The NFP Podcast

What happens when a secret carried for years becomes a doorway to healing?

As we continue our “Life Is a Gift” series, Amylynn and Emily welcome Vicky, a wife and mother who shares her deeply personal experience of abortion, the shame she carried in silence, and her journey toward God’s mercy.

With honesty and courage, Vicky reflects on the fear that shaped her decision, the effects on her marriage and family, and the healing she and her husband experienced together through a Rachel’s Vineyard retreat. She shares how returning to the Catholic faith, receiving the sacraments, and encountering compassionate support helped her begin to move beyond secrecy and shame.

Today, Vicky volunteers with abortion healing ministries and participates in 40 Days for Life, offering others the hope she once needed herself.

Together, we explore the importance of talking with our children about sexuality, dignity, and faith; recognizing the wounds others may carry quietly; and accompanying those who are hurting with truth and tenderness.

Whether abortion is part of your story, someone you love has been affected, or you want to better understand how to offer compassionate support, this conversation is an invitation to remember: you are loved, you are not beyond God’s mercy, and healing is possible.

Listener note: This episode includes a personal account of abortion and discussion of grief and shame.

Resources:

1. Project Rachel: https://www.projectrachel.ca/

2. Rachel's Vineyard: https://www.rachelsvineyard.org/

3. Abortion Pill Reversal Hotline: Call 1-877-883-8497 or 1-855-209-4848 for 24/7 assistance.

4. PROLIFE Across AMERICA Pregnancy Hotline: Call 1-800-366-7773 for immediate pregnancy or post-abortive support

5. Spanish-Speaking Support Line: Call 1-888-434-2748.

What does it mean to have a good death?

In this episode of The NFP Podcast, Amylynn and Emily continue their conversation about the sacredness of human life from conception to natural death with Sheila Pursell, Director of the Northwest Arkansas Respect Life Council and a longtime advocate for the dignity of human life.

Sheila invites us to consider an aspect of family planning we don't often talk about: planning for the end of life.

What does the Catholic Church actually teach about end-of-life care? When is medical treatment morally required—and when can we allow the natural process of dying to take its course? What is the difference between proportionate and disproportionate care? And how can we prepare now so that someone we trust can advocate for us if we're no longer able to speak for ourselves?

Together, Amylynn, Emily, and Sheila discuss euthanasia and assisted suicide, the difference between prolonging life and prolonging the dying process, the importance of food, water, pain management and palliative care, and why a health care proxy may be one of the most important end-of-life decisions we make.

But this conversation goes deeper than medical decisions.

It's about human dignity.

Our worth does not disappear when we can no longer work, walk, speak, remember, or care for ourselves. We are not valuable because of what we produce or because we remain independent. We are valuable because we are human beings created in the image and likeness of God.

And sometimes allowing another person to care for us—and allowing ourselves to care for them—is one of the final ways we learn what love really means.

Sheila also challenges listeners to consider the lonely and forgotten elderly in their own communities. Could visiting someone in a nursing home or volunteering with hospice become a ministry for you or your family?

This is a conversation about death—but even more, it is a conversation about how we value life, how we love one another, and how we prepare to accompany the people we love all the way home.

In this episode:

• What Catholics mean by a “natural death”

• Why human dignity never depends upon someone's “quality of life”

• Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide

• True compassion versus simply eliminating suffering

• Proportionate vs. disproportionate medical care

• When declining or withdrawing treatment can be morally appropriate

• Food, water, pain management and palliative care

• Why you should consider choosing a health care proxy

• How to choose someone who can advocate for you

• The spiritual privilege of accompanying someone through death

• Serving the elderly, disabled and forgotten members of our communities

• Having end-of-life conversations with your spouse and family before a crisis occurs

Because being pro-life doesn't end at birth.

Every human life is sacred—from conception to natural death—and every person deserves to be loved and accompanied until the very end.

Resources:

1. In emergency situations, an NCBC ethicist is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by calling 215-877-2660. NCBC ethicists do not provide legal or medical advice.

2. NCBC website: https://www.ncbcenter.org/

3. Catholic Healthcare Proxy Paperwork: https://www.dor.org/tasks/sites/home/assets/File/Charities/Health%20Care%20Proxy%20-%20Catholic%20Guidelines.pdf

What happens when you do everything “right”—learn NFP, seek restorative reproductive care, pursue answers, pray faithfully—and the baby you long for still doesn’t come?

In this deeply honest episode of The NFP Podcast, Emily and Amylynn sit down with Paula Gallagher, founder of Catholic Infertility Coaching, to talk about the physical, emotional, marital, and spiritual realities of infertility.

Paula shares her own journey through more than a decade of primary infertility: learning to chart with the Creighton Model, receiving diagnoses including endometriosis and hormonal concerns, undergoing surgery and years of treatment, and eventually confronting the painful reality that medicine may not provide every answer. Along the way, infertility became about far more than achieving a pregnancy—it challenged Paula’s understanding of her body, her identity, her marriage, and even her relationship with God.

Together, Emily, Amylynn, and Paula have an honest conversation about the questions many women carry quietly: Why would God give me the desire for motherhood and not fulfill it? Is it okay to be angry with God? How do I celebrate someone else’s pregnancy while grieving what I don’t have? Do I have to attend the baby shower? When is it okay to stop pursuing treatment? And who am I if motherhood doesn’t happen the way I imagined?

Paula also offers practical wisdom for navigating pregnancy announcements, baby showers, insensitive comments, friendships, family relationships, and the loneliness that can accompany infertility—especially within Catholic communities where large families and openness to life are so deeply valued.

But this episode is ultimately about something even deeper: learning that infertility can be part of your story without becoming your entire identity.

Today, Paula accompanies other women through Catholic Infertility Coaching, offering the kind of support she wishes she had during the hardest years of her own journey. She and her husband have also recently welcomed a son through adoption, entering a beautiful new chapter of their family’s story.

Paula reminds us that surrender does not mean pretending the cross doesn’t hurt. Grief and gratitude can exist together. We can desire the good of motherhood while still recognizing the goodness already present in our lives. And even when God's plan looks nothing like the one we carefully imagined for ourselves, He can still bring tremendous fruit from our suffering.

As Paula beautifully shares: “The Lord can make your life abundant no matter what that life looks like.”

If you are walking through infertility—or love someone who is—this conversation is for you.

Paula is the founder of Catholic Infertility Coaching and the author of the forthcoming book Navigating Infertility: The Catholic Woman’s Guide to Hope and Healing, scheduled for publication by Ave Maria Press in March 2027.

Resources:

1. Creighton Model: https://www.fertilitycare.org/about-fcca/

2. Paul Gallagher's Website: https://www.catholicinfertilitycoaching.com/

3. Follow Paula on Instagram: @catholic.infertility.coaching https://www.instagram.com/catholic.infertility.coaching/

4. Pre-order Paula's New Book: https://www.avemariapress.com/products/navigating-infertility

What does it really mean to believe that every human life is sacred—from the moment of conception until the moment of natural death?

In this episode of The NFP Podcast, Amy and Emily welcome back Fr. Jason Tyler, bioethicist for the Diocese of Little Rock, for a conversation about the dignity of human life at its very beginning, at its end, and throughout every moment in between.

Beginning with the Incarnation, Fr. Tyler explores why the Church places such profound importance on the moment of conception and how Catholic theology and human biology help us understand the beginning of a new human life. The conversation also considers how this understanding shapes the way Catholics approach difficult questions surrounding contraception, miscarriage, IVF, embryonic research, and the language we use when speaking about life in its earliest stages.

Then the conversation turns to the other end of life: natural death. What does the Church mean when she speaks about the separation of body and soul? Why does the Church oppose euthanasia while still allowing families, in some circumstances, to discontinue disproportionate medical treatment? And what does it look like to accompany someone through suffering rather than trying to control the moment of death?

Amy also shares deeply personal reflections on being present during the deaths of loved ones and the surprising beauty, intimacy, and even peace that can exist alongside grief and suffering. Together, Amy and Fr. Tyler reflect on redemptive suffering, memento mori, the corporal work of accompanying the dying, and what we lose when modern life separates us from the realities of birth, aging, suffering, and death.

Ultimately, this episode is an invitation to recover a distinctly Catholic vision of the human person: life is not something we manufacture, own, or control. It is a gift entrusted to us by God.

From conception to natural death, every human life is worthy of dignity, protection, love, and care.

Join Amy and Emily for this important beginning to a month of conversations about the gift of fertility, the gift of human life, and what it means to truly live as a people of life.

Resources:

1. Fr. Jason Tyler on The NFP Podcast: https://youtu.be/Ux_T8oM4fcg?si=pT8z8qRKGGkTOSee

2. National Catholic Bioethics Center: https://www.ncbcenter.org/contact-us

3. Fr. Tyler's Secrets of Star Trek Podcast- • Sisko’s Fate Revisited & Starfleet Academy...

What happens when you and your spouse have prayerfully discerned that now is not the time to welcome another child—but then the fertile window arrives, desire increases, and suddenly that decision doesn't seem so certain?

Is this a genuine invitation from God to reconsider, or are we allowing the desires of the moment to override a decision made in prayer and peace?

In this candid episode of The NFP Podcast, Amylynn and Emily explore one of the more challenging aspects of Natural Family Planning: honoring discernment when practicing self-mastery requires sacrifice.

Drawing on Catholic teaching, Ignatian principles of discernment, and their own experiences in marriage, they discuss the relationship between openness to life and responsible parenthood—and why these two beautiful responsibilities should never be separated.

Together, they explore:

- Why the fertile window may not be the best time to reconsider a previously discerned decision to avoid pregnancy.

- The difference between genuine openness to life and allowing heightened desire to direct our decisions.

- How the virtue of chastity and the practice of self-mastery strengthen marriage.

- Why the needs of our existing children, our health, and our current season of life deserve thoughtful consideration.

- How couples can revisit their discernment with greater peace and intentionality.

- Why abstinence, though difficult, can become an opportunity for spiritual growth and deeper marital love.

This conversation isn't about diminishing the goodness of sexual intimacy or the extraordinary gift of a new child. It's about recognizing that both are gifts worthy of thoughtful, prayerful discernment.

NFP isn't merely fertility awareness. It's an invitation to grow in virtue.

Whether you're navigating the challenges of periodic abstinence, wondering if your family is complete, longing for another baby, or simply seeking to live your marriage more faithfully, this episode invites you to consider what it means to love responsibly.

Join Amylynn and Emily for an honest conversation about desire, sacrifice, discernment, and the beautiful—and sometimes difficult—call to seek God's will in marriage.

Subscribe to The NFP Podcast for new episodes every Wednesday.

Have a question or a story to share? We'd love to hear from you at [email protected]. Love responsibly!

Resources:

1. Fr. Tad: https://youtu.be/yzTyMxERhlg?si=blOUB8hcSj_BUOeF

2. Fr. Mark: https://youtu.be/37W_ICkzsz4?si=diulSr6sHAMQACnN

3. Ignatian principles of discernment: https://www.discerninghearts.com/catholic-podcasts/dos1-fr-timothy-gallagher-discernment-of-spirits-part-1-introduction-to-the-spiritual-exercises-of-st-igantius-of-loyola/

In this special episode of The NFP Podcast, Emily and Amylynn sit down with Lauren, Mary-Grace, and Claire, the three oldest daughters of the Gramlich family, for an honest conversation about what it was like to grow up in a home where menstrual cycles, fertility, and women's health were talked about openly.

Their mother began these conversations when they were young, answering questions honestly and eventually teaching her daughters how to chart their cycles. What began as simple lessons about their changing bodies became something much deeper: a lifelong understanding of their health, femininity, fertility, and dignity.

The sisters share three different journeys. Lauren discusses beginning her cycle at a young age, later navigating endometriosis and polycystic ovaries, and how years of charting helped her recognize patterns in her health before eventually entering marriage and becoming pregnant. Mary-Grace shares her experience with irregular cycles and polycystic ovaries and how her fascination with fertility awareness eventually influenced her academic interests and desire to work in women's health and bioethics. Claire explains how charting—even without significant reproductive health problems—has helped her better understand her body and become more compassionate toward herself.

Together, they reflect on what happened when they left home and discovered how many of their peers knew very little about their own cycles—and how often severe menstrual pain, irregular cycles, and hormonal problems were simply accepted as normal.

The conversation also goes somewhere we don't often hear young women speak so candidly: dating, chastity, attraction, and self-mastery. Lauren and Mary-Grace explain how understanding the hormonal changes occurring throughout their cycles helped them better understand their own desires, respect their bodies, and navigate romantic relationships with greater intentionality.

And perhaps most beautifully, the sisters reflect on the gift their mother gave them—and how they hope to pass that gift on to another generation.

For the mother wondering whether she waited too long to begin these conversations, and for the young woman who feels like she doesn't understand her own body, Claire offers a wonderfully simple encouragement: don't worry about catching up. Just start.

Because your cycle isn't merely about whether you can become pregnant.

It's part of your health. It's part of your story. And it's worth getting to know.

Join Emily and Amylynn for this beautiful intergenerational conversation about mothers and daughters, puberty, cycle charting, reproductive health, dating, fertility, faith, and learning to see the female body as something beautifully and intentionally created.

Resources:

1. Creighton Model Charting Method: https://creightonmodel.com/

2. What Women Aren't Told: Cycles and The Pill w/Dr Sarah Hill | E271 Lila Rose Show: https://youtu.be/LFrGtyOZJtA?si=X5eW-e8fpJejSSZa

3. How Eucharistic Faith Aided Recovery of My Eating Disorder: https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/how-eucharistic-faith-aided-recovery-of-my-eating-disorder

4. The Catholic Table: Finding Joy Where Food and Faith Meet: https://a.co/d/0g78oCui

5. Made for This: The Catholic Mom's Guide to Birth: https://a.co/d/09TVN5yS

6. The Care and Keeping of You 1: The Body Book for Younger Girls (American Girl® Wellbeing): https://a.co/d/0eNDP8nD

What if infertility isn't really "unexplained"?

In this episode of The NFP Podcast, Emily welcomes Naomi Davis, Creighton Model FertilityCare Practitioner, NaProTECHNOLOGY Medical Consultant, and co-creator of The Fertile Hive, a new online community designed to support women and couples navigating infertility through restorative reproductive medicine.

Naomi shares her own journey with irregular cycles and PCOS, how she discovered NaProTECHNOLOGY, and why she is passionate about helping women uncover the root causes of infertility instead of simply managing symptoms or being told their only option is IVF.

Together, Emily and Naomi discuss:

Why so many cases labeled "unexplained infertility" actually have identifiable causes

How the Creighton Model serves as the foundation for NaProTECHNOLOGY

The importance of understanding cervical mucus and the menstrual cycle as vital health signs

The strengths—and limitations—of today's fertility technology, apps, and wearable devices

Why education should always accompany technology so women understand what their bodies are communicating

How NaPro physicians use individualized hormone testing, ultrasound, and restorative treatments to address underlying health conditions

The different levels of NaProTECHNOLOGY training and why surgical expertise matters

How The Fertile Hive provides trustworthy education, expert guidance, and a supportive community for women seeking natural, restorative fertility care

Whether you're just beginning to ask questions about your fertility, have recently received an infertility diagnosis, or have been searching for answers for years, this conversation offers hope, practical guidance, and encouragement that you are not alone.

God designed the female body with incredible wisdom. Every woman deserves to understand her fertility, receive compassionate care, and have access to treatments that seek to restore health rather than simply bypass it.

Join us for this encouraging conversation about faith, science, restorative medicine, and the hope that comes from treating the whole person—not just the diagnosis.

References:

1. The Fertile Hive- https://thefertilehive.com/

2. The Creighton Model FertilityCare System- https://creightonmodel.com/

3. FertilityCare Charting System- https://www.fertilitycare.org/

How effective is Natural Family Planning—and why do some couples experience unexpected pregnancies despite faithfully following their method?

In this thought-provoking episode of The NFP Podcast, Amy and Emily welcome Allison Dreher—former Billings Ovulation Method instructor, international speaker, fertility awareness advocate, and women's health educator—for an honest conversation about one of the most important (and often least discussed) topics in the NFP community.

Together, they explore the science behind cervical fluid, why it is one of the body's most valuable biomarkers of fertility, and how understanding the body's natural signs can empower women to better understand their reproductive health. Allison also introduces Isvara, a new fertility awareness app developed through the Saint Augustine Foundation that focuses on body literacy, cycle tracking, and connecting women with restorative reproductive healthcare providers and certified NFP instructors.

But this conversation goes far beyond charting.

Amy, Emily, and Allison candidly discuss the emotional realities many couples experience when practicing NFP—including the grief, frustration, and isolation that can accompany an unexpected pregnancy or years of abstinence while trying to avoid pregnancy for serious reasons. Together they reflect on why these stories deserve more compassionate discussion within the NFP community and how we can better support couples carrying these crosses.

Throughout the episode, the hosts also examine why ovulation is a vital sign of women's health, the importance of body literacy from adolescence through menopause, the differences between various fertility awareness methods, and why learning to recognize your body's unique patterns can deepen both your confidence and your conversations with healthcare professionals.

Whether you're brand new to fertility awareness or you've been charting for years, this episode offers an encouraging reminder that understanding your body is about far more than family planning—it's about recognizing the incredible wisdom built into the female body and learning to approach it with confidence, curiosity, and compassion.

Join us for a conversation that combines cutting-edge science, practical wisdom, and heartfelt encouragement for every woman seeking to better understand her fertility journey.

Resources:

1. URL to the web based platform for Evaria: https://evaria.cwcnfp.org

2. Fertility Awareness 101- https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRlFvKP4gYQU&si=KIUKxF_y-xx2KaI9

3. Body Literacy 101 videos- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQUsSo8B32K0

4. St. Augustine Foundation- https://www.thestaugustinefoundation.com/

How do faithful parents prepare their children to navigate today's confusion surrounding identity, sexuality, and relationships without fear?

In this powerful episode of The NFP Podcast, Amy and Emily welcome Dr. Anna Samuel—academic director of CanaVox, former executive director of the Witherspoon Institute, and co-author of Courageous Conversations: Tips for Talking to Your Kids About Sexual Identity and Attraction.

Together they explore why conversations about sexuality are uniquely challenging in today's culture, why parents must be the first and most trusted voices in their children's lives, and how mothers and fathers can confidently lead their families with both truth and compassion.

Drawing from philosophy, developmental psychology, natural law, and years of practical experience helping parents around the world, Dr. Samuel offers a refreshing and deeply hopeful vision for forming children who know who they are, understand God's design for the human person, and can engage today's culture with clarity and charity.

Throughout the conversation, Amy and Emily unpack some of the book's most practical insights, including the importance of establishing a child's identity before cultural confusion takes root, explaining difficult topics in age-appropriate ways, protecting childhood innocence without keeping children ignorant, and preparing teenagers to confidently navigate the realities they'll encounter in school, friendships, dating, and beyond.

Resources:

1. Courageous Conversations: Tips for Talking to Kids About Sexual Identity and Attraction, Parenting Guide - https://a.co/d/0dcYayK6

2. Canavox- https://canavox.com/

3. Sex, Gender and Identity Video- https://vimeo.com/266942512?share=copy&fl=cl&fe=ci

4. The Witherspoon Institute- https://winst.org/

How accurately can an at-home fertility monitor actually tell you when you're ovulating?

In this episode of The NFP Podcast, Amy sits down with Dr. Thomas Bouchard, family physician, clinical assistant professor at the University of Calgary, and researcher in menstrual cycle monitoring, to unpack his newly published research validating the Mira fertility monitor against ultrasound-confirmed ovulation and serum hormone measurements.

Dr. Bouchard takes us behind the scenes of the study, which followed regularly cycling women through intensive hormone testing, bloodwork, and follicular ultrasounds. The result is a fascinating look at what is actually happening inside the body when our fertility monitors show estrogen, LH, and progesterone changes.

And one of the findings may challenge the way you think about the familiar “LH peak.”

Amy and Dr. Bouchard discuss how ovulation can sometimes occur while LH is still rising, why an obvious LH peak isn't a perfectly precise marker for the moment of ovulation, and how quantitative hormone monitors can reveal changes that simpler “low, high, peak” systems may miss.

They also explore the value of progesterone (PdG) for confirming that ovulation has occurred, the importance of first-morning urine and testing timing, and why hormone levels in urine don't necessarily correspond perfectly with a blood sample taken many hours later.

For NFP users, the conversation raises an especially important question: Does having more hormone data make avoiding or achieving pregnancy easier?

Dr. Bouchard explains why a fertility monitor should not be confused with an NFP method. The monitor provides biological information—but couples still need an evidence-based framework for identifying the fertile window and applying that information to their family-planning intentions. He discusses the Marquette Method, the importance of multiple fertility indicators, and why couples who are highly motivated to avoid pregnancy may benefit from more conservative rules and guidance from a trained instructor.

Finally, Amy and Dr. Bouchard look toward the future of fertility technology—including the possibility of continuous hormone monitoring—and ask whether more data will necessarily translate into better decisions.

Whether you use Mira, Clearblue, the Marquette Method, another fertility-awareness method, or simply want to better understand the incredible hormonal dynamics surrounding ovulation, this conversation offers a fascinating glimpse into what the latest research is teaching us about reading the language of the female body.

The bottom line: Fertility monitors are giving women unprecedented access to their hormonal patterns—but understanding those numbers, and using them responsibly for family planning, requires more than simply waiting for a monitor to say “peak.”

Resources:

1. Recent journal article: https://www.rbmojournal.com/article/S1472-6483(26)00422-0/fulltext

2. Learn the Marquette Method: https://www.vitaefertility.com/

3. Marquette Method on The NFP Podcast: https://youtu.be/--jJB7m5Bfs?si=oDrqaNBavE5oN0Rn