By Kelli Lovell
Natural Family Planning
For Dominic and Nicole Plutino, coming to the decision to use Natural Family Planning (NFP) in their marriage has been a win-win proposition.
The couple met online through CatholicMatch, and Dominic proposed at St. Benedict Cathedral in December 2019, where they were married and remain active members of the parish. Doing marriage prep at the parish during COVID had its challenges.
“Unfortunately for us, we got married in October 2020 and our marriage preparation had to be done through an online program,” the couple said. “Since we felt strongly about utilizing NFP in our marriage, we also sought to educate ourselves on the different types of NFP to better prepare ourselves and make an informed choice about what method we wanted to follow in our marriage. This included taking the free introductory course, Truth about NFP, offered through the Diocese.”
Nicole, a board-certified pediatric occupational therapist, is opposed to the use of artificial contraceptives because she and her husband see the value in maintaining her natural reproductive health.
“By avoiding artificial chemicals and hormones that do the same functions that occur in natural cycles within the female body, NFP promotes not only mental but also physical health for both husband and wife,” Nicole said.
Dominic, a surgical nurse, had already had a basic exposure to the NFP lifestyle through his parents’ use of the Creighton model of NFP as he was growing up and agreed with the value of avoiding the common side effects associated with artificial contraception.
In addition to the obvious health benefits of practicing NFP instead of artificial contraception, Dominic and Nicole agree that a value that holds priority for both in marriage is remaining true to their Catholic faith and embracing even the difficult teachings of the Catholic Church. They were aware that NFP can be controversial for some and will admit it has its difficulties.
“Observed periods of abstinence in each cycle are definitely difficult,” the couple said. “These periods can sometimes fall at inconvenient times on the social calendar of life which makes it challenging.”
However, for them, communication is key and allows them to learn to express love and affection through other modes.
As they continue to develop their respective careers in medicine, the couple has used the Marquette method of NFP successfully for three years to postpone pregnancy.
“We are currently waiting to have children as we become more established as a married couple and Dominic pursues his master’s degree and I pursue my doctorate degree,” Nicole explained.
The Plutinos have found the Marquette method of NFP to be highly trustworthy and effective.
“We are very thankful we chose specifically the Marquette Method for NFP,” they said. “As healthcare professionals, it really resonated with us on an objective, scientific level and is a minimally time-consuming method to use daily.”
When given the opportunity to spread their experience about the benefits of NFP, the Plutinos emphasize a few specific points.
“First, utilizing NFP is not a ‘one method fits all’ mentality and there are several different methods under the umbrella term of NFP that may work better or worse for different couples depending on their lifestyles,” they said. “Take the time to look into different ones and find what works for you as a couple best. Second, utilizing NFP is not synonymous with having a large, Catholic family. Though openness to life is key while practicing NFP and is fundamental to the Church’s teaching on marriage, NFP allows a couple to discern, in conjunction with the Holy Spirit, when starting or expanding their family is most prudent while weighing the very real-life aspects of the modern world. Therefore, a small, but still equally as Catholic family can exist. Third, we would encourage those who are skeptical to look into the research behind modern-day NFP methods and not rely on word of mouth from decades past about the effectiveness of NFP. As medical professionals, we were very drawn to the recent research and evidence that supports the use of NFP for both physical and mental health benefits and its extremely high effectiveness for both avoiding and achieving pregnancy when compared to other medical interventions.”