Celebrating Natural Family Planning Week
From July 24 to July 30, the Diocese of Charlotte will join dioceses across the United States in celebrating Natural Family Planning Awareness Week.
“Called to the joy of 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. The dates coincide with the anniversary of
“Humanae vitae” (July 25) as well as the feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne (July 26), the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Natural Family Planning methods, which represent a healthy, safe and moral alternative to artificial contraception, are growing in popularity in Catholic and non-Catholic circles alike.
The Church supports NFP methods because they respect God’s design for marriage and procreation while assisting couples to either pursue or avoid pregnancy when there is a just reason to do so. Natural Family Planning 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 necessary to avoid pregnancy.
The practice of NFP protects the dignity of the human person within the context of marriage and family life. The method is grounded in an outlook that values openness to life within marriage and recognizes a child as a gift.
By respecting the connection between the love-giving and life-giving aspects of sexual union, NFP also helps to enrich the bond between husband and wife by providing them with the skills to live in harmony with God’s divine plan for marriage, conjugal love and responsible parenthood.
Batrice Adcock, MSN, serves as the diocese’s Natural Family Planning program director. Adcock said the major initiatives of the program currently are to increase the number of bilingual instructors and to increase outreach to young women and girls with their mothers.
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, Adcock said. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics encourage tracking the menstrual cycle as a vital sign, but paradoxically, many women are put on the pill by their doctors to manage negative symptoms.
“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 said. “Even though this approach requires more education and discipline, women are willing, to protect their future fertility and address the root cause of their health issue.”
Adcock said it is crucial that 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 said.
“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,” she added.
One way the diocese is educating teens focuses on a method of Natural Family Planning called FEMM (Fertility Education and Medical Management), which can be practiced with the aid of 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. The NFP Program has plans to launch a similar program for younger girls with their mothers, called CyclePrep.
“Parents and their daughters are learning the basics of the menstrual cycle, in the context of Church teaching on feminine dignity,” Adcock said.
Learn more
Get information from the diocese’s Family Life Office about NFP, in English and Spanish, online at www.charlottediocese.org/office-of-family-life. Included is a registration form for learning NFP in person or online, an instructor directory, related Church teaching, supportive health professionals and more.
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..