Is NFP effective?
admin / Category: Catholic Church, Current Events, Family, Today's Society, Uncategorized, ValuesOne of the biggest complaints about NFP is that it’s too hard to follow the guidelines; there are too many rules; or you mean we have to wait THAT long before we have marital relations again! One thing that you will want to know about NFP is that it is very effective in both preventing pregnancy, and acheiving pregnancy. The catch is that you must follow the guidelines of the women’s cycle. If you flirt with the rules, you flirt with pregnancy, and if you abide by them, there is a good chance that your wife will not get pregnant.
More than acheiving or preventing pregnancy, NFP is effective on the marriage. I’m sure you know that right now, there is a 50% + divorce rate in the United States. Did you also know that there is a 50% divorce rate in the Catholic Church? But, of the 10%-15% that follow NFP (yes, only 10%-15% of catholics follow this teaching) 95% + remain married until the death of one of the spouses. (You may lift up your jaw now). This probably comes as surprising to you, but if you try to understand the purpose of NFP, you begin to realize why. Contraception encourages and makes the woman ready on demand. If a man asks his wife to contracept, the man is asking his wife to be ready for his desire 24/7. This does not foster a deep relationship among the marriage, it fosters a SELFISH relationship among the husband and wife (the man expects his wife to be willing, and the couple is closed to life; children teach the act of selflessness. You see, NFP promotes communication among husband and wife, and it also promotes selflessness by the controlling of one’s desires, and fostering of children.
As you can see, NFP is effective in two very important ways: it prevents or acheives pregnancy, and it helps the marriage bond. If you want to know more about birth control, and how one Pope prophesized how it would effect the world, visit this link: http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Paul06/p6humana.htm