I have a review copy of a relatively new informational DVD on natural methods of family planning from the Diocese of Rockville Center, NY. So here’s my review.

About the DVD:
Title: “Plan Your Family…Naturally”
Director/ Producer: John Romanowsky
Sponsored by: Diocese of Rockville, NY in association with Order of Malta
Running Time: 22 minutes

Synopsis: The title is pretty much self explanatory, but what approach does John Romanowsky take to explain natural methods of family planning? Shot in a basic documentary interview format,  Drs. Jennifer and Matthew DeMarco are joined by Chris and Dan Volpe and Damon and Melanie Owens, married couples who share their own experience of discovering, learning, and living NFP. These couples give a heartfelt, real-life witness to its effectiveness, challenges, and many benefits-practical, relational, and spiritual-as they cooperate with God’s natural plan for married sexuality.

Strengths: I agree with the promotional web site’s description. This video is contemporary and engaging. As I lament in another entry on marketing NFP, quality contemporary NFP marketing materials are few and far between, for many reasons (lack of connections, know-how, but usually lack of funds and initiative). While there are a few visual and artistic weaknesses, the production value (including often looked-over hair, lighting, and makeup) is quite good, and much higher than the usual efforts. The couples were well spoken, sincere, joyful and told their stories in an honest an engaging way. The DeMarco’s being the core narrators of the DVD were a real asset, not only for their medical credentials, but their friendly and intelligent presence. Not to be sexist, but I’ve found having a female medical professional who is well spoken is a tremendous asset to marketing NFP. Having an engaging male medical professional is certainly a plus, but having a woman doctor just gives that extra boost of confidence to females, who are oftentimes the one first looking into NFP and/or making the initial decision to take a class. (Having said that, I also think it’s important to market more materials specifically towards men, as they usually have a different visual vocabulary.) The DVD’s “Resources” section was a good idea, and the medical illustrations were top notch–very well done and comprehensive without appearing overly complicated.

Weaknesses: Having the opening shot be an atomic microscopic photo of sperm swimming definitely reiterates the the theme of life, but may be a little bit of a shock to those bringing rhythm-method, 17 sibling stereotype baggage to their first viewing of the DVD. A better opening shot might have been something less biological and something more relational/ emotional. Conversely, the description on web site described NFP in a typical “NFP is as effective as the pill for postponing pregnancy” phraseology without referencing the use of NFP to achieve pregnancy or treat women’s wellness issues. This is one of the major downfalls of current NFP marketing materials, and leads to misunderstanding of NFP from both pro-contraceptive people as well as the Providentialists and Quiverfull camp. While the DVD certainly is very contemporary, it would have been helpful to have a young adult couple share their thoughts, doubts and joys about NFP. It was very good to have older, more established couples share their wisdom and experience, but most of the people going through marriage preparations programs and pre-Cana are young adults. Young adults appreciate the witness of older married couples, but hearing the testimony of other young adult couples makes the reality more concrete and relatable. Along those same lines, more resources, especially Internet resources and web sites could have been added, like “NFP on Facebook” or One More Soul or NFP Blogs (shameless self-plug).  Also, Damon & Melanie Owens are rock stars of the marriage prep and NFP worlds, being a well known Theology of the Body speaker/co-founders of the New Jersey NFP association, and should have gotten some props for what they do, or at the very least a title bar under their initial interview with their titles. Lastly, I wish it was about 15-20 minutes longer, with a little background to NFP for health reasons.

Recommendations: Though this DVD has some weaknesses, it is by far one of the best NFP introductions out there. It should be used in marriage prep programs if there isn’t already a quality introduction talk/ course for NFP. People who should have at least one copy (if not several): Diocesan Evangelization Directors, Family Life Directors & NFP Coordinators, DREs, Adult Faith Formation Coordinators at larger parishes, every parish nurse, all high school youth ministers, and every seminarian, deacon and parish pastor.

Have we got things covered?Have you gotten a chance to view it? What did you think? To order, click link at the top of the page, btw.