CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte will join the Church in dioceses across the U.S. in commemorating Natural Family Planning Awareness Week July 19-25.
“Live the truth and beauty of God’s plan for married love” is the theme of this year’s campaign. It is organized each year by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to celebrate married love and promote awareness of Natural Family Planning methods.
Growing in popularity as a healthy, safe and moral alternative to artificial contraception, Natural Family Planning methods represent a unique form of fertility education.
The Church supports NFP methods because they respect God’s design for marriage and the gift of life. In fact, NFP represents the only authentic approach to family planning available to husbands and wives because these methods can be used to both attempt or avoid pregnancy. These methods are based on observation of the naturally occurring signs and symptoms of the fertile and infertile phases of a woman’s menstrual cycle. No drugs, devices or surgical procedures are used to avoid pregnancy.
Practicing NFP reflects the dignity of the human person within the context of marriage and family life, promotes openness to life, and recognizes the value of the child.
By respecting the love-giving and life-giving natures of marriage, NFP can enrich the bond between husband and wife, providing them with the tools to help them live in harmony with God’s divine plan for human sexuality, marriage, conjugal love and responsible parenthood.
Batrice Adcock, MSN, serves as the diocese’s Natural Family Planning program director. She appreciates that the pandemic has afforded the opportunity to expand online NFP services in English and Spanish. Follow up support and comprehensive education is available for women in transitions such as postpartum and perimenopause.
Adcock also emphasizes that tracking the menstrual cycle, as is done with NFP methods, can be valuable for any cycling woman, as a tool for optimizing health and well-being. She is now offering a new online course called “Know Your Body” that explores the menstrual cycle as a vital sign and femininity in the context of Church teaching on “feminine genius.”
She points out that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics encourage teens and women to consider their menstrual cycles as a vital sign, but that unfortunately, many women are on the pill to treat health problems that manifest in the menstrual cycle.
“Rather than ‘treating’ symptoms, such as acne or migraines by suppressing ovulation with the pill, women are looking to restore normal hormone balance and health,” Adcock says. “Even though this approach requires more education and discipline, women are willing, so that the root cause of their health issues is addressed and to protect their future fertility.”
Adcock adds that it is critical teens get educated on the importance of their cycles for their overall health. “Ovulation impacts bone growth and brain development, the cardiovascular system, and overall well-being. The answer to menstrual problems is not suppressing ovulation with the pill and its inherent risks of decreased bone density, depression and stroke,” she says.
“Teens and pre-teens are encouraged to track their cycles as well. A young woman can use cycle tracking to assess the impact her lifestyle choices have on her health. She grows immensely in self-awareness-coming to understand, with time, how her hormones impact her energy, emotions and behavior,” Adcock adds.
One way the diocese is educating teens focuses on a method of Natural Family Planning called FEMM, which comes with a free app. Several instructors around the diocese, English and Spanish speaking, offer instruction in FEMM and other NFP methods.
In the Charlotte diocese, several teenFEMM retreats have been offered with success in Charlotte, Boone and Asheville. This content is now available online.
“Parents and their daughters are learning the ins and outs of the menstrual cycle, in the context of Church teaching on feminine dignity,” Adcock explains.
Learn more
At Catholic Charities’ website, www.ccdoc.org/nfp, get information in English and Spanish about NFP under the Services/Family Enrichment tab. Included is a schedule of free, one-day NFP courses around the diocese (currently suspended-online options are available); video testimonies from couples, a physician and a diocesan priest about the many benefits of NFP; a list of NFP supportive physicians in North Carolina; plus detailed information about the various NFP methods and other basics.
For questions, contact Batrice Adcock, MSN, Natural Family Planning program director, at 704-370-3230 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
— Catholic News Herald