NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING
In the Diocese of Cheyenne

Trust in God is probably the greatest gift NFP gives to families because when we trust God, we are no longer afraid of children. Children have always been a part of marrriage. When did they become such a burden to be avoided at all costs? God instructed us to be fruitful and multiply, and God knows the children He wants to create. He calls them gifts and blessings. All He askes us to do is to be open to those children in our marriages. When a married couple engages in the marriage act, it should be a total and complete gift of one's self to the other and that includes the gift of fertility. God never intended every act of intercourse to result in a baby. If that had been His intention, He would have designed women to be fertile every single day, just like men are fertile every day. He made women to be fertile only a short time in the fertility cycle. That fertile time is God's time, a divine and sacred time when a child can be created. NFP honors God and His divine creation time in the woman's cycle. It always allows the married couple to be open and honest in their intercourse, and that includes the life-giving as well as the love-giving nature of the act itself. A woman can only conceive a child when she is fertile. When she is not fertile, she cannot become pregnant. God designed human fertility that way, and He made it pretty simple for us to understand, too. It really is a very good plan. For further information, please call Pat at 1-800-788-4616.

What is NFP?

Natural Family Planning (NFP) is an umbrella term for modern, healthy, scientifically accurate and reliable methods of family planning. It is based on fertility awaremess and has been proven scientifically sound in both theory and in practice.

How does NFP work?

NFP monitors the actual physical signs of fertility in each month's cycle so that couples can make accurate decisions about avoiding or achieving pregnancy. NFP works with menstrual cycles of any length and any degree of irregulatity. It can b used during breastfeeding, just before menopause and in other special circumstances. It can be used effectively throughout a woman's reproductive life. The methods are progressive, which means that they monitor the current, day-to-day signs of the woman's cycle.

Myth

There is no difference between NFP and artificial methods of contraception.

Truth

NFP methods are different from and better than artificial contraception because they:

• Cooperate with, rather than suppress, a couple's fertility
• Can be used both to achieve and avoid pregnancy
• Call for shared responsibility and cooperation by husband and wife
• Require spousal communication
• Foster respect for and acceptance of the total person
• Have no harmful side effects
• Are virtually cost free

NFP is unique because it enables its users to work with the body rather than against it. Fertility is viewed as a blessing to be lived, not a problem to be solved.

"Giving our whole selves to each other intensifies the sensations and the feeling of unity in this expression of our love."

The Positive Effect of Natural Family Planning: *Couples practicing Natural Family Planning with mutual commitment of both husband and wife gave a divorce rate of less the 4.5%. Dr. Janet Smith "Contraception Why Not?"
From the Marriage and Family Fact Sheet. Copies can be obtained through the Diocesan Office, 307-237-2723.

What does the Catholic Church teach?

The Catholic Church teaches that intercourse belongs in marriage and that every act of marital intercourse is to be open to the possible creation of a new human life. Sexual intercourse is, by nature, both life-giving (procreative) and love-giving (unitive). In fact, husbands and wives who give and receive the gift of one another totally in marriage both understand and reveal something very profound and beautiful about the total and unconditional love of God, each other, the children they already have and the world in which they live when making decisions about the number and spacing of their children. Because NFP uses the observation of the woman's fertility to assist couples in determining whether or not to engage in sexual intercourse, it makes it possible for couples to live out responsible parenthood while still respecting the total gift of each other and the teaching of the Church.

Natural Family Planning Teachers
Diocese of Cheyenne - 2006-2007

Cheyenne Deanery:
Michelle Haines - 214-4645, Chugwater, mhaines@enigo.com or mhaines@nanc.com
Joe & Sally Welte - 837-2132, Lingle, sallywelte@netcommander.com

Casper Deanery:
*Kevin & Ruthie Halvorsen - 436-9887, Glenrock, kevinha@myfam.com
Kris & Mary Gaddis - 235-4646, Casper, krisgaddis@bresnan.net

Thermopolis Deanery:
Dale & Michelle Estes - 664-2739, Dever, dmestes@tctwest.net
Betty Feldman - 548-6462, Lovell, feldman750@yahoo.com
Janice Beaudrie - 587-9756, Cody, janiceb247@aol.com
Natasha McColl - 587-3987, Cody, tashamccoll@yahoo.com

Rock Springs Deanery:
*Maura Lofaro Harower - 734-2614, Jackson, maura@jhobgyn.com

Sheridan Deanery:
*Tracy & Linda Norris - hm:685-6316, wk:685-6600,cell:307-217-1677, jtnorris@bresnan.net

*Teachers available to help with any questions from couples using correspondence, home study, or on-line classes.

To schedule an introductory class for your youth or young adults or an evening for parents and teens, please call 307-237-2723 and ask for Pat in the Marriage, Family & Respect Life Ministry Office, or at 1-800-788-4616. For information about taking "on-line" classes, go to www.nwfs.org

If you are an NFP User and would be willing to help spread the Good News, call us at 1-800-788-4616 or 307 237-2723 and ask for Pat McCarthy or e-mail pat@dioceseofcheyenne.org
If you would like more information, visit the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at www.usccb.org

This is a web-site helping parents learn to talk to their children at almost any age:www.talktothem.org