Bridget Busacker, founder of Managing Your Fertility, an online resource for women and couples, describes fertility awareness as a good building block for women before they move into natural family planning after marriage. “It’s a great segue when you can start ‘charting’ before you’re married, to lead into natural family planning as a married woman,” she said.
Charting involves recording daily indicators such as basal body temperature to help predict ovulation.
Bridget Busacker
Busacker said there is no scientific difference between the definitions of “fertility awareness” and “natural family planning.” Both rely on the science behind Church-approved methods to achieve or postpone pregnancy, she said.
“We’re seeing the term ‘fertility awareness’ used more and more because, oftentimes, when single women are hearing ‘natural family planning,’ they’re thinking ‘well, I’m not married, I’m not engaged, I’m not looking to plan a family; I’m just looking to understand my body,’” she
Busacker, who has a master’s degree in health communications from the University of Minnesota and a certificate of completion for her studies at the Archbishop Flynn Catechetical Institute from the St. Paul School of Divinity, recently joined “Practicing Catholic” radio show producer Cami Berthiaume to talk about fertility awareness and natural family planning ahead of Natural Family Planning Awareness Week, July 25-31.
Asked about realistic roles parishes can play in introducing fertility awareness, Busacker said she has seen it talked about more and is seeing more programming.
“As much as we want to hear it in a homily, well, that’s good,” Busacker said. “But we need to have more. We need more programming available, talks and just more organic conversation, and involving couples and having small groups together, and getting each other engaged in each other’s life and building community, because I think that’s where really huge change happens.”
Busacker said it’s important for the faithful to be well informed on these subjects, suggesting, for example, author Christopher West and St. John Paul II’s writings on family life, such as the late pope’s “Theology of the Body.”
Catholics should make sure they know and understand what the Catholic Church teaches on the subject, she said. “And when you’re passionate and excited to share it, start talking about it,” she said, whether on social media in small groups or parishes.
People who want to share information can talk with their pastor and volunteer “because we need more people in this space,” she said.
To learn more about fertility awareness and natural family planning — including fertility, how hormones work, resources for miscarriage and infant loss, intimacy and sex — visit managingyourfertility.com. The site includes links to a blog where women share their stories about using natural family planning in their marriage, and single women who are charting and sharing their health journeys.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Bishop Andrew Cozzens, who tackles some tough questions about artificial contraception and Catholic teaching, and Mike and Ann Cerney, who talk about Twin Cities Retrouvaille, a program that offers help to couples in troubled marriages.
Listen to all of the interviews after they have aired at:
soundcloud.com/PracticingCatholic
tinyurl.com/PracticingCatholic (Spotify)
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