Advantages of NFP
- It is medically safe.
- It is highly reliable.
- It is morally acceptable.
- It is easy to learn.
- It is inexpensive.
- It is highly versatile – it can be used at any stage of a woman's reproductive life.
- It precisely identifies the true days of fertility and infertility.
- It is a valuable aid for couples who are having difficulty in achieving pregnancy.
Shared Responsibility: Unlike contraceptives, this method is equally the responsibility of both the husband and wife. Couples learn to understand their combined fertility.
A True Method of Family Planning: The method can be used both to achieve and to avoid pregnancy, making it a true method of family planning. It has the added benefit of being a record of the woman's reproductive health.
Enhances One's Sexuality: The couple learns that true sexuality is spiritual, physical, intellectual, creative and emotional in its dimensions. The use of Natural Family Planning assists the couple in developing balance in their sexual life together.
Loving Cooperation: The method helps build a more loving cooperation in the important matters of sexuality and family planning. It builds a stronger partnership between husband and wife, as well as increased communication, intimacy and respect.
Effectiveness: The effectiveness of NFP is over 99% in avoiding pregnancy when the instructions are properly taught by a qualified teacher and then correctly applied. The method is also highly effective to achieve pregnancy when couples identify and use the days of fertility. In addition, it is an essential aid in the evaluation and treatment of those couples who are experiencing infertility.
Methods: Three NFP methods are described in the links above – the "Creighton Model", the "Couple to Couple League" method and the "Billings Method".