alter it (because I know my body so well after 4 postpartum periods now)  and say that if I do not have any mucous or fertile mucous...I am surely infertile and have been.  My fertile mucous has always shown up, then I start to temp, and I have ALWAYS seen my fertility return (except for the first one which I was having a lot of fertile mucous for months before my fertility returned but was stupid.”

And finally—for now:

“I too am pregnant again and this time I have to be a hypocrite and a horrible Catholic by revoking my statement earlier this year by saying I will use birth control this time; its non negotiable; my teeth are falling out and I'm shrinking.  I'm worried for myself and my children's well being if I'm constantly run down from nursing and pregnancy.  Good luck ladies with NFP 'cause I'm severing my ties with it.”