Ann has come up with our first real "guest" blog. Thank you Ann! Here it is:
It’s fun to see people’s eyes grow wide when I mention my six physiological births. Four were attended by outsiders and two were assisted by my husband. It’s sad to me however, that when I discuss physiological family planning, people are unaware of what I mean. I learned about natural childbirth from a high school class. I learned about natural family planning from a book.
Not knowing what in the world the title of the book meant, I checked out Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing. It was from La Leche League during the time that I was nursing my first baby. The author, Sheila Kippley, absolutely fascinated me.
Did anyone really space babies like this these days? I almost dismissed the idea; I am a nurse and had never heard of such a thing. Now, skip ahead with me a couple of months. Try to imagine my amazement to discover that my breastfeeding pattern, labeled “ecological breastfeeding” by Kippley, was hormonally keeping my monthly fertility cycles away.
My cute baby nursed frequently day and night. We took a nap together each day, plus delayed solids and liquids until around six months. Since my son hated pacifiers, swings, babysitters and schedules, we avoided them. I nicely went without any menstrual spotting or bleeding for over a year.
Although women breastfeed differently, all these very specific behaviors, named “Seven Standards” by Kippley, usually result in impressive, eco-friendly child spacing. I repeated these special circumstances with all my children. Sheila’s 2008 book, The Seven Standards of Ecological Breastfeeding has newer research that should definitely be in nursing school courses. However, the book is written for ordinary moms. I have met many women for years, who are equally pleased with this as I am.
I next learned a broader form of ‘physiological’ family planning. When the breastfeeding infertility stops, I monitor my temperature and cervical signs daily. If not planning a child, we abstain on the fertile days and enjoy marital intimacy on the naturally infertile days. I feel so clean being patch-free, pill-free, shot-free, and latex-free. It’s similar to birthing without drugs, devices, and interventions. I am very respectful of my husband who ‘two-steps’ with me on this. Just as behaviors indicate different stages of labor, so my body signs, jotted down quickly on a chart, indicate my phases of fertility and infertility.
I am indebted to Sheila’s husband, John, as well. This couple just published a slim 2009 book, Natural Family Planning, The Complete Approach. I got a coil-bound version, perfect for home study. In addition to charting, breastfeeding, and special situations, one chapter explains why some use this for moral reasons and another chapter has true stories of how this has improved women’s childbearing years. To preview it, see a free downloadable form at www.nfpandmore.org.
