Posted on 02/21/2007 6:25:14 PM PST by samiam1972
HEIDELBERG, Germany, February 21, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A new study by German researchers shows that a method of natural family planning is statistically as effective as the contraceptive pill in delaying pregnancy.
Researchers from the University of Heidelberg studied the statistical effectiveness of the symptothermal method (STM) to avoid achieving pregnancy. Unlike contraceptives that either suppress a woman's natural fertility cycle or act as a barrier to conception, STM helps a woman to understand the natural signs of her fertility in order to achieve or temporarily delay pregnancy.
The study involving 900 women was published in the journal, Human Reproduction, and found that the correct use of STM to delay pregnancy led to a rate of 0.4 pregnancies per 100 women per year. The lowest pregnancy rate was found among women who abstained from sex during their most fertile period identified through STM.
In contrast, women who used a barrier method, such as a condom, had a pregnancy rate of .6 pregnancies per 100 women per year. Women who had sex (without contraception) during the fertile period had a pregnancy rate of only 7.5 pregnancies per 100 women per year, however researchers noted that this was a quarter of the rate one would usually expect.
(Excerpt) Read more at lifesite.net ...
9. Had one NFP-only doctor for #5 & #6. What a great guy! It was so peaceful knowing that we would not get any lecture.
LOL! I think you're on to something there. :)
I take 'Defend herself' was her ladylike way or discussing contraception with her then just adult son. I suspect Dad would tell the story a little differently. I kind of doubt he snuck up behind her as she was puking in the toilet (er head).
Where did you get rape from the context?
Bingo. Great story - God bless your family.
>> We use NFP and have 3 planned children with another on the way. It is truly a blessing!! <<
Not only that, it fights tooth decay!
>> Women who had sex (without contraception) during the fertile period had a pregnancy rate of only 7.5 pregnancies per 100 women per year, however researchers noted that this was a quarter of the rate one would usually expect. <<
Maybe it had something to do with the researchers watching?
"Too seasick to defend herself" denoted an assault, to me. Sorry I misunderstood.
That explains the low German birth rate!
However,
If you were a sperm or egg, would you want to become a German?
I love the part in Cheaper By The Dozen when the woman from the Birth Control League comes by to solicit support from Mrs. Gilbreth. The indignant light that dawns when the advocate realizes they are not running a boarding school and all of the children are theirs is priceless.
See Post 90. I should have included you.
This worked for us for a while because the only time I was interested in sex was when I was fertile. When I "could" I didn't want to.
Then the more I prayed on this, I couldn't understand why it was okay to abstain at certain times but not use ABC. To me, both are wrong. You are circumventing God's will. We now practice total abstinance, which works, of course, but is also quite spiritual. It removes us from our animal urges.
My mother always said surprise babies are girls!
Happened to us :-).
That's why we went to abstinance. What is the difference how you prevent pregnancy if you don't want more children in the first place?! The whole basis of NFP is that you are open to children. Many people using it, I wager, are just using it as "legal" BC.
I know there are many who use NFP as just another form of BC. However, there are some legitimate reasons to abstain for a short time in order to postpone pregnancy. However, it is necessary to reevaluate each month to make sure it is still an issue.
I know there are other couples like you out there that abstain completely. I'm glad that it is a spiritual thing for you. I'm not sure I like the "animal urges" comment though. It's as if you saying that a natural, wonderful thing God gave married couples is somehow ugly. I hope that's not how you feel.
You answered your own question.
Sex is sinful when it is not intended to create human life. There is no way, if you do not intend to conceive, to have sex in the full way intended by God. If you choose to only have sex when you are infertile, it is just as selfish as ABC. Therefore abstinance is the only moral choice for a fertile couple. And believe me, I'm incredibly fertile!
And in our wealthy society, there really is no good excuse not to have more children. One can always squeeze another into a bedroom, forgo vacations, home school, shop thrift stores. We all have so much.
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