Rating: 
Summary: Family Planning for strict Catholics
Review: THE GOOD: The book is very easy to read and contains a wealth of information. The author does a wonderful job explaining the ovulatory cycle and methods of monitoring your fertility. The charts and methods of graphing fertility markers are easy to understand.
THE BAD: I am a Nurse Practitioner and would almost never recomend this book to my patients because of the strong "moral" views presented in the book. The book portrays ALL means of birth control as unsafe and possibly deadly, it makes the hair on my neck stand on end. The book also encourages couples not to submit sperm for analysis since it is not God's will to have sperm land anyplace other than the woman's vagina. The author goes as far as suggesting a man poke holes in a condom to allow some semen to reach their target and the rest to be submitted for analysis. Sex is refered to as "marital relations". The book is a great reference if you read it selectively and refer to your healthcare provider for actual information on various birth control methods
Rating: 
Summary: confusing
Review: This book is comes with an extremely heavy religious focus. If you are interested in natural birth control from a secular standpoint, avoid this book. Even though the information is there, it is difficult to read because of the conservative language. People wishing to avoid pregnancy will not appreciate the emphasis on having children contained in this book. It is not comforting to have the authors of a book about family planing mentioning over and over again that an unplanned pregnancy is not such a bad thing. Even if you are Catholic,the book is overly complicated. I have read a number of books concerning the subject of natural birth control and this one was poorly organized and wordy. This book is the text book for the Couple to Couple League which is a pro-life, pro-chastity, anti-queer organization. If you do not wish to support these views, don't buy this book. Toni Weschler's book is clear and easy to use.
Rating: 
Summary: Most complete book available
Review: Most previous reviewers agree that this book has what they are looking for, possibly mixed with some things they aren't. Don't all reference books include things we're not looking for? With any other text, we happily skim through the information not pertinant to ourselves and weed out the information we already know. It's easy enough to do with this book too. I guess the controversy surrouning the "extras" make it an issue with this book, but like it or not, the "extra" stuff is indeed related to the main topic at hand and not out of place in the text.
This book was written specifically for those of the Catholic faith, and does indeed have the appropriate religious slant that other reviewers mention. It was also written for the "Dr. Sears groopies," as I like to call them, who believe in nursing-on-demand, the family bed, etc. It was ALSO written for anyone looking to understand the female fertility cycle in its entirety. It covers this topic in every possible way, leaving NOTHING out. After all, they're trying to convince a generation of contraceptive users to quit popping pills, and instead believe whole-heartedly that using the current scientific understanding of the female fertility cycle is enough to avoid pregnancy. This is not something that can be attempted with just SOME information. I've seen other books that only include part of what's necesary (apparently the authors think it's enough for you to know) and I've seen people give up on studying this topic as a result. Even if you're not Catholic, and/or not a "Dr. Sears groopie," you will still get more information that you ARE looking for from this book than any other.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to follow and learn!
Review: I bought this book because of the glowing recommendations I saw for it, and I was not disappointed! In comparison to other NFP books I've seen, these authors are very teaching-focused. The scientific and moral explanation for the method is well-written and thought-provoking, but it is especially the practical step-by-step "how-tos" that make this book stand out above the others. The book is written to serve as a home study course of the sympto-thermal method of natural family planning and teaches charting all three fertility signs: temperature, muscus, and cervix. There are even workbook activities included which offer a chance to interpret a monthly chart and check answers in the back of the book. There are explanations for many irregular cycle variations, which takes the nervousness out of applying fertility rules to the many things (such as illness or traveling) that can cause an unusual cycle pattern. The authors also publish a bi-montly magazine through the Couple-to-Couple League with provides continual supplements to this textbook. Enjoy the marital blessings of the natural family planning lifestyle!!
Rating:
Summary: Every woman should read this book!
Review: This book is the "bible" of Natural Family Planning (NFP)---NOT the "rhythm method," but a proven method of monitoring a woman's cycle signs to determine when her "window of fertility" begins and ends. It can be upwards of 95% effective!This book is used as a textbook for the Couple to Couple League International NFP course. It's the best book for a "beginner" to buy---and it will guide you through your entire reproductive life. There's an extensive section for "beginners" and a chapter on the special charting needs of women just quitting the Pill. It explains how to use your fertility awareness to avoid pregnancy, as well as how to beat marginal infertility. It tells how to know you're pregnant and how to maintain infertility during breast feeding, as well as how to tell when you become fertile again. Finally, it explains how to chart all the way through menopause. There is plenty of info about the effects of nutrition and pharmaceuticals on your cycles too! While the technical information will help anyone, the book is particularly well-suited for Christians as it has sections which delve deep into the morality of family planning. But non-Christians shouldn't be scared off either---this is simply the best book around for learning how to use your natural body signs to prevent or achieve pregnancy, no matter what your reasons. My husband and I use this method, and we think our marriage and my health is better for it.
Rating:
Summary: This NFP book is clear, complete, easy, and VERY effective!
Review: I taught myself the sympto-thermal method (STM) of NFP 5 years ago by using this book. My cycles were so irregular -- varying from 24 to 54 days -- and the "symptoms" of my infertile periods used to be minimally existent (advise from both this book and the organization that serves as "customer support" for this book -- the Couple to Couple League -- helped me figure out how to "straighten out" my cycles and fertility signs), so other methods of NFP didn't work very well for me and I had to rely very heavily on the temperature sign as described by this book. It's been wonderful! My husband & I have used it for 5 years with no "unexpected blessings" (i.e., no "unwanted" pregnancies). I cannot recommend this book highly enough!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book - Teaches a Healthy AND Natural method!
Review: John Kippley's book was wonderful and is kept at our bedside at all times! In this book, Kippley teaches that the NFP method is a wonderfully effective and healthy way to plan your family AND avoid unnecessarily entering chemicals and syntheics into your body. This book teaches the technical "how to's" of the NPF methodology, but also backs the teachings up with citations from Medical Docotors, Families, Church Leaders and the Humanae Vitae document. Kippley's book was a part of my wife and my marriage preparation - And we are so thankful for it! The NFP methodology has fostered a marriage based on daily communication, trust, self restraint, courage and being healthy! What more can a 27-year-old husband and wife hope for. The methodology has been 100% effective for 4.5 years and we can't say enough good things about it!
Go Kippley - Thank you so much! ! ! ! ! ! !
Rating:
Summary: Natural Family Planning
Review: This book is an excellent source for any couple wishing to improve their marriage. Not only does it provide methods for responsible planning of family size and the spacing of babies, it also gives couples a theology based on discipline and sacrifice(among other things). Two important concepts that are necessary for the cycle of courtship(abstinence) and honeymoon(conjugal love) that this NFP calls for to avoid pregnancy/space babies without chemicals, etc. It's 99% effective for committed couples and it's mmediately reversible (free, too).
If you don't want the theology, just read the first fifteen chapters so you'll be able to figure out when you are fertile and detect problems early. Also, Joni Wechsler has a book on natural birth control without theology. However, I recommend Natural Family Planning, because its integration of science and Catholic Christian theology has breathed new life into our marriage.
Rating:
Summary: Great Alternative to Artificial Birth Contol
Review: This method works! We have been practicing this for almost 3 years and have not become pregnant. We are Catholic, and this book is written from a very strict Catholic viewpoint. If you are offended by that, the Toni Weschler book might be a better choice - same basic principles/method without the theology. For us, The Art of Natural Family Planning was perfect though. I highly recommend it to all Catholics. It has the added benefit of helping you become more in touch with your faith and the beliefs of the Church.
Rating: 
Summary: I didn't like this book
Review: I bought The Art of Natural Family Planning because I want to learn the symto-thermal family planning technique. This book is textbook sized and way more than I needed to get the hang of things. It has a VERY strange Christian focus, which I was not prepared for. (An entire section of the book is called "Does God care about birth control?), and they use terminology such as "fornicating" to describe un-married sex.
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