National Demographic and Health Surveys have documented longitudinal data on the prevalence of family planning methods used by women of reproductive age in the Philippines. This article aims to contribute to the literature by documenting and exploring the lived experiences of women who decided to accept and use natural family planning methods to space births or achieve pregnancy. It used descriptive phenomenology, moving between an eidetic description of their (N=15) lived experiences to understand them. Warm and cool analyses of data yielded four significant themes labeled as tacks – on the rebound, moving on, sticking on, and passing it on – which collectively describe their natural family planning experience and perspectives. Liminal gaps separated the tacks, with one tack influencing and setting up the other towards the desired direction, suggesting the complicated experience that the women went through across time. This study contributes to the current literature on the prevalence of family planning methods by providing an insider perspective on why and how the women accepted and used natural family planning methods.
Keywords: Natural Family Planning Methods • Artificial Methods • Phenomenology • Reproductive Age • Tacks1) Arévalo, Marcos, Irit Sinai, and Victoria Jennings. “A fixed formula to define the fertile window of the menstrual cycle as the basis of a simple method of natural family planning.” Contraception 60/6 (1999): 357-360.
2) Adair, Linda, Socorro Gultiano, and Josephine Avila. “The Philippines: childbearing, women`s work and household decision-making in Cebu.” Summary of Final Report Prepared for The Women`s Studies Project Family Health International (1998).
3) Atun, Jenna Mae L. “Religiosity and Contraceptive Use among Filipino Youth.” Philippine Center for Population and Development. Monograph Series No 2. Available at http://www.pcpd.ph/.../religiosity-and-contraceptive-use- (2008).
4) Aung, May S., Pa P. Soe, and Myo M. Moh. “Predictors of modern contraceptive use and fertility preferences among men in Myanmar: further analysis of the 2015-16 demographic and health survey.” Int J Community Med Public Health 6/10 (2019): 4209.
5) Authority, Philippines Statistics. “Philippines National Demographic and Health Survey, 2013”; https://dhsprogram. com/pubs/pdf/FR294/FR294. pdf. (2017).
6) Avila, Josephine L., and Emelita L. Wong. “When fate and husbands prevail dynamics of decisions and behavior regarding family planning in Cebu, Philippines.” Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society 29/1-2 (2001): 79-104.
7) Bitto, Adenike, Ronald H. Gray, Joe L. Simpson, John T. Queenan, Robert T. Kambic, Alfredo Perez, Patricio Mena, Michele Barbato, Chuanjun Li, and Victoria Jennings. “Adverse outcomes of planned and unplanned pregnancies among users of natural family planning: a prospective study.” American journal of public health 87/3 (1997): 338-343.
8) Boquet, Shenan J. “The Negative Effects of the Pill.” (2021); https://www.lifeissues.net/writers/boq/boq_40negativeeffectsofpill.html.
9) Carrol, John.J., & Mendoza-Rivera, Diana.V. Lessons from failure: NFP in a poor urban community. Philippine Center for Population and Development. Monograph Series No. 2. Available at http://www.pcpd.ph/.../religiosity-and-contraceptive-use- (2008).
10) Casterline, J. B., A. E. Perez, and A. E. Biddlecom. “Factors underlying unmet need for FP in the Philippines.” Studies in FP 28/3 (1997).
11) Cheung, Eileen, and Caroline Free. “Factors influencing young women`s decision making regarding hormonal contraceptives: a qualitative study.” Contraception 71/6 (2005): 426-431.
12) Clark Jr, Sam, Jonathan Flavier, Pilar Jimenez, Romeo Lee, and Harris Solomon. “The Role of Men in Family Planning in the Philippines: An Assessment.” Asia-Pacific Social Science Review 7/1 (2007).
13) Colaizzi, Paul F. “Psychological research as the phenomenologist views it.” In Ronald S. Valle, and Mark King. eds. Existential-Phenomenological Alternatives for Psychology, 48-71. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978.
14) David, Clarissa C., and Jenna Mae L. Atun. “Factors Affecting Fertility Desires in the Philippines.” Social Science Diliman 10/2 (2014): 100-119.
15) David, Clarissa, and Jenna Mae Atun. “Exploring the Relationship Between Interpersonal Communication and Use of Modern Method Family Planning in the Philippines.” Plaridel 7/1 (2010): 17-37.
16) Department of Health. Do Modern Natural Family Planning Works? Available online at https://www.doh.gov.ph/faqs/Do-modern-natural-family-planning-methods-really-work (2017).
17) Dorfman, Lorraine T., and Douglas C. Kolarik. “Leisure and the retired professor: Occupation matters.” Educational Gerontology 31/5 (2005): 343-361.
18) Fehring, Richard. “Under the Microscope: A Brief History of Natural Family Planning.” Natural Family Planning, Current Medical Research 25/3–4 (2014).
19) Fehring, Richard J., Mary Schneider, Kathleen Raviele, and Mary Lee Barron. “Efficacy of cervical mucus observations plus electronic hormonal fertility monitoring as a method of natural family planning.” Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing 36/ 2 (2007): 152-160.
20) Frank-Herrmann, Petra, Jörg Heil, Christian Gnoth, Estefania Toledo, Siegfried Baur, Cecilia Pyper, Ekkehart Jenetzky, Thomas Strowitzki, and G. Freundl. “The effectiveness of a fertility awareness-based method to avoid pregnancy in relation to a couple`s sexual behaviour during the fertile time: a prospective longitudinal study.” Human Reproduction 22/5 (2007): 1310-1319.
21) Gray, Ronald H., Robert T. Kambic, Claude A. Lanctot, Mary C. Martin, Roselind Wesley, and Richard Cremins. “Evaluation of natural family planning programmes in Liberia and Zambia.” Journal of Biosocial Science 25/ 2 (1993): 249-258.
22) Guerrero-Castañeda, Raúl Fernando, Tânia Maria de Oliva Menezes, and Ma Ojeda-Vargas. “Characteristics of the phenomenological interview in nursing research.” Revista Gaucha de Enfermagem 38 (2017).
23) Guida, Maurizio, Giovanni A. Tommaselli, Stefano Palomba, Massimiliano Pellicano, Gianfranco Moccia, Costantino Di Carlo, and Carmine Nappi. “Efficacy of methods for determining ovulation in a natural family planning program.” Fertility and Sterility 72/ 5 (1999): 900-904.
24) Huber, Larissa R. Brunner, Carol J. Hogue, Aryeh D. Stein, Carolyn Drews, Miriam Zieman, Joyce King, and Susan Schayes. “Contraceptive use and discontinuation: findings from the contraceptive history, initiation, and choice study.” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 194/ 5 (2006): 1290-1295.
25) Keegan, John. The price of Admiralty: The Evolution of Naval Warfare from Trafalgar to Midway. London, Penguin Books, 1988.
26) Lamprecht, V., and J. Trussell. “Natural family planning effectiveness: evaluating published reports.” Advances in Contraception 13/2 (1997): 155-165.
27) Liao, Pamela Verma, and Janet Dollin. “Half a century of the oral contraceptive pill: historical review and view to the future.” Canadian Family Physician 58/12 (2012): e757-e760.
28) Lin, Nan. “Building a network theory of social capital.” In Nan Lin, Karen Cook, and Ronald, eds., 3-28. Social Capital: Theory and Research, 3-28. New York: Aldine De Gruyter, 2001.
29) McVeigh, Raymond, “Artificial and Natural Forms of Birth Control: A Comprehensive Analysis” (2013). Honors Projects 292. http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/honorsprojects/292.
30) Moreau, Caroline, Kelly Cleland, and James Trussell. “Contraceptive discontinuation attributed to method dissatisfaction in the United States.” Contraception 76/4 (2007): 267-272.
31) Moynihan, Carolyn. What Catholic Women Think about Faith, Conscience, and Contraception. Retrieved from https://: www.catholiceducation.org/.../what-catholic-women-think-about-faith-conscience-an (2012).
32) Orbeta, Aniceto, Jr. Poverty, Fertility Preferences, and FP Practice in the Philippines. Philippine Journal of Development, 129. Retrieved from https://ideas.repec.org/p/phd/dpaper/dp_2005-22.html. (2006).
33) Pallone, Stephen R., and George R. Bergus. “Fertility awareness-based methods: another option for family planning.” The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine 22/2 (2009): 147-157.
34) Paul, Sheryl. How to know if it is a Rebound or Real Love? Available online athttps://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-14168/how-to-know-if-its-a-rebound-or-real-love.html (2014).
35) Perez, Alfredo. “General Overview of Natural Family Planning.” Genus (1998): 75-93.
36) Rice, F. J., and LANCTOT CA. “Effectiveness of the sympto-thermal method of natural family planning: an international study.” (1981).
37) Ryder, Robert E. “Natural family planning”: effective birth control supported by the Catholic Church.” British Medical Journal 307/6906 (1993): 723-726.
38) Smith, Deborah B., and Phyllis Moen. “Retirement satisfaction for retirees and their spouses: Do gender and the retirement decision-making process matter?” Journal of Family Issues 25/2 (2004): 262-285.
39) Smoley, Brian A., and Christa M. Robinson. “Natural family planning.” American Family Physician 86/10 (2012): 924-928.
40) Stanford, Joseph B., Janis C. Lemaire, and Poppy B. Thurman. “Women`s interest in natural family planning.” Journal of Family Practice 46 (1998): 65-72.
41) Sinai, Irit, Rebecka Lundgren, Marcos Arévalo, and Victoria Jennings. “Fertility awareness-based methods of family planning: predictors of correct use.” International Family Planning Perspectives 32/2 (2006): 94-100.
42) Swanson-Kauffman, Kristen, and Elizabeth Schonwald. “Phenomenology.” NLN publications 15-2233 (1988): 97-105.
43) Taniguchi, Hiromi, and Leonard D. Thomas. “The influences of religious attitudes on volunteering.” VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations 22/2 (2011): 335-355.
44) VandeVusse, Leona, Lisa Hanson, Richard J. Fehring, Amy Newman, and Jaime Fox. “Couples` views of the effects of natural family planning on marital dynamics.” Journal of Nursing Scholarship 35/2 (2003): 171-176.
45) Van Solinge, Hanna, and Kène Henkens. “Adjustment to and satisfaction with retirement: Two of a kind?” Psychology and Aging 23/2 (2008): 422.
46) Van Willigen, Marieke. “Differential benefits of volunteering across the life course.” The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 55/5 (2000): S308-S318.
47) Vidal, A. C. “Faith-based organizations in Community Development. Report prepared for the US Department of Housing and Community Development-Office of Policy Development and Research. Retrieved August 22, 2020.” (2001).
48) Visaria, Leela. Unmet need for FP in Gujarat. Economic and Political Weekly, 29. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4405341. (2008).
49) Wilson, Mercedes Arzú. “The Practice of Natural Family Planning versus the Use of Artifical Birth Control: Family, Sexual and Moral Issues.” Catholic Social Science Review 7 (2002): 185-211.
50) Wojnar, Danuta M., and Kristen M. Swanson. “Phenomenology: an exploration.” Journal of Holistic Nursing 25/3 (2007): 172-180.