NFP, or do you say FAM?

I was shocked and amazed, at age 38, to find out that there was actually a way to manage issues of fertility, effectively, completely naturally. I learned about this from my cousin, who was having difficulty conceiving. Believe it or not, I was also trying to conceive a child at that time. That is another long story. But the book my cousin gave me, Taking Charge of Your Fertility, by Toni Weschler, changed my life.

It also made me really mad. Because I was wondering why I had never heard of this before. My friend Diane, who is Catholic, also informed me about NFP (Natural Family Planning--with a book by that title) through the Couple to Couple League --the same method as FAM (Fertility Awareness Method) in Toni Weschler's book.

My cousin's book probably lent some credibility at the time to the other Catholic book in my mind. Because I guess I had thought that "natural family planning" meant the old "rhythm method" which had apparently caused many Catholic families to have scads of accidental children...in my imagining. By the way, NFP is not the rhythm method.

Learning how to read my body's God-given signs allowed me to have two more children, pictured above. So I had babies in my twenties, and babies in my forties. I also practiced FAM/NFP the four years between these children, and it does work. How sweet it is to not have to take dangerous and costly measures to prevent or produce pregnancy!

When does life begin?

A friend had posted the question on her facebook wall, "When do you define 'conception'? Fertilization, Implantation...?" I immediately knew my answer, but was surprised to see the range of opinions on this issue. I guess because this woman is a Bible-believing Christian pastor's wife, I assumed the vast majority of answers would be, "fertilization," but that was not the case.

I greatly appreciated one person's comment: "As soon as an egg and sperm fuse, you have a cell that is uniquely human. That one cell has human DNA. The conception of something is it's beginning. Webster's even defines conception as fertilization. There's no denying humanity begins at this stage."

The problem I have with the birth control pill is that it is abortifacient--it is devised to inhibit implantation in case of accidental fertilization. A lot of pro-lifers don't seem to know this, and that really bothers me. It is, in fact, the reason I started this blog. I guess I have just discovered an even bigger problem now, if people do not understand when life begins.

Why I am Here

I am here, though I might not have been. My parents were not married when I was conceived. Abortion wasn't much of an option back then, but it did exist. Although my life has been somewhat of a mess, I think I have a purpose, and that I was not an accident.

When I was 22, I became pregnant; I was not married. I did not have an abortion, though it was repeatedly presented to me as the best option. I am very thankful that I was aware of other, better possibilities.

I am here, though I might not have been. I can't say for sure; but I think having that baby saved my life, again. I believe that he too has a purpose, and was not an accident.