What is Natural Family Planning (NFP)?
Natural Family Planning (NFP) is the general title for the scientific, natural, and moral methods of family planning that Catholic couples can use to achieve or avoid pregnancy.
NFP is a system of understanding a couple’s combined fertility through observation of 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. NFP methods respect the love-giving (unitive) and life-giving (procreative) nature of the conjugal act, therefore they support God’s design for married love as expressed by Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae.
What is the Office of NFP?
The Office of Natural Family Planning (NFP) is an agency of the Archdiocese of St. Louis that is generously supported by the Annual Catholic Appeal. The office was established in 1998, under the leadership of Diane Daly, as part of the Office of Laity and Family Life and became its own department in 2005. The office, now under the direction of Alli Coiro, coordinates and promotes all methods of NFP in the Archdiocese.
What methods of Natural Family Planning are taught in the Archdiocese of St. Louis?
- Billings Ovulation Method
- Couple to Couple League
- Creighton Model FertilityCare System
- Marquette Model
Learn more about each method here.
I need to attend an Introductory Session for marriage preparation…where do I start?
Here we explain what is an intro session and here is the regularly updated schedule!
Who teaches Natural Family Planning?
Instructors go through specialized training in their particular method. Get to know some of our providers through our “Meet the Provider” series.
How can I get involved?
We are always looking for volunteers to become “witness” couples to speak about their experience with NFP at marriage preparation retreats. Contact stlnfp@archstl.org to learn more about these opportunities.
For any additional questions, please contact us at stlnfp@archstl.org