The first step in learning to use the Ovulation Method is to attend a clinic given by an O.M. certified instructor. Billings’ Ovulation Method teachers are certified by the World Organization Ovulation Method Billings. Don’t try to learn from a book or a fried. This may be necessary in an isolated area where no clinic is available, but the learner should send her chart to the nearest center after each cycle after the first two or three months. For information on the nearest clinic write to World Organization Ovulation Method Billings Canada, 3050 Yonge St., suite 205, Toronto, Ont. M4N 2K4, telephone 481-5465.

At an O.M. clinic, you will receive a slide presentation explaining the biological basis of the method, and you will be taught what to observe, and how to record this. Anyone who is taking the Pill will have to discontinue it (this can be done immediately), and those with an I.U.D. will have to have it removed since both the pill and the I.U.D. interfere with the secretion of the cervical mucus and thus with its observation. Otherwise, you can start that very night to use the method (in fact you can start to chart after reading this article and then go to the lecture – but read the next sentence carefully). A month’s abstinence from sexual contact during the learning period is recommended so that you will not be worried or tense about the accuracy of your observations. After a month, you return with your chart for a private chart consultation. At this time, instruction is provided tailored to the couple’s goals, and consideration is given to any special physiological circumstances (age, lactation, withdrawal from the pill). Your individual pattern is then interpreted and the times of fertility and infertility are identified. This usually suffices to give a couple all the information to pursue their family planning goal of achieving and spacing their pregnancies. Couples are always welcome to come back, and they are encouraged to do so especially if the wife is breastfeeding for the first time or if she is experiencing great changes in her cycles such as is often the case later in life. Support and extra information at these times is very helpful.

The observations a woman makes and records while she is using the O.M. are a normal part of what she sees every day. The cervical mucus that is secreted at the time of fertility falls, by gravity, to the outside of the body. It can make itself known, before a woman may even see it, by producing a particular sensation sometimes of wetness or lubrication. This sensation is one element of the record keeping, and refers to what a woman feels as she goes about her day’s routine. She also notes the mucus she sees and records its consistency and color. The absence of either sensation or mucus is also significant and is recorded. Thus all a woman records is what she feels or doesn’t feel (sensation) and what she sees or doesn’t see (mucus). No internal examination is needed, and in fact falsifies the reading.

The record keeping is easy. It is done at the end of each day, and needs just three words – one for sensation, one for consistency of mucus, and one for color. Quantity does not matter. This charting is essential to the reliability of the method and is done for the rest of the woman’s reproductive life. Without it, a woman cannot say she is using the O.M. properly. Charting focuses the user’s attention on her observations, prevents oversights or forgetfulness, and gives the user a clear picture of her cycles as it is developing. It is her record of what is normal for her, and has the added benefit of alerting her to what is not normal. She can then take greater responsibility for her reproductive health and can give accurate information to her gynecologist/obstetrician if the need arises.

Thus the use of the O.M. is not time consuming or bothersome aesthetically. These observations are what the aware woman will notice anyway and they take only a few seconds to record. In some third world countries, records are kept with colored beads on a string. Blind women use beads with differing shapes. In fact, its naturalness, lack of cost or complicated procedures is what recommends it to everyone. Anyone can learn regardless of intelligence, education, socio-economic background, culture or religion.