Customer Reviews

Honoring Our Cycles: A Natural Family Planning Workbook

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have read "Natural Family Planning" and "Taking Charge of your Fertility" and have practiced NFP/FAM (fertility awareness method) for a while now. I bought this mostly so I wouldn't have to print and bind my own charts anymore because this one comes ready to use and is small and thin like a workbook. I am very pleased with the charts- they are the easiest to use of all the ones I've tried.



What surprised me was the incredible job the author has done of teaching the method in a very concise and easy to understand manner. I can't emphasize enough how much easier it is to learn how to chart to prevent or to plan a pregnancy with this book than with other books.



Most exciting to me was the way the author teaches how to use NFP while breast feeding. The other books make it so complicated and when I did finally think I de-coded what they meant, it didn't work for me because my mucus was too eratic while nursing to use their methods. But, Singer does an excellent job in this book explaining how to use NFP while nursing a baby and she does it in under one page! She makes perfect sense and her method is much, much easier to use and is actually doable.



Awesome, awesome book!

Katie Singer shares her plethora of knowledge in HONORING OUR CYCLES: A NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING WORKBOOK FOR KNOWING WHICH DAYS YOU CAN AND CAN'T GET PREGNANT.

I've been practicing Natural Family Planning (NFP) with success for several years and I know that many women hesitate to embrace NFP or Fertility Awareness because they are afraid to trust the method. With her gentle encouragement and ease of communication, Singer's confidence in the accuracy of fertility awareness transfers to the readers - at least it did for me.

It's very important to gain confidence in NFP if you are going to rely upon it. The examples helped clarify various issues and scenarios. I also learned a new technique by reading this book: the "coverline."

The cover design is so enticing that my teenage daughters were intrigued with HONORING OUR CYCLES. I highly recommend this book.

-Lynn M. Griesemer, Author of YOUR BODY, YOUR BIRTH: SECRETS FOR A SATISFYING AND SUCCESSFUL BIRTH

This book was a very quick and simple read--I think that is one of the book's main strengths, it is written in very clear, basic English (maybe a sixth grade reading level?). However, it also makes it somewhat stilted or somehow "off" to read it though because it IS so simplistically written (makes you feel like you are none-too-bright or something! LOL!). Anyway, to be totally honest, one of the only reasons I wanted this book is because I'm so enraptured by the cover. I just love it. I think it is a beautiful, wonderful book cover.

The book is about using fertility awareness to avoid or promote pregnancy The book is clear and easy to follow. It contains some inaccurate breastfeeding information, which I'm very sensitive to--including such odd comments as, "sometimes, when a mother is away from her baby for an afternoon or more, her milk dries up." Huh?! This is where the overly simplistic approach does not succeed, because it is NOT correct (in this case).

I'm very interested and excited right now by fertility awareness--how coolly and magically women's bodies indicate where they are in their fertility cycle. I am regretful that I spend so many years hormonally manipulating my cycle rather than just paying attention to my own body (which clearly communicates with me). so, this book reinforced this "magic-ness." I guess I would recommend it to others. There is a certain "spark" missing because it is so basic (I think it is designed for use with low-literacy populations). That gorgeous cover makes up for a lot though! ;-)

Part of this review was originally posted to my blog, http://mollyreads.blogspot.com.

This book is great at getting you started with the charting in a practical manner. If you want a fuller knowledge of the method (and I recommend becoming as educated as you can), read Toni Wechsler's book "Taking Charge of Your Fertility". I'm relatively new to the method, but after going through both books, I am confident in using this method as birth control. It also has healthy, natural recipes in it, which I liked.

Husband and I are between child 1 & 2 and decided that birth control prescriptions are not the answer. I consistanly gained weight on these, so I checked with my OB/GYN and she refered me to this book...great info, simple techniques for observations of cycle changes and great worksheets to help plot your info month to month. When we are ready for #2, we'll be bc free and on track to plan our future family.

I got both this book and Kate Singer's "Garden of Fertility" and although I don't think both are neccecary, they both have an individual way of explaining the information. I am so intrigued by learning this natural process of our cycles, and both of these books really help. It seems like this workbook is written in an easier to understand language that anybody can figure out. i am still in the process of figuring it all out, but I really really am loving the information and getting to know my body!

This guide is written very clearly. I am no student of science and, unfortunately, many Natural Family Planning books read like biology text books! If you've been put off by other NFP guides, or are confused about checking different fertility signs, you may want to get a copy of Honoring Our Cycles. An added bonus are the charts right in the back so you can refer to the "rules" very easily if needed.
Great for beginners, pretty cover.

This is a great book for a woman to read when she's just starting to track her cycle. I'm only 19 and decided to use the form for birth control before I get married next fall. I was relieved to find it's very simple to understand. I've read other books on this subject, and they had me so confused I was afraid I'd never be able to use this for a safe form of birth control. The author explains every step of tracking one at a time. She explains one step thoroughly and moves on to the next one, so you don't get overwhelmed. There are also several examples for each step and illustrations of the way to mark the signs on a fertility chart. The 14 charts in the back are very nice and convenient; I was happy I was able to put my new knowledge to use right away. I've read two other book about natural family planning, and this is definitely the best of all three. I would highly recommend this to anyone who's is just beginning to chart and/or for anyone who is confused about charting.

I've also read and would recommend "Taking Charge of Your Fertility". I would recommend this book because it has A LOT of information, but at the same time all that information can be overwhelming for beginners. The book is 500+ pages and is useful, but I found it to be a bit intimidating. The instructions for acknowledging and charting your fertility signs are not as clear as it is in "Honoring Our Cycles". "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" does have more information about women's health, the male reproductive system and history of natural family planning, but I found it was a bit hard to actually learn how to chart my fertility using this book. It also doesn't come with any charts, but I would recommend buying both of these books together. Just read this book first so you have some understanding of the subject before you dive into the 500+ pages of useful info.

The other book I bought used, and I'm glad I didn't pay the retail price. "The Art of Natural Family Planning" did have the same useful information, but I found it to be dreadfully boring. It reads more like a text book (it may be lol). The author also includes a lot of his Catholic beliefs. I don't have a problem with religion (although I'm not Catholic and disagreed with a lot of his opinions), but he should've been more concerned about clearly explaining the process of charting than stating his beliefs.

After taking NFP classes through my Church I wanted something to keep me going. The info in this book is good, but there was absolutely nothing new and I felt at times that it was written for people who are poorly educated and possibly not seen as equals in their community. I'm not suggesting that I wanted a medical manual or anything, but this was probably written at an elementary school grade level and I felt a little bit silly reading parts of it. For example, I know it is my right to tell my husband I don't want to be intimate if I don't want to be. I don't need a section of this book to reinforce that for me.

I enjoyed the taking charge of your fertility book more, even though there were parts of that book which were a pretty technical. Honestly, I took Creighton Model NFP classes and the material provided there was probably the most helpful of the three sources I have tried.

I think that this book might be right for some people, it really depends on what you are looking for and what information you need.

My husband and I successfully used this book for 6 months to time our unprotected sex during windows that would NOT result in pregnancy -- it worked like a charm... and then we used it for for just ONE very successful month to get pregnant! [The latter wouldn't have worked well if I hadn't have been strict about taking my temp at the same time each morning, even if it was a sleep-in day. The latter also wouldn't have worked as well if I hadn't have monitored my cervix positioning and firm/softness daily.]

This is an abbreviated, straight forward, very informative easy read for people of all ages. I will get our daughter her own copy as soon as she starts to flow, to help her understand and embrace her body's cycles the way I wish I had years ago.

I found this book gave me all the info and tools I needed to understand my cycle, and it took very little time to read and apply the Fertility Awareness method. After I was pregnant I borrowed a friend's "The Garden of Fertility: A Guide to Charting Your Fertility Signals to Prevent or Achieve Pregnancy--Naturally--and to Gauge Your Reproductive Health" and found that THAT version is much longer and way more detailed about everything. I'm glad I started with the simple version, "Honoring our Cycles", but can definitely see where the more detailed "Garden of Fertility" might be appreciated when issues come up with irregular cycles.
This book is SUCH a great resource for ALL women, in all stages of life....

Side note: for other folks seeking to get pregnant, or already pregnant, I have also gotten so much out of "Real Food for Mother and Baby: The Fertility Diet, Eating for Two, and Baby's First Foods" and "The Natural Pregnancy Book: Herbs, Nutrition, and Other Holistic Choices" -- lots of tips on fertility enhancement, health pregnancy, and healthy postpartum experiences. All these authors are great. Horray for increasing our understanding of our bodies :-)