Natural Family Planning

What is natural family planning? Is it synonymous with the rhythm method?

Natural family planning (NFP) refers to a number of family planning methods that are authorized by the Catholic Church.

Unlike artificial contraception, which actively renders the sexual act infertile, NFP involves abstinence from sexual activity during the fertile period of a woman's cycle (if the couple is attempting to avoid conception) or targeted sexual activity during the fertile period (if the couple is trying to conceive).

Style notes:

NFP is not synonymous with the rhythm method (also called the calendar method); the rhythm method is a form of NFP, but it has been largely replaced by more reliable methods, such as the Sympto-Thermal Method.