For National NFP Awareness Week, Dr. Gregory McKernan of Vitae Family Health Care in West Des Moines joins The Catholic Morning Show to explain what natural family planning actually is — and isn't. He describes how his practice uses the Creighton Model FertilityCare System and NaPro Technology to restore fertility and treat the root causes of reproductive health issues rather than suppress them. It's a timely, practical look at Catholic teaching on marriage, fertility and responsible parenthood.
Why NFP Isn't "Catholic Birth Control" Dr. Gregory McKernan, a family medicine physician at Vitae Family Health Care in West Des Moines, joins the show for National NFP Awareness Week (July 19–25, 2026) — timed each year to the anniversary of Pope St. Paul VI's 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae. Dr. McKernan pushes back on the idea that natural family planning is simply "Catholic birth control," explaining that a fertile body is a healthy body, whether or not a couple is trying to conceive. He walks through how Vitae evaluates and treats fertility for both men and women — including precise cycle charting, targeted hormone testing built on Pope Paul VI Institute lab standards, and fertility-sparing surgical options — rather than treating fertility itself as something to shut off.
About Vitae Family Health Care Vitae Family Health Care (the name draws on both "life" and Humanae Vitae) is located at 1355 50th St., Suite 100, in West Des Moines. The clinic can be reached at (515) 225-3261 and is also active on Instagram and Facebook.
This Year's NFP Awareness Week Theme "Natural Family Planning: Designed by God. Guided by Love. Open to Life." — USCCB, 2026
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