Billings, J. J. (1981). Ovulation method of contraception. The Medical Journal of Australia, 1(1), 45-46. https://doi.org/10.5694/j.1326-5377.1981.tb135299.x
Billings JJ. Ovulation method of contraception. Med J Aust. 1981;1(1):45-46. doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.1981.tb135299.x
Billings, J. J. "Ovulation method of contraception." The Medical Journal of Australia, vol. 1, no. 1, 1981, pp. 45-46.
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St Vincent's HospitalMelbourne
RRM Academy Synopsis
Billings argues the ovulation method excludes barrier contraception
A 1981 letter in The Medical Journal of Australia states that the ovulation method relies on mucus patterns and excludes barrier contraception. The author reports hormone-confirmed ovulation in cycles of only 20 or 21 days. The letter also cites a recent United States trial with a method-related pregnancy rate of 0.4%.
Key Findings
The letter answers an earlier letter on the ovulation method, states that many couples choose it to move away from contraception, and calls combining it with a diaphragm a move backwards.
Billings says the rules call for avoiding coitus during menstruation to avoid pregnancy, since flow may hide warning mucus; a diaphragm holding back the flow would also hold back the mucus.
Billings reports cycles of only 20 or 21 days in which hormone measurements confirmed ovulation and the luteal phase had normal length, and argues that counting days cannot reliably predict ovulation.
The letter states that a basic infertile pattern of dry days or unchanging mucus identifies infertility despite vaginal discharge; the method requires no prolonged abstinence when persistent discharge follows contraceptive medication.
Billings attributes some couples' hesitation to unfamiliarity with the method's reliability and cites a recent United States trial with a method-related pregnancy rate of 0.4%.
Interpretation
This is a one-page reply in the correspondence section of The Medical Journal of Australia, dated January 10, 1981. The letter answers an earlier letter on the ovulation method and states the author's position on how the method operates. The author supports that position with clinical observations of cycles with confirmed ovulation and with the result of a recent trial in the United States.
RRM Context
The Billings Ovulation Method is a fertility awareness-based method within restorative reproductive medicine (RRM). RRM follows the cycle chart and works with the body's own functions. Cervical mucus gives a woman and her clinician a daily record of the cycle. The record supports an evaluation of ovulation before treatment begins.
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