NFP Awareness Week ~ Thoughts from a Single-lady

It’s NFP Awareness week so I thought I’d join in on the fun of the week and write a blog post like all the cool people. Over the last several years I have learned A LOT about NFP. I’ve learned a lot about the catholic reasons to use it and the secular reasons to use it. I’ve learned that my diocese requires NFP classes as part of marriage prep. I’ve read countless stories from couples learning about NFP. The list goes on. I even wrote a gust post for Katie @ NFP and Me last year about my experiences as a single women learning about NFP. I’ve also learned that it’s just not for engaged/married people!!

Yes that’s right here is a secret my dear readers….single people can use NFP!!

*SHOCKFACE*

Over the last few weeks I have subtly mentioned about how I chart (sorta) and know about my own fertility. Man you should see some of the responses I have gotten!

• Why?
• How?
• But you’re not having sex!
• How do you know?!!? (like it’s a big mystery)

It seriously amazes me how many people live in the idea where when they want to have kids they are going to just have sex everyday and eventually they’ll get pregnant aka TTW (trying to whatever in the NFP world). Well yes that could work and I know tons of people that do that and it works perfectly fine but that’s not really how the human body works. There are also a ton of people that believe that women are fertile everyday. Once I told someone how women can only get pregnant about 5-10 days a month and got the craziest look!

So why should single women chart and learn NFP prior to marriage/engagement?

Glad you asked! There are a ton of reasons why we should learn this now.

1. It’s A LOT easier to learn to chart when you aren’t having sex. (Most teachers advise you abstain from sex for 3-6 months while you are learning how to chart and how your cycles work)
2. It’s one less thing to worry about when you are in the midst of planning a wedding (trust me you will be PLENTY BUSY!!).
3. You can find out now if there are any potential fertility issues you may or may not have. (ie. PCOS).
4. You can bring the charts with you to doctors visits and your doctor can see if there are any concerns he/she should address.
5. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!! We all deserve to understand how our bodies work in all stages of life! (see tweet below).

Tuesday during the #NFPChat I tweeted about being single and an NFP teacher responded with this awesome tweet I had to share in this post:

I do have a slight confession…I don’t really chart. Ok…I do but I don’t. I have a general idea of what you need to do in order to chart – i.e. taking your temperature, tracking AF, checking CM, tracking symptoms. But I don’t do it all. I can say though since learning all of this about NFP I have been super diligent in tracking when my cycle begins and any symptoms I get (cramps, pains, and that other fun stuff).  I really want to get on a schedule of checking my temperature every morning just to see where I am but just haven’t gotten there yet.

However, I understand the importance of everything. I understand WHY the Catholic church encourages couples to use NFP,  the risks and warnings of contraception (and what it really does), and why we should be learning about about how our BODIES work and that women’s bodies AREN’T BROKEN!!