(Houchins cont'd) . My husband is the most devout, God-fearing man that I have ever known. He converted to Catholicism of his own free will. We leave everything to God. The Creighton Model of NFP which allows for avoiding or postponing birth by natural means, through having relations only during infertile times when trying not to achieve a pregnancy, can be a moral good if one is avoiding conception for the good of the family and not for selfish reasons.
Artificial contraception, even when practiced with the best of intentions, takes control of the procreative process. This is how one violates God's Natural Law. This procreative process is among the most sacred events in life. To artificially block it makes the sex act selfish and manipulative. With NFP, having relations becomes a personal decision and less a yielding to emotional impulses and desires.
We have been using the Creighton Model since July 1999 (4 years). I had used birth control pills for 3.5 years so my cycle was pretty messed up once starting Natural Family Planning and for at least 2-3 years after; thanks to Kathy for getting us through it. For awhile I was estrogen dominant and knew with my 2-3 day post-peaks that I would not be able carry a child at that time without progesterone supplementation. Michael is my husband and did all my charting. Michael and I had discussed for some time the possibility of trying to achieve a pregnancy in April of 2003, if we decided to stay in Utah.
I was sure that one of us was probably sterile or that we would encounter problems trying to conceive and that it could potentially take a very long time. I entered into a typical long fertile cycle on day 13. During this period Michael decided not to pursue a Ph.D. in History at a school that had accepted him (due to lack of funding). I dropped a couple of subtle reminders of our previous plan. On day 17 I had peak-type mucus still but was pretty certain it was our last day of mucus. On this morning we reversed the method to achieve a pregnancy, a very strange and emotional trip!
We were both pretty blown away by having done this. Later that morning I started feeling the characteristic pinching of ovulation. I had fertile mucus the rest of the day and then nothing the next. Five days later I felt the heady, full-body rush of hormones that occurs as a result of implantation. Sure enough, on the day I was expecting my period, we took a pregnancy test only to confirm what we were already pretty certain of. I was amazed that it was so easy! One try on one day! It was scary how easy it was to reverse the method.
We weren't not getting pregnant because we were sterile but because the method is a true science with conscious conception-the flip side. I thought, what other method of birth control could do this? I don't think there is one. I still have to argue with the nurse and midwife that I know the date of conception and that it can't possibly be any other. I even had to lie about my last menstrual period to "fit" their standard, 3 days later. I'm really grateful for the method for helping us to be so aware of our fertility. > Cheers! Jennifer and Michael Church
We have Children not choices! We have used the Creighton Model of NFP since the birth of our 4th child. We started because with her birth being a second c-section after a vaginal and also a VBAC, we knew it was a must that we not conceive before the baby was 9 - 12 months old. Here is our story! The Lord does provide!
We have experienced it! We could never afford the next child nor could we foresee how we would cope with it. But God in His goodness and love provided and still continues to provide all the help we need to raise these children, both physically and spiritually. Some of the help has come to me through a wonderful list of catholic mothers who have acted as the handmaidens of the Lord and who minister to each other's needs by their words and prayers. Years before my obedience to my faith I called the shots and controlled my own fertility. I am now terrified of telling God "no". Now, I am a cradle Catholic but I let the world's view on artificial birth control become mine