FAQs

What is Natural Family Planning (NFP)?

Methods for planning and preventing pregnancies that are based on observing the naturally occurring signs and symptoms of the fertile and infertile phases of the menstrual cycle. To avoid pregnancy, couples using natural family planning methods abstain from intercourse during the fertile phase of the woman’s menstrual cycle. No drugs, devices, or surgical procedures are used to prevent pregnancy. When sexual intercourse occurs, it is always complete. Natural family planning methods include the Cervical Mucus or Billings Ovulation Method, Ecological Breastfeeding, the Calendar Method (or Rhythm Method), and the Sympto-Thermal Method. I teach you about all of these methods together in this course for maximum efficacy.

How does Natural Family Planning (NFP) work?

NFP teaches you about your bodies natural fertility signs throughout your menstrual cycle. The main fertility signs including your changes in your morning body temperature, changes in your cervical mucus and changes in your cervix. NFP is a method you can follow to know what to look for to determine if you are fertile or infertile on each day of your cycle. This information gets recorded on a chart everyday and analysed by you as you go. You will be taught in this course how to do it all and after 3 months will be confidentially charting your fertility cycle.

Who uses Natural Family Planning (NFP)?

Anyone experiencing a menstrual cycle can use NFP. People use it to better understand their cycle, to prevent pregnancy or achieve pregnancy as an alternative to using hormonal methods. 

Will Natural Family Planning (NFP) work?

NFP is 98-99% effective when you are guided by a certified teacher and the guidelines are following properly. This is the same efficacy as most hormonal contraceptions available. If you do not learn the theory behind the method adequately or do not follow the guidelines, NFP will not work. The efficacy of NFP, what affects this and how this compares to other methods of contraception is discussed in the course. Be aware that no method of contraception that exists is 100% effective – not even sterilisation, so there is always a very small chance of pregnancy occurring.

Can Natural Family Planning (NFP) work with irregular cycles?

Yes. You will be given all the information you need in the course to chart your cycle and make use of NFP whether your cycles are regular or irregular. 

Can I do the course if I’m on the pill?

The synthetic hormones in your pill will be interrupting the natural flow of your hormonal cycle so theres no point charting your cycle while you are on hormonal contraception. But the course will help you explore whether coming off the pill and using Natural Family Planning as a form of contraception is right for you. There is a whole section about transitioning off the pill which will tell you everything you need to know. 

I’m on the pill but would like to conceive ~ will this help me with that?

Yes, the course will support you in your transition off hormonal contraception and give you all the tools you need to chart your cycle as it returns and use charting as a way to prepare for pregnancy. I love supporting people on this journey.

Can I use an app to track my cycle?

Yes you can but I don’t recommend it and especially not if using it as contraception. When we outsource our fertility awareness to an app, we put our fertility outcomes in the hands of an algorithm programmed with a few hard and fast rules. When we start using the app, we don’t know what these rules are and what can go wrong with them. We don’t get taught how they work or how they analyse our fertility signs. When you learn NFP with me, you learn it all so the chance of making mistakes is very unlikely. I teach you the rules and guidelines to follow and I teach you the science about WHY these exist so you’re empowered to use NFP in whatever way suits you, your life and your fertility desires without needing your phone. 

How does Natural Family Planning (NFP) benefit your relationship or marriage?

NFP relies on the participation and support of your partner. The journey you both embark on to learning about your cycle and how to chart it creates a sense of awe for your body and its fertile power. Over time, practicing NFP cultivates respect, clear communication, team work and greater intimacy within a relationship.

Does it matter if I’ve done Natural Family Planning (NFP) before?

Not at all. The course covers everything you need to know in great depth so you are welcome if you just need a refresher of your knowledge. You are welcome as experienced charters or as first timers.

Does it matter if I am peri-menopausal?

Charting your cycle is a very helpful skill to have in your toolkit as you navigate the uncertainties and challenges of peri-menopause. There is a section of the course dedicated to charting through peri-menopause so you are most welcome. 

What if I have multiple sexual partners or don’t identify as female?

You are most welcome. Natural Family Planning works well with one or multiple sexual partners and this is covered within the course. I try to be as inclusive as possible throughout the course and welcome all gender identities. Please contact me if you have any suggestions or feedback for me around this ~ I’m listening and learning!

I’m looking for someone to hold my hand with this – do you offer that? 

I offer 30mins of 1:1 support and unlimited chat support included in the course. If you need more support or more emotional holding, you can purchase and book what you need as an add on to the course. I am here to help ~ feel free to reach out to talk to me about the support you need.

Do I have to provide any medical data & how is it used?

There is a short medical questionnaire for you to complete to receive the 1:1 support from me included in the course. This will ask you for your personal details, your contraceptive history, medication you are taking, date of last your last smear, dates of pregnancies/ miscarriages/ abortions, any gynaecological conditions you have. I will not need to recieve or keep copies of you charts on record. All information you provide is confidential and in line with my Privacy Policy.

I frequently drink alcohol – can I still use Natural Family Planning (NFP)? 

Frequent consumption of alcohol makes NFP tricky to use as a form of contraception because alcohol changes your body temperature and this is one of the key fertility signs used to establish fertility. Alcohol 2/3 nights a week is possible but a barrier method of contraception would be needed alongside NFP when you are fertile. 

What happens if I work night shifts or am up in the night ~ can I still use Natural Family Planning (NFP)? 

Night shift work makes NFP a little more complicated but as long as you have had at least 4 hours solid sleep, you can take your temperature for NFP. One off early/night shifts are totally fine. If the time you take you temperature each day varies a little (up to 3 hours difference) the course will teach you how to adjust the readings on your chart for NFP. When daily times vary hugely (more than 3 hours) and regularly, this can be problematic and I wouldn’t recommend NFP for this. 

I’ve just had a baby ~ can I do the course? 

Yes definitely. Charting your fertility cycle will tell you when you need to start using contraception again after brith. You will need to follow the special guidelines set out in section of the course called ‘charting after pregnancy and birth’.

I have just had a miscarriage or abortion ~ can this course help me? 

It will really help you to understand when your fertility is returning and guide you towards what you want next whether that be natural contraception or conception. You will need to follow the special guidelines set out in section of the course called ‘charting after pregnancy and birth’.

I’ve heard about people get pregnant when they don’t want to using cycle charting apps ~ what makes this course different?

Apps that chart your cycle use a standard algorithm that uses only one or two fertility indicators. For this reason I do not recommend anyone use as app to chart their cycle as a form of contraception. This course teaches you about all of your fertility indicators and how to double check them against each other yourself. The problem with apps is that they don’t teach people everything they need to know about their cycle and how to chart themselves to avoid pregnancy. Our cycle is easily impacted by many things in modern life and can be unpredictable so you need a baseline amount of knowledge before charting for contraception. The information I teach will give you an extremely high efficacy of 98-99% if you follow to course and follow the guidelines properly. The reason I offer 1:1 support as part of the course is to reduce the chance of human error as much as possible and highlight any challenges you are having early on. 

Can we use the withdrawal method alongside Natural Family Planning (NFP)? 

No. The withdrawal method is sexual intercourse in which the penis is deliberately withdrawn from the vagina so that ejaculation occurs outside the vagina. If you are looking to use NFP as a form of contraception, I never recommend using the withdrawal method. The reasons for this are covered in depth in the course.