Question

My wife is nursing our first child and we want to know how can we use NFP if she is not menstruating?

Answer

Yes. You and your wife can use NFP while she is breastfeeding. It doesn't make any difference whether she is menstruating or not; the instructions for achieving or avoiding a pregnancy are the same. If you are already an NFP user you should resume charting and at the same time call your practitioner for a refresher appointment so you and your wife can review with her the instructions for achieving or avoiding a pregnancy. If you have not received instructions in NFP previous to your pregnancy, now is the time to begin. Do not assume that because your wife is not menstruating she is not fertile.

A breastfeeding woman will more often than not, ovulate before she has her first menstruation and menstruation's return varies from woman to woman. The signs her body gives her are easy to learn and interpret if she knows how. Once you have learned Natural Family Planning it can be reliably used during all the phases of your couple fertility.

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