By Kelli Lovell
Natural Family Planning
Researching an entirely different faith topic in college began Laura and Kasey Eickhoff’s journey toward planning their future family using natural family planning. Laura came across information about the Catholic Church’s teaching on openness to life within the context of a sacramental marriage. She admits she had never really been aware of the Church’s stance on contraception. The couple was already dating and discussing marriage; this providential timing began a conversation that would directly impact their future family.
Their first step was choosing and learning a method. For the highest effectiveness, modern scientific methods taught by certified instructors are recommended. Laura and Kasey initially learned Creighton Model FertilityCare™ from local instructor Karen Thompson with the Holy Family Center for Life. “When I first learned NFP, Creighton was the only model being taught in our area,” Laura explained. The use of Creighton Model charting uncovered signs of an underlying hormone issue. Her instructor referred her to Dr. Bill Blanke for diagnosis and cooperative hormone support that would support her future pregnancies. The couple later decided to switch to the Marquette Method of NFP, finding an instructor through an online organization.
“We switched to Marquette because it took the guesswork (and most of the human error) out of the equation for us. We feel it is just a lot easier, but I am glad I learned Creighton first because I know so much more about my health,” Laura said.
The Holy Family Center for Life of Southwest Indiana now offers local instructors and medical consultants for Marquette and FEMM.
Laura and Kasey were married June 30, 2012, and the couple has been using NFP all of their married life. While Laura says she always wanted a big family, there were other considerations when it came to the timing.
“We were still pretty young when we married (23 and 26), starting our careers and moving to a different state for a year. We wanted to develop our relationship and wait a couple years after we were married to have children. NFP made that possible,” Laura recalled.
The use of NFP allowed the couple to discern their family dynamic on a regular basis and make intentional decisions in real time. “After our first two children were so close in age, we needed a bit more space between our second and third. We were able to do that successfully with NFP. Then, when we were ready to have the fourth, I had a miscarriage and difficulty getting pregnant. We used NFP to achieve pregnancy that time.”
Laura said, “As we continue to practice NFP and expand our family, our understanding and trust in the Church’s teaching on marriage have continued to grow. We have changed so much throughout the years because of it and see God’s beauty through a different lens than before we started this journey.”
The couple and their four children are members of Corpus Christi parish in Evansville.
When asked about the difficulties of choosing to use NFP, both husband and wife admit that there are times that the practice of NFP requires self-sacrifice that isn't always easy or fun.
Laura said, “There have definitely been high and low moments practicing NFP. More often than not, it’s been a struggle to persevere and have patience with the process.”
As with many aspects of Christian life, however, this exercise in sacrificial love has its benefits.
“It really has opened our hearts, especially Kasey’s, to God’s wonderful gift of children,” Laura remarked.
The couple recognizes that even through these trials, the biggest benefit of practicing NFP has been developing their understanding of openness to life, openness to each other and openness to God.
“Our children have been our favorite gift through all of this!”
To anyone still discerning their vocation and God’s plan for their family, the couple said they would challenge those people to do their own research and, if they are married, to try it for at least a short time.
“I imagine many people, both of us included, were skeptical about NFP and even questioned if this is really God’s will. It’s hard to describe the transformation that your heart and soul go through when practicing NFP.”
Kelli Lovell, PharmD, CACP, CFCP, is a Clinical Pharmacist at Deaconess Hospital in Evansville. She also is a Certified Anticoagulation Care Provider, a Certified FertilityCare Practitioner and a Responsible Practitioner for the Holy Family Center for Life.