Natural Family Planning International

This [natural mothering] means that in the early months (5-6) the baby’s sole source of nutrition and sucking is its mother’s breast.  That means no formulas, no solids, and no liquids—not even water.  (The result of this is healthier babies who have fewer allergies and sicknesses and fewer problems with early obesity.)  It means further that the baby gets to nurse when it wants to rather than on a pre-set schedule and that he or she will get the opportunity to nurse during the night as well as during the day.  This is especially convenient when mother sleeps with baby.  It means that pacifiers are not used; instead the baby is allowed to nurse for pacification as well as for nourishment.

If any of this sounds strange or “unnatural” to you, it is simply an indication of the extent to which you have been conditioned to accept all the artifacts that the medical-industrial complex has foisted on Western culture with regard to baby care.  Behind every aspect of the overall condition of natural mothering is the fact that breastfeeding’s natural infertility is dependent upon a regular sucking stimulus.  The various artifacts mentioned plus such cultural patterns as trying to avoid any sort of night feedings, having baby sleep in a separate bed, letting baby cry it out, etc. are patterns which reduce the amount and frequency of suckling and which separate mother and her baby.  Natural, ecological breastfeeding brings mother and baby together in a warm relationship that provides the best nutrition, emotional satisfaction and natural infertility.  (First printed in 1971)

John and Sheila Kippley

First of all, what are the conditions? It helps to keep in mind that we are dealing with a very basic ecological relationship.  Most of us have heard enough about ecology to know that when man starts tempering with one aspect of ecology, something else goes out of whack.  One of the great benefits of the ecology movement has been an increased awareness that man should foster the natural relationships even at the cost of some inconvenience to himself.

The basic overall condition for experiencing the natural infertility effect of breastfeeding is the return to a truly natural form of mothering.  Such a style of mothering centers on taking care of the baby’s needs and avoids the un-ecological practices of our cultural child care. (First printed in 1971)

John and Sheila Kippley

Natural Family Planning: Ecological Breastfeeding Spaces Babies by John and Sheila Kippley (December 31, 1971)

NFP Awareness Week runs from July 20 through July 26, the 46th anniversary of  Humanae Vitae, the papal encyclical that reaffirned the Catholic Tradition against all unnatural forms of birth control.  I will post a blog each day during this commemorative week.  This series comes from an article we wrote in 1971, titled “Ecological Breastfeeding Spaces Babies.”  The excerpts have been edited only slightly but not at all in substance.

One good way to get an argument going is to ask, “Does breastfeeding space babies?”  If someone says yes, someone else is sure to say that she knows someone who got pregnant while nursing.  A third person might ask, “What type of nursing do you mean?” while some others might look on with amazement at the implication that 1) there is more than one type of nursing and 2) that the type of breastfeeding may influence the side effect of natural infertility.

Perhaps the key reason why debate arises about whether breastfeeding provides an effective period of natural infertility is that the infertility effect of breastfeeding is dependent upon an ecological pattern of child care.  Mothers who are willing to accept the conditions of the ecology of the nursing or mothering relationship will experience an extended period of natural infertility in the vast majority of cases.  Those who do not follow the ecological requirements cannot reasonably  hope for the natural side effects.

John and Sheila Kippley