MADISON — The Ovulation Method of Natural Family Planning (NFP), as taught by the Family of the Americas Foundation (FAF), will be available in the Diocese of Madison beginning in February.
Marissa Mastrangeli, FAF instructor and University of Wisconsin-Madison student, will be the instructor in the course.
The introductory course will be offered at St. Paul’s University Catholic Center in Madison from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Interested persons can choose one of the following Wednesdays: Feb. 3, March 3, April 14, or May 5.
The cost is $65 for materials, introductory class, and five follow-up sessions scheduled individually. Additional follow-up sessions are $10 each.
All NFP methods require observation of the naturally-occurring signs of fertility in a woman’s body so that a couple can choose either to achieve or — for serious reasons — avoid pregnancy. When using the Ovulation Method, a woman or couple observes and “charts” one sign of fertility: the presence of cervical mucus.
Family of the Americas Foundation instructs women and couples in countries around the world, many of them from developing nations with a largely illiterate population. According to FAF headquarters, the varying groups who have learned the Ovulation Method include indigenous people of Guatemala and other parts of Central and South America, those under communist rule in China, Swahili-speaking people of many different countries in Africa, and even blind couples.
This method is also the method taught by Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity both nationally and internationally.
The Ovulation Method of FAF joins the ranks of four other NFP methods available in the Diocese of Madison: Creighton Model, Northwest Family Services method, Couple to Couple League (CCL) method, and the Marquette Model.
For those couples who have a serious reason to avoid pregnancy, modern Natural Family Planning, a far cry for the “Rhythm Method” of yesteryear, boasts effectiveness rates between 97 and 99 percent.
To register or for more information, contact Emily Beier at the diocesan Office of Natural Family Planning, 608-821-3134 or nfp@straphael.org or go to the diocesan Web site at www.madisondiocese.org/nfp