By Kait Mayer, FCPI | Special Contributor

I love reading all of the wonderful facts and quips about the benefits of Natural Family Planning: “...because there’s no drug-drug interactions to worry about,” “...because nothing comes between my spouse and me,” “...because the pill lowers your libido,” and my husband’s personal favorite, “...because when the zombies come, the pharmacies will all be closed but I’ll still have my charts.” 

I do, however, sometimes find it tiresome.  The reason my husband and I are using Natural Family Planning in our marriage is not because we are against using drugs of any type, or because we want to have  12 children or because sex without a barrier is more fun.

We use Natural Family Planning in our marriage because we love God and we know He loves us and wants what is best for us. We use Natural Family Planning in our marriage because our Mother, the Church, has allowed us to use our knowledge of our combined fertility to participate in God’s planning of our family. 

All of the other benefits – while completely valid – are secondary to us.  

Initially, what appealed to me about the Creighton Model FertilityCare System are the simplicity and uniformity of the method. I really liked that it is a simple and habit-building method that would easily stick with me for the rest of my life. Although the learning curve in charting was a little steep for me at first, once I had mastered it, I found the necessary biomarkers became simple to observe and record. 

The uniformity of the method has been appealing to me in that I love the idea that my chart is interpretable without any additional explanation from me. I can email my chart to my practitioner or drop it off at my OB/GYN, and both of them are able to read my chart and understand it the same way I did when I recorded it.

I’ve loved using the system since I started in 2012.  We began charting early that year, just a few months prior to our wedding. I always assumed I had been pretty “regular” for most of my life, but once I started charting, it was evident that “regular” simply wasn’t always the case. I was relieved to have my first full month of great “textbook” charting just the month before our wedding. At that point, I was very confident this system would work for us – at least in terms of temporarily avoiding pregnancy.

When a move landed us back in our home state of New Jersey, I started seeing a NaPro Fellow based in New Brunswick. After reviewing my charts with him, we could see together that I had some hormone imbalances, I would likely struggle to conceive, and if I did conceive I’d be at a high risk for miscarriage.

Basically, if I wanted to have a baby, it was going to be a challenge.

This was a pretty devastating blow for me, as I’d always seen myself as a mother, staying home to raise my family. And as always, God’s timing was comedic in that the week I found out that we were struggling with infertility, I was also packing my backs to go to Omaha, Neb., to the Pope Paul VI Institute to be trained as a FertilityCare practitioner.

But what’s a FertilityCare Practitioner?  FertilityCare practitioners are responsible for teaching couples and women the process of tracking their cycles using the Creighton Model.

I felt called because I have encountered many women who do not fully understand how modern, beneficial and accurate Natural Family Planning can be when used in their marriages. I strongly feel that with education about their bodies, their fertility, and the benefits of being open to life, the women I have encountered who are intimidated by Natural Family Planning would have a change of heart. 

I understand that my role as a FertilityCare System practitioner may not be to convert the masses to using Creighton and embracing life.  I will, however, be able to provide my clients with an education.  My hope and prayer is that the information I can provide them with will pique an interest, spark a conversation, and possibly, ignite a fire of conversion. 

I ask for all of your prayers as I continue this journey.  I am currently in an internship right now that allows me to teach couples the system as I continue to learn about the best methods to teach.  My final will (hopefully!) be in November and I sure could use some prayers between now and then. 

Additionally, if you’d like to learn more about my journey and support me with a personal gift, please check out my fundraising site: gofundme.com/fcpfundraising.

Kait Mayer started her internship with the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction in October of 2013 and hopes to complete it this fall. She works full time in St. Paul Parish, Princeton, coordinating youth and young adult ministry, in addition to Confirmation preparation. She and her husband, Bryan, are members of St. Alphonsus Parish, Hopewell, where they serve as pastoral associates.