Biography

Understanding the Billings Method- How it works

UNDERSTANDING THE BILLINGS METHOD-HOW IT WORKS.

The Billings Method is a natural method of family planning that neither makes use of the pill, coil, condom, iud or withdrawal all of which are artificial methods of family planning. The discovery was made by one Dr. John Billings who developed the Mucus Sign of Ovulation as the sole indicator of the combined fertility of husband and wife.

The Billings Method teaches a woman to recognize in her body one sign- which tells her clearly and without doubt that her Ovulation is coming soon. This is the Mucus Sign. She can avail of that sign in order to preselect the sex of her baby or achieve or avoid pregnancy if necessary. Once a woman is

able to identify the time of Ovulation and understand its significance, she can do anything she desires with the knowledge.

In other to fully understand the billings method, one must truly appreciate the concept of cycle, menses, ovulation, conception, the different body signs- fertile and infertile signs and how to chart the different body signs.

WHAT IS A CYCLE?

A Cycle can simply be referred to as the period from the first day of one menses to the first of the next menses. For example if a woman saw her menses on January 12, 2015 and another menses started on February 8, 2015- from January 12, 2015 to February 8, 2015 makes one Cycle; a 28- day Cycle when one calculates the days in between. A Cycle must not be confused as a month to month thing because in charting, the example above is charted on one line even though it spans into February 8.

It is imperative to add that the Billings Method Way of family planning is an indispensable tool in explaining this concept. This is because the Billings Method works with a woman?s body signs- that is her Mucus sign and the need for a woman to know and chart these different signs is important in other for her to fully understand her body both for the purpose of sex determination or achieving or preventing pregnancy.

WHAT IS MENSES?

The menses is referred to as the breakdown of the ?nest?. In a cycle for example before the female egg is released, the uterus makes a nest by thickening its lining/walls to prepare for a possible pregnancy. However, when there is no conception;

1. The egg dies on the same day, usually within about 12hours of the time it was released(ovulation). It then breaks up and disappears.

2. The nest immediately begins to breakdown. It takes about two weeks for this breakdown to be completed.

3. The broken down nest then leaves the body as menses.

The menses occurs about 2weeks after the peak-that is about 10-16 Days after the peak.

THE IRREGULAR MENSES

A woman?s cycle is referred to as her menstrual month. This cycle can vary between 28, 31, or even 50 days. The cycle can even be as short as 19 days. It sometimes varies due to some imbalance in the woman?s system, sickness or even emotional distress. However this variation from one cycle to another can also be normal. This irregularity in a woman?s cycle is what is known as the irregular menses. It is comforting to know that billing method works very well with a woman whose menses are completely irregular.

WHAT IS OVULATION? Ovulation means egg release. It is the release of the female egg(Ovum) from the egg sac(Ovary). It is important to note that Ovulation is different from Menstruation and cannot be used interchangeably.- whereby Ovulation is the release of an egg(Ovum) from the female egg sac(Ovary), menstruation is the breakdown of the nest- that is the uterine lining of the uterus whereby conception did not take place. The day of Ovulation is referred to as ?the Peak? .

WHAT IS THE OCCURRENCE OF OVULATION?

Ovulation occurs on ONLY one 24 hour day in every Cycle. At times, 2 or 3 eggs are released within the same Cycle as in the case of twins or triplets but they are all released within the same 24 hours. It is worthy to note that Ovulation NEVER occurs on two separate days in one Cycle.

It is also imperative to note that a woman is unaware of the exact moment of egg-release, but the sign in her body tells her that her eggsac is preparing for approaching ovulation.

When Ovulation occurs, it is referred to as ?The Peak?. And the chart sign for it is a double red X.

UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF MENSES AND OVULATION IN BREASFEEDERS.

In breastfeeding mothers, the first ovulation usually occurs before the first menses. This is the reason why conception sometimes takes place without any menses between one pregnancy and the next. Hence the woman becomes pregnant at the first ovulation and there are no menses because she is already pregnant. This can happen as early as six weeks after a woman gave birth to a baby. This can happen because it is not the menses that causes ovulation but rather it is after ovulation ? when there is no conception that the menses can occur.

Billings method is based on ovulation and not menses hence the need for a woman to understand her body signs thoroughly and be able to know when she ovulates in each cycle.

THE CONCEPT OF MENSES AND SEXUAL INTERCOURSE

Most women cannot conceive after having intercourse during menses but a small percentage of women with very short cycles can conceive. In a short cycle of perhaps 23 or 24 days, there may be no early dry days. The early pap starts immediately after the menses. With a still shorter cycle, the early pap may be present during the menses. This is why intercourse should be avoided during the bright red menses if conception is not desired but during the last days of the menses, it is easy to recognize pap.

Understanding this concept can be very beneficial to the childless woman who has a very short cycle. With a very short cycle of about 19 to 21days, conception can occur only after intercourse near the end of the menses this is because the peak itself may occur at the end of the menses. In a short cycle, the new nest is already forming in the uterus shortly after the menses begins and is ready to receive the baby when it arrives.

WHAT IS CONCEPTION?

Conception takes place in one of the two tubes as soon as a male sperm unites with the female egg. Usually millions of male sperms are introduced into the vagina during sexual intercourse, when however, the head of a sperm enters/penetrates the egg, we say conception has occurred in other words fertilization has taken place.

THE CONCEPT OF SPERM SURVIVAL AND CONCEPTION.

It is only the presence or recent presence of fertile mucus that can give sperms the power to fertilize and cause conception. If fertile mucus is absent at intercourse and has not been present at intercourse and has not been present in the last 3 days, then conception cannot occur.

Evidence also shows that sperms must be present in the woman?s body for some hours before they are capable of fertilizing the egg and fertile mucus must be present at that time.

Not only must fertile mucus be present but also it must have been present for long enough(that is several hours before sexual intercourse) to change the environment of the vagina and make it suitable for sperms. This depends on the quality of the mucus.

WHAT IS THE MALE SPERM- THE SPERMATOZOA?

The Spermatozoa are formed from parent cells found in the testicles. Spermatozoa are continually being formed in the male testicles from puberty till old age. They undergo several changes before becoming mature.

Every cell in the human body, with the exception of the egg cells in the woman and the spermatozoa in the man, contains 46 chromosomes. 44 of these chromosomes control all our physical characteristics and our body functions. These are called autosomes. The other two determine our sex. A man?s body however has 44 autosomes, an ?X? and a ?Y? Chromosome.

It is worthy to note that the only cells in the body which do not have 46 chromosomes are the egg cells in a woman and the spermatozoa in the man. These two kinds of cells have only 23 chromosomes each. That is 22 chromosomes in each testicles and a sex chromosome(X or Y), comprising 22 autosomes and an ?X? chromosome and 22 autosomes and a ?Y? chromosome.

In this way two equal populations of spermatozoa form, one population of spermatozoa has 22 autosomes and an ?X? chromosome, the other 22 autosomes and a ?Y? chromosome. If a spermatozoon carrying the ?Y? chromosome fertilizes the egg, the new cell will have 44 autosomes, an ?X? and a ?Y? chromosome. The baby resulting from this will be a boy.

It therefore means that it is the man that determines the sex of a child because he alone has the ?Y? sex chromosome.

It is imperative to add in this discus that the sperm is usually very sensitive to its environment and unless it is released in a favorable environment, it soon dies after 3hours. The environment of the vagina is bad for it and it is useless for conception unless it is protected by fertile mucus. When it is protected, then it can be fully alive and able to fertilize for 5days at the most before it dies.

THE FEMALE EGG(OVUM)

The female egg is formed very early in the life of a female child, about 20 days after fertilization. Certain cells develop in the wall of the gut cavity of the embryo. These cells then migrate through the tissues to reach a thickened area lying in a ridge at each side of the midline of the gut cavity. This is the tissue from which the ovary will develop. By the 30^th day after fertilization, the cells have settled in the tissue(which is now called a gonad), and have begun to multiply. By 140 days after fertilization(the 22^nd week of pregnancy), a total of 7 million cells are found in the ovary, and many of them have acquired a coating of cells derived from the gonad. They develop within this protective coat and fluid appears in many of the cells. These are the egg cells(or oocytes), and the cells which contain fluid are called follicles. The cells which do not have the coating are destroyed, and by birth only 2million eggcells remain. In childhood years, many of the eggcells are destroyed and by puberty only 200,000 remain. Each month from puberty to menopause 12 and 30 of the eggcells develop further and one which develops fully in growth is expelled from the ovary. This released egg or ovum from the eggsac occurs once in a woman?s cycle and is known as ovulation. This is the ovum which may be fertilized. Sometimes more than one ovum is released from the ovary and if fertilized results in twins or triplets.

During its development in the ovary, the ovum divides into two daughter eggcells. This division is unequal, a large cell and a small cell being formed. Each of these cells has 23 chromosomes- 22 autosomes and an X chromosome. The large cell is the one which will accept the head of the spermatozoon into its substance at the time of fertilization, and will form the new individual. The small cell is pushed to lie just inside the zona pellucid, and has no further function. It is called a polar body.

THE FERTILIZATION OF THE EGG/OVUM

A new life begins when a single spermatozoon out of the millions which were deposited in the upper part of the vagina during sexual intercourse fertilizes the egg(ovum). Only one penetrates through the cells and tough, glistening, transparent ?shell?(the zona pellucida) which surrounds the egg. Once the spermatozoon has penetrated the shell of the egg, it alters the zona pellucida in some way so that no other spermatozoon can penetrate it. A new life begins when the chromosomes of the ovum and those of the spermatozoon fuse together.

The two sets of 23 chromosomes move together and fuse so that the number of chromosomes in the human body cell is kept constant at 46.

A woman is a woman because each cell in her body(with the exception of the eggcells) has 44 non-sex chromosomes and two X sex chromosomes. Her femininity is further confirmed by the fact that none of her body cells contain a Y chromosome.

THE BILLINGS METHOD CHART

The body signs a woman observes everyday is marked in a chart. There are different chart symbols for the different signs. This chart is done with a red and blue/black pen. It is imperative that a woman charts every day throughout her cycle.

Charting is done once a day- at night time only before retiring. The stretch test is done after every urination. This is done by wiping the vagina after every urination with toilet tissue and then using the other finger of the other hand to feel the sensation of the discharge on the tissue, whether it is slippery and stretching for eggwhite, non-slippery and breaking for pap or nothing for dryness.

It is important to note that when two different body signs occur on the same day, the most fertile sign seen throughout the day is charted that night. Eggwhite is the most fertile sign, followed by pap. The least fertile sign is dryness. Even if a small bit of eggwhite is seen only once, at any time of the day and pap is later seen on that same day, then it is an eggwhite day and a red X is charted for it that night.

Whether the purpose of using the billings method is to achieve pregnancy or to preselect the sex of a child, it is important to chart everyday at night before retiring the most fertile sign seen throughout the day. And if it is to avoid pregnancy, the woman is advised to continue to chart year after year until the menopause occurs.

For a beginner, the woman should start charting immediately in other to familiarize herself with her body signs and adequately understand it. Note however that the start of the menses begins a new cycle hence it should be charted on a new line. The beginning of a menses and the start of another one makes a cycle and should be charted on one line of the chart. Two cycles must not be charted together to avoid confusion.

The only sign you mark in two places is the first day of the menses which is charted both at the end of one cycle to show it has ended and at the beginning of the next cycle.

Hence to successfully use the Billings Method, chart the most fertile sign seen throughout the day.

THE BODY SIGNS WITH THE CHART SIGNS

BODY SIGNS CHART SIGNS

Peak A double red X

Menses A red stroke down

Dryness A blue/black stroke down

Early Pap Two red lines across

Late Pap Two blue/black lines across

Eggwhite A red X

Sexual intercourse A blue/black dot

3 days after the peak Three red zeros

Ovulation Bloodspotting A red stroke under the red X

WHAT IS THE MUCUS SIGN?

This is also called the reminder bell. A woman needs most importantly to know the mucus sign of her body, understand it and be able to interprete it in other to use it for child sex selection.

Apart from the dryness a woman feels in her vagina, she sees some kind of mucus everyday. This mucus is either fertile or infertile mucus. It is actually the feel of it that makes a woman know whether it is fertile mucus or not. and this fertile sign is characterized by slipperiness and stretching.

The mucus sign can be both seen and felt. You can feel the slipperiness and see the stretching. This mucus sign is distinct in that it is felt prior to and at the time of ovulation. Infact, the fertile mucus can be referred to as ovulation mucus because it is fertile and is distinctively different from what a woman feels on other days of her cycle. This is because the tiniest bit of fertile mucus is enough to give obvious slipperiness even if stretching is not seen. And it is enough to allow pregnancy to take place. This is because, the fertile mucus protects the sperm and facilitates its survival in the vagina environment before it unites with the egg.

HOW TO CHECK FOR THE MUCUS SIGN.

It is imperative to note that the woman would fail in her quest to conceive, prevent pregnancy or preselect the sex of her child if she cannot check for the sign she noticed during the day in other to chart it. This is important because it is her greatest tool in understanding her body inother to determine the proper timing for sexual intercourse.

A woman must wipe on the outside of the vagina in the normal way after every urination and strive to notice whether she feels slippery mucus, non-slippery mucus or nothing at all -that is dryness. Urine does not wash the mucus away. Toilet tissue must be used when this test is done as the result can be confusing if the finger is used directly and it is also unhygienic.

After wiping with the tissue, the woman then uses the other hand to feel the mucus on the tissue. If there is mucus present, she will see whether it stretches like the white of an uncooked hen?s egg or whether it immediately breaks when it is between her fingers. This test is called the stretch test and it is done after every urination, everyday, throughout the cycle. Charting of the sign is done only at night before retiring to bed. It is worthy to note that it is only the most fertile sign seen throughout the day that is charted that night.

SENSATIONS THAT CAN BE FELT DURING THE STRECH TEST.

DRY- This is the sensation whereby the woman after urination, wipes herself and on feeling the tissue, nothing in particular is felt.

WET- This is where the sensation feels like a little water or milk and it is not slippery.

STICKY- It feels like thick pap or thick corn flour. It does not feel slippery and it breaks when felt between the fingers.

SLIPPERY- This sensation is like oil or the white of an uncooked egg. Most likely, it does not break when felt between the fingers.

OVULATION MUCUS- FERTILE MUCUS.

Ovulation mucus is the mucus a woman sees and knows that her ovulation is coming in a few days time. It is a reminder bell that this is the fertile part of her cycle. There are two kinds of ovulation mucus; they are Early Pap and Egg White.

EARLY PAP

Early Pap is the first kind of ovulation mucus to appear. It is the first sign of approaching ovulation. Its appearance tells a woman in no uncertain terms that she is about to ovulate in a few days time. It is called pap because it feels and looks like the baby cereal called pap- a type of corn flour. It may be thick or thin. It has three distinct features: first- when it is felt with the hand, it is not slippery. At times it is even sticky; secondly- if it is stretched between the fingers, it soon breaks; thirdly- it is very cloudy that is not clear in appearance.

It is called Early Pap because it appears before the Eggwhite. It is referred to as fertile mucus because it sometimes hides Eggwhite which occurs just before ovulation and can cause conception. The chart sign for Early Pap is two red lines across (=).

EGG WHITE

Early Pap develops into Eggwhite. Eggwhite feels, stretches and looks like what is commonly known as the white of uncooked Egg. The only difference is that the white of an egg is always clear but ovulation eggwhite can either be clear or cloudy. But not as cloudy as the Early Pap. The chart sign for eggwhite is a red x.

The appearance of eggwhite is a sure sign that ovulation is very close. The most important thing about eggwhite is its obvious slipperiness. Once the mucus feels definitely slippery then it is certainly eggwhite. Another thing to note is that eggwhite mucus is fertile. Research has shown that the male sperm is protected and nourished by it. Fertile mucus of the eggwhite promotes the sperm?s journey through the vagina and uterus. It also forms a protective envelop around the sperm to save it from the destructive environment of the of the vagina. Its three distinctive features are first- it is very slippery; secondly- it stretches nearly always; thirdly- it is clear or a bit cloudy but not as cloudy as Pap.

PEAK

This is the last day of definite slipperiness whether there is any obvious stretching or not. Ovulation occurs at the peak or within 24 to 48 hours after the peak. The chart sign for the peak is a double red x

The peak is the most important time a woman needs to understand about her body signs if she?s to be successful in her quest for a male child. At the peak, the woman is sure that ovulation has occurred that is her egg has been released hence whether it is pregnancy she is desiring or the need to have a male child, this is the most important part of her cycle.

From experience, the peak is easy to recognize. For some women, apart from the obvious slipperiness they feel, they sometimes see a thick eggwhite ?like discharge in their pants that they can even pick in their fingers. When it is felt between the fingers, it stretches and does not break. It is clear like the white of an uncooked egg. While in some other women, they feel this obvious slipperiness that is quite different from the sensation they had when they felt the early pap. For example, when this is noticed like on the 12^th of January and nothing is felt on the 13^th of January. Probably the woman feels dry or even sees pap which is of a different texture, then it is taken that 12^thof January was her peak as it was her last day of eggwhite or definite slipperiness.

It is imperative to note that at the peak, the sensation of obvious slipperiness shows her that ovulation has already taken place. Scientific studies have shown that most ovulations take place at the peak or on the following day. The only exception is sometimes present with twins or triplets. Here, the 2nd and 3^rd eggs are released within 24hours of the 1^st one. That is the reason why three days after the peak is known as the 3 red zero days. These 3 days after the peak are seen as fertile days for three reasons: first- the 1^st red zero day-i.e the day after the peak tells a woman that her egg has been released; secondly- the 2^nd red zero day tells a woman that her egg is now dead as an egg can last for 12hours; thirdly- the 3^rd red zero day tells a woman that any possible twin or triplet eggs are also dead.

Hence the 4^thday after the peak is safe for every woman who hopes to avoid conception.

It is important to understand that many women recognize their 1^st red zero day by a distinct change in mucus rather than by its complete disappearance. This late pap is not slippery, much less stretching and much more cloudy than mucus at the peak. When this change occurs, women have no doubt about it.

LATE PAP

This is what a woman sees after the peak. Late pap is always infertile as it never hides eggwhite after the 3 red zero days. Intercourse on a day of late pap cannot cause pregnancy. It is charted with 2 blue lines across(=). Most days after the peak are dry but there are occasional days of late pap.

THE FOUR RULES OF THE BILLINGS METHOD

These four rules is made up of the peak rule and the three early day rules. It is of utmost importance to note that these four rules are fundamental in understanding the billing method.

Early Day Rule 1

Avoid intercourse on days of heavy menstrual bleeding In a short cycle of about 19 to 21 days fertility may begin before bleeding has finished, and the bleeding could mask the presence of the mucus which indicates fertility. Hence a woman must wait till the last of the menses so that she can observe if there is any fertile mucus in other to abstain from sex.

Early Day Rule 2

Have intercourse on alternate evenings.
You wait until evening before having sex so you can be sure there has been no change from your infertile sign. The reason for using alternate evenings i.e avoiding the day after intercourse is because the day after sex you may feel damp and see a discharge of seminal fluid, and this can mask a change in the mucus pattern. The seminal fluid detected on the day after sex will not contain any live sperm. So even if fertility starts in the hours following intercourse there will be no sperm capable of reaching and fertilising the ovum.

Early Day Rule 3

Any slight change in the infertile sign should be followed by three red zeros.In this rule, even one day of early pap must be avoided and followed by three red zero days. Waiting without intercourse when there is a change from a woman's infertile sign allows her to observe whether this change results in a Peak or is a return to the infertile pattern. A change from the infertile pattern indicates potential fertility and the possibility of sperm survival.

If the Peakis observed, the Peak Rule can be applied. If the infertile pattern returns you should wait for a further 3 days and then resume using Rule 2 from the fourth evening.

Peak Rule

You may have intercourse at any time from the beginning of the fourth day after the Peak until your next period
In this rule, eggwhite occuring even once anytime in the cycle must be followed by three red zeros. the 4th day after any slipperiness is safe and everyday after that morning and evening.

Waiting until the 4th day past the Peak allows time for ovulation to take place and for the life-span of the egg. For the remainder of the cycle you are infertile because the egg is dead and you won't ovulate again until after your next menstruation.

NOTE

To avoid pregnancy you apply the Early Day Rules and the Peak Rule as above.

To achieve a pregnancy you apply the Early Day Rules so you can clearly identify when you become potentially fertile. Once you notice a change from your infertile pattern, wait without sex until you notice the slippery sensation. The slippery sensation means that you're at your most fertile, and that ovulation is very close. Sex over the days of the slippery sensation and the first day or two past the Peak will give you the best chance of conceiving.

by- Maureen

contact me on - 08181350157 or 08038466464.

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