Most Catholic Women In Us Use Contraceptives

[Sarah147]

[quote name='Debra Little' timestamp='1303861950' post='2233670']
Is that really so bad? People can't afford big families anymore. Those other ways of avoiding pregnancy don't really
work very well.
[/quote]


Yeah, it's bad alright. Not only does it block life, it can also cause early abortions by interfering with the full formation of the embryo.

Our Holy Father and the Church are all about being Pro-Life.

They talk about the different Church-approved natural family planning methods in the "raising small humans" forum of phatmass. They are actually quite effective from what others have said. I believe it is the rhythm method that may be poor. Any issues are probably to do with poorly following the method and/or irregularity with the woman, and she may be able to go on hormone treatment to keep regular, such as progesterone alone, etc. By no means am I an expert on any of this though...

[Cherie]

[quote name='Debra Little' timestamp='1303861950' post='2233670']
Is that really so bad? People can't afford big families anymore. Those other ways of avoiding pregnancy don't really
work very well.
[/quote]

Oh but they DO work very well! Numerous studies have shown that various methods of NFP, when used correctly, work as well or [i]better[/i] than other artificial forms of contraception! It's a shame that so many women just "pop the Pill" without having [i]any[/i] knowledge of their fertility cycles [i]at all.[/i] It amazes me how so many people are all about being "green" and eating "organic" but yet they have [i]no[/i] problem giving themselves artificial hormones!

And I must admit, I get irked when I hear that people can't afford big families anymore. My grandparents-in-law say that all the time. Granted, times are tough. But society's definition of "afford" is so skewed nowadays. My husband and I hope to have a large family if God wills it. We live on his one income, and he is very proud of the fact that I can stay home, because we plan to homeschool our children. I'm sure people would look at us and think, "Oh my gosh they can't afford only having one income!" But we definitely can! Sure, sometimes it can be tough and we have to make sacrifices that other two-income couples don't, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Maybe our kids won't all have cars when they're 16 or the greatest new technological gadgets every year for their birthdays, but they're going to have a good education, a mom and dad who loves them to death, and they will be well-equipped to be well-adjusted, contributing members of society and ultimately, become saints. The "affordable" 2-child home is definitely overrated!!! Give me a house full of kids ANY day!!!

[MissScripture]

[quote name='Archaeology cat' timestamp='1303803168' post='2233295']
Yep. And while they're told about birth control, they're not told exactly how it works or what it does or any potential health problems from it. I had a roommate whose cholesterol went sky-high because of the pill; thankfully it went back down once she went off it. My cholesterol went up, too, when I was on it, but I never made that connection.
[/quote]
Even the doctors prescribing the pill don't give decent education on it. In my differential diagnosis book, I don't believe there was a single body system for which BC wasn't listed as a possible cause of problems.

[Sarah147]

[quote name='CherieMadame' timestamp='1303867409' post='2233726']
Oh but they DO work very well! Numerous studies have shown that various methods of NFP, when used correctly, work as well or [i]better[/i] than other artificial forms of contraception! It's a shame that so many women just "pop the Pill" without having [i]any[/i] knowledge of their fertility cycles [i]at all.[/i] It amazes me how so many people are all about being "green" and eating "organic" but yet they have [i]no[/i] problem giving themselves artificial hormones!

And I must admit, I get irked when I hear that people can't afford big families anymore. My grandparents-in-law say that all the time. Granted, times are tough. But society's definition of "afford" is so skewed nowadays. My husband and I hope to have a large family if God wills it. We live on his one income, and he is very proud of the fact that I can stay home, because we plan to homeschool our children. I'm sure people would look at us and think, "Oh my gosh they can't afford only having one income!" But we definitely can! Sure, sometimes it can be tough and we have to make sacrifices that other two-income couples don't, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Maybe our kids won't all have cars when they're 16 or the greatest new technological gadgets every year for their birthdays, but they're going to have a good education, a mom and dad who loves them to death, and they will be well-equipped to be well-adjusted, contributing members of society and ultimately, become saints. The "affordable" 2-child home is definitely overrated!!! Give me a house full of kids ANY day!!!
[/quote]






"Give me a house full of kids ANY day!!!"

[philothea]

I do suspect the statistics, but I know a [i]lot[/i] of "Catholic" women do use artificial birth control. I'm sure the fear over healthcare costs plays a big part.

(Not saying it's a justification.)

Also... don't couples have to go through a course on NFP prior to getting a Catholic wedding? I don't think ignorance is a legitimate excuse, here.

[MissScripture]

[quote name='philothea' timestamp='1303868872' post='2233740']
I do suspect the statistics, but I know a [i]lot[/i] of "Catholic" women do use artificial birth control. I'm sure the fear over healthcare costs plays a big part.

(Not saying it's a justification.)

Also... don't couples have to go through a course on NFP prior to getting a Catholic wedding? I don't think ignorance is a legitimate excuse, here.
[/quote]
That depends on where you are, and how in-depth it is varies. For our marriage prep course, it was the first instruction of Billings as part of our marriage prep weekend. But in other places, I don't know that they include an actual NFP instruction, but just mention that, by the way, you're supposed to use NFP...if that.

[Brother Adam]

[quote name='Debra Little' timestamp='1303861950' post='2233670']
Is that really so bad? People can't afford big families anymore. Those other ways of avoiding pregnancy don't really
work very well.
[/quote]

Yes, because if you use it in full knowledge of what you are doing you will go to hell if you die without repenting and going to confession. It is a mortal sin and cuts of your relationship with God.

[kafka]

My opinion is the problems in the Church and the world are severe and very complex, and there is always free will, so I wouldnt reduce the use of contraception it to poor Catechesis and poor preaching alone.

Good Catechesis and an increase in preaching sound morals with forceful rhetoric would certainly help, but the problem of severe sins in the Church ultimately would not be solved by this alone. But it would be a good start.

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='Archaeology cat' timestamp='1303147394' post='2229817']
I'm sure that accounts for at least some. However, that is also a problem, since the pill shouldn't be prescribed like that, really. It's so overprescribed, and women think they need it for some medical reason, only to later find that the pill didn't fix or treat the problem, just masked it (I'm saying this from my personal experience). There are hormonal problems, of course, but it seems to me that the better option in that case would be for the doc to measure the actual hormone levels and tailor treatment accordingly. My sister's doctor does this, from what I've heard, instead of giving her some prefab concoction.
[/quote]

IAWTC

My doctor prescribed me some birth control pills for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Because of the PCOS, my cycles were very irregular, so he thought the pill was a "cure-all" and gave me a whole year's worth of refills. I am not sexually active, but I felt weird about taking it anyway. About a month into it, I was experiencing some very nasty side effects like awful headaches, burning on the back of my thighs (like sciatica), and the worst moodiness ever. I called his office to report my symptoms and the nurse said that those were not known side effects. I decided after a few more days of this hell, to get off of them. The symptoms stopped within two days so I know for a fact that it was related.

This is not the first time I've been prescribed hormones either. The problem is, PCOS is not a gynecological disorder, it is an endocrine disorder! I really should be going to an endocrinologist, but I had no idea who to contact so I asked my regular OB/GYN. I'm never taking the pill or patch again. It doesn't help and it causes disruptions in the body that I'd rather not deal with.

[Debra Little]

[quote name='Brother Adam' timestamp='1303869281' post='2233748']
Yes, because if you use it in full knowledge of what you are doing you will go to hell if you die without repenting and going to confession. It is a mortal sin and cuts of your relationship with God.
[/quote]

Okay. Thank You. Will change my opinion to God's opinion.

[Nihil Obstat]

Wish it was always that easy.

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='MissScripture' timestamp='1303869091' post='2233742']
That depends on where you are, and how in-depth it is varies. For our marriage prep course, it was the first instruction of Billings as part of our marriage prep weekend. But in other places, I don't know that they include an actual NFP instruction, but just mention that, by the way, you're supposed to use NFP...if that.
[/quote]
By the time people get around to marriage the woman has probably been on some forn of BC for 5 to 10 years: too little too late.There is a very good chance she is co-habitating, and is certainly not going to mess up her wedding plans by trying something different. All her friends are on BC and undoubtably her mum was too, and her gyn would think she was nuts for even mentioning natural family planning.

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' timestamp='1303875105' post='2233798']
By the time people get around to marriage the woman has probably been on some forn of BC for 5 to 10 years: too little too late.There is a very good chance she is co-habitating, and is certainly not going to mess up her wedding plans by trying something different. All her friends are on BC and undoubtably her mum was too, and her gyn would think she was nuts for even mentioning natural family planning.
[/quote]

This was true for my older [i]Catholic[/i] cousins. Both of them lived with people that they thought they were going to marry. The eldest did eventually marry her boyfriend and they have 3 kids and are pregnant with the 4th. Unfortunately, they consider the 4th an "accident" because they didn't want any more kids and my cousin keeps trying to convince her husband (who is a convert) to get a vasectomy so they don't have to worry about another "accident."

My 2nd eldest was living with a guy who was at least 10 years older than her who was divorced and she was ready to marry him, too, but she broke it off and eventually married another guy. Both of my cousins always talked about their boyfriends being over at their house at night like they were proud of it. My aunt and uncle never said a word about it (at least not in our presence). It is mind-boggling how supposedly Catholic people wind up with the mindset that they are allowed to be in control of the size of their family by using ABC. And the bad part about it is that my mom and other aunts were encouraging my eldest to get "fixed"! I basically had a long, drawn out discussion with my mom afterwards. I think she is finally understanding, but she did admit that she and my dad used birth control because the doctors told her she shouldn't have any more kids because of her medical problems.

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' timestamp='1303875105' post='2233798']
By the time people get around to marriage the woman has probably been on some forn of BC for 5 to 10 years: too little too late.There is a very good chance she is co-habitating, and is certainly not going to mess up her wedding plans by trying something different. All her friends are on BC and undoubtably her mum was too, and her gyn would think she was nuts for even mentioning natural family planning.
[/quote]
This. I got married at 23. I'd been on the pill since age 17 (ostensibly for medical reasons). There was a Billings talk at our Engaged Encounter, which was 1 month before the wedding (we went to that one at the request of our priest, because he was the one leading it that time). I did phone my doc to ask about an alternative after that, and was told that no one could tell me what to do with my body, which wasn't at all helpful. It took me over a year before I finally just asked my uncle (an OB/GYN) about an alternative and then simply informed my GP that I refused to use the pill any more and wanted a prescription for the mefenamic acid my uncle had recommended. At no point was the info volunteered that there was a non-hormonal solution. I had to get to the point where I said "I refuse to use the pill. Find something else." But we're taught to trust our doctors, so how many women will do that?

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='Debra Little' timestamp='1303861950' post='2233670']
Is that really so bad? People can't afford big families anymore. Those other ways of avoiding pregnancy don't really
work very well.
[/quote]
As Cherie said, modern methods of NFP do work very well. For perspective, the Billings Ovulation Method has been used with [url="http://www.woomb.org/bom/trials/chinaLaunching.html"]success in China[/url], even with their 1-child policy.

[quote name='CherieMadame' timestamp='1303867409' post='2233726']
Oh but they DO work very well! Numerous studies have shown that various methods of NFP, when used correctly, work as well or [i]better[/i] than other artificial forms of contraception! It's a shame that so many women just "pop the Pill" without having [i]any[/i] knowledge of their fertility cycles [i]at all.[/i] It amazes me how so many people are all about being "green" and eating "organic" but yet they have [i]no[/i] problem giving themselves artificial hormones!

And I must admit, I get irked when I hear that people can't afford big families anymore. My grandparents-in-law say that all the time. Granted, times are tough. But society's definition of "afford" is so skewed nowadays. My husband and I hope to have a large family if God wills it. We live on his one income, and he is very proud of the fact that I can stay home, because we plan to homeschool our children. I'm sure people would look at us and think, "Oh my gosh they can't afford only having one income!" But we definitely can! Sure, sometimes it can be tough and we have to make sacrifices that other two-income couples don't, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Maybe our kids won't all have cars when they're 16 or the greatest new technological gadgets every year for their birthdays, but they're going to have a good education, a mom and dad who loves them to death, and they will be well-equipped to be well-adjusted, contributing members of society and ultimately, become saints. The "affordable" 2-child home is definitely overrated!!! Give me a house full of kids ANY day!!!
[/quote]
I agree! For one, you really don't need all the things they tell you that you need for kids. Get 18-24 cloth diapers, a carrier of some kind, some onesies, that's it. I do love the Doomoo seat, but could live without it if necessary. The crib got used as a cat bed and/or hamper. They outgrew the baby bath quickly. They've never taken bottles or dummies. You don't need to buy baby food. Oh, and you can often get clothes on Freecycle, not to mention all the clothes that people will give you. We have an extremely limited income, but live comfortably. True that we only have 2 kids thus far, but there are some who think we're insane for having kids at all given our income. And no, we don't receive benefits from the state because we're here on visas.