Birth Control

Have you heard much about Natural Family Planning? It’s what my husband and I do. It worked for us to keep the age gap we wanted between my kids

I want to help put your mind at ease. 1. God loves you unconditionally. Have a conversation with someone you trust in the Church if you need additional information or help. God’s grace and mercy is always available to us. You’re also not alone. 2. As the previous person mentioned, try natural family planning. It works and is in alignment with Church teaching. 3. There’s nothing wrong with planning out the number of kids you can take care of. In fact, Catholic teaching asks us to be prudent in our big life choices. Pope Paul VI gives us the criterion in his encyclical Humanae vitae (1968): “With regard to physical, economic, psychological and social conditions, responsible parenthood is exercised by those who prudently and generously decide to have more children, and by those who, for serious reasons and with due respect to moral precepts, decide not to have additional children for either a certain or an indefinite period of time”

In “grave circumstances”, which is up to individual discernment, Catholics can use Natural Family Planning (which is basically just using your knowledge of your body & cycles to limit the chance of pregnancy). The reason we can prevent naturally vs unnaturally/medically is all about our openness to God’s will. You may use your knowledge to plan and prevent, but you have to remain open in your heart if God ends up calling you to have more ☺️ It can be scary and overwhelming, and it’s hard to remain trusting, but every human being is created by Him intentionally and out of love. YOU were created intentionally, and so also are any “whoopsie” babies. That’s what distinguishes Catholic doctrine from modern conception. There is such a thing as *our* whoopsie, but not His! He has great plans for us, “for our welfare and not for woe” ❤️ That’s the core of the Catholic teaching, which is why the church says we shouldn’t practice a mindset of what WE want more than God in preventing pregnancy.

Nfp really works! Esp the Marquette method using test strips. You can only get pregnant a few days a month.

I was in your place. As a teenager with limited options I started birth control and only learned later in life (many years) that it was wrong. God forgives even the worst sinners, so you're on the right track seeking another way. I commend you for asking for help! I learned nfp when my husband and I got married. It helped us understand my cycle better and God willing, it will help us have another baby soon! I second the strips though - super helpful