The Ovulation Method

A study of the secretions of the vagina by two doctors from Australia, Lyn Billings MD and John Billings MD, has finally revealed a way to truly control our own fertility, through knowledge of how our body works. It is called the Ovulation Method because it teaches us to know when we are ovulating. The doctors found out that a woman's secretions give a clear indication of when she is fertile. The cycle goes like this: the woman menstruates; after she has finished menstruating there is an indefinite period during which she has no secretions at all, called the "dry days." These are followed by several days in which there are secretions which increase; during this time the woman is fertile because the secretions keep the sperm alive and conduct them upward. She will ovulate in time for the sperm to reach the egg. The secretions become slippery and will stretch without breaking, and then become egg-white. On this day the woman ovulates. Counting this day as day one, the woman should count a total of four days. For four days the egg is passing out of her body and she is still fertile. After these four days the egg is gone and it does not matter whether there are more secretions or not; the woman can't get pregnant because the egg is gone. Menstruation begins exactly 14 days after the egg white day, the ovulation day, for most women. This method of detection should be tried by a woman for a month or two without intercourse until she becomes familiar with it because the semen will confuse her at first. After that, since the semen is different, the woman can tell the difference. The two doctors state that women do not ovulate twice except on the same day.

Widely fluctuating periods are always a result of a variation in the number of dry days. It is possible to detect ovulation using this method regardless of whether the woman is regular or irregulat, whether she has been pregnant recently or is nursing and has no periods, or whether she is in the menopause. If she finds the stringy secretions followed by the egg-white secretions, she is ovulating.

Now this information can be used to pinpoint the time of fertility for those who wish to abstain. They should avoid all contact between each other's genitals because it is possible to become pregnant even if penetration does not occur or even if withdrawal is practiced. The period of abstention would last about a week. The other weeks are safe. Reliability of abstention with the ovulation method is good. Only 1.5 pregnancies occur for 100 woman/years, compared to one pregnancy per 100 woman/years with the Pill. This information can also be used to determine when a woman is fertile so some other form of conception control can be used, such as condom, foam, or diaphragm. It is not necessary to use some other form of conception control during the weeks when the woman is not fertile. It may very well increase the reliability of other forms of conception control because a woman will not be tempted not to use contraception on days when she thinks she is not fertile but really is, the time when many accidental pregnancies occur. In the doctors' studies failure of the ovulation method was traced to a failure to use the method properly., i.e. to distrust its evidence and act contrary to it. The ovulation method can be used with any form of conception control except the Pill because the Pill changes the secretions and suppresses ovulation. A woman can learn to use it while wearing an IUD in preparation for having it removed so she can control her own fertility rather than depending on a doctor to be willing to do it for her. It is excellent for women's self-help clinics to teach. It will not make pharmaceutical houses rich and can be used in the absence of technology. The two doctors recommend that women teach each other how to use it. It is easy to use and will work for the poor. It will not mess up your body ecology. The only disadvantage I can find to it is that you cannot get pregnant "accidentally" anymore. You know when you are fertile even when you don't want to know.

The ovulation method can be used for several other things. If you want to get pregnant and are having trouble it can pinpoint ovulation for you. If you want to try for a baby girl or boy it will tell you when to have sex and when to abstain to increase the chances of having a child of the sex you want. The method of sex selection described on the reverse side is 85% reliable.

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