15 Reasons to Use NFP

Okay, so I stole this from my good friend Erin's blog, Humble Handmaid, but I think it's originally from Matthew Warner's blog entitled Fallible Blogma.  I thought it was very interesting, considering how most of the world seems to view our crazy Catholic version of "birth control."

Though NFP (if practiced correctly) is just as effective as the pill, it is NOT "Catholic birth control."  It's a natural way to achieve or delay a pregnancy (for serious reasons) through ecological breastfeeding and being aware of a wife's fertility.  Blake and I haven't had to practice any NFP for quite a while (we've been pregnant for most of our marriage, lol), but it's important to understand not only how to practice it, but why we practice it.  Couples practicing NFP are not using any artificial means of preventing conception or implantation, and are therefore open to God's will during the marital act.  A couple must prayerfully discern each month if they have serious reasons to postpone a pregnancy, and if they do, then they should abstain from sex during the fertile phase of the wife's cycle.  The couple learns to sacrifice their short-term pleasure for the long-term good of the family.  And if the couple finds that there is no serious reason to postpone pregnancy, they can even use NFP to achieve a pregnancy!