Billings Method vs. others

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Hi all,
My fiance and I have been researching places to do NFP, and we discovered that there is an association here in Ontario (CAN) that teaches it for free. The method taught is the Billings method, and, the impression i’ve gotten from the brief research i’ve done thus far is that the sympto-thermal method is the ‘improved’ Billings.
Please give me your feedback on this. I guess you could say i’m pondering whether i should go ahead with the free instruction, or sink $850 into learning one of the methods with temperature taking.
Thanks!
 
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TreeHugger:
Hi all,
My fiance and I have been researching places to do NFP, and we discovered that there is an association here in Ontario (CAN) that teaches it for free. The method taught is the Billings method, and, the impression i’ve gotten from the brief research i’ve done thus far is that the sympto-thermal method is the ‘improved’ Billings.
Please give me your feedback on this. I guess you could say i’m pondering whether i should go ahead with the free instruction, or sink $850 into learning one of the methods with temperature taking.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
$850??? that sounds a little bit outrageous to me, what do they do?

We have a videotape on the Billings method and it’s just not for us. It relies soley on cervical mucous… I prefer to have temperature and cervical positions just in case something is off. That way you have 3 seperate signs to use…

Look into the Creighton model…I’m sure someone will provide the website (or you could Google it). I heard that all of their instuctors are volunteers and you only pay for materials. Here in Alberta it works out to be around $100 I think.

I highly recommend the book “Taking Charge of Your Fertility” too. I borrowed it from the local public library and it really helped me to understand how NFP works.

Malia
 
Feanaro's Wife:
Look into the Creighton model…I’m sure someone will provide the website (or you could Google it). I heard that all of their instuctors are volunteers and you only pay for materials. Here in Alberta it works out to be around $100 I think.
Click to expand...
Hey Feanaro’s Wife,
I’m not sure if i found the right site, but this is the info i got for the Creighton Model contact in my city:

Marguerite Bourgeoys Family Center
FertilityCare Program
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Features** NaProTECHNOLOGY®**
Phone: 416-465-2868 Fax: 416-465-3538
e-mail: fertilitycare@sympatico.ca

it’s the same place that told me it would cost $800 to learn from. apparently, it’s physicians that do the follow up meetings, and they charge 80 or 90 bucks each time.
dah!!!
my fiance and i are both students, so paying big bucks like that would really hurt the ol’ bank account.
thanks for your help, though, and let me know if i got the wrong site.
 
The sympto-thermal method as taught by the Couple to Couple league teaches you how all the signs work together. That system provides you with the most flexibility and options. You can choose to use tempature or mucus only or you can use them together. The point is you will understand the consequences. The cost for the class should be $75 US (approximately). If you go to ccli.org and click on the link to find a teacher in your area and then pull down (Canada I think it was) your way of finding where you live. You will get a list of teachers. If no one is close to you go ahead and contact central by phone or e-mail and their is a homestudy version you can use that goes through central.

Matt
 
My husband and I have been using the Billings method for quite a while now. It is a simple method to use. I had tried the sympto-thermal method before too but much pefer Billings. I would highly recommend it.
 
$800! That’s crazy.

Check with your diocese or the Couple to Couple League.
 
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CatholicMatthew:
If no one is close to you go ahead and contact central by phone or e-mail and their is a homestudy version you can use that goes through central.
Matt
Click to expand...
Thanks Catholic Matt!
Strangely, there are no instructors listed in Toronto (Canada’s biggest city), so the homestudy version would be an option.
 
Hi TreeHugger,

I’m a new member here, but I wanted to put in my $0.02 about NFP.🙂

My husband and I took a local Catholic Charities class on CM-BBT (cervical mucus-basal body temperature) over 10 years ago and it was one of the best decisions we ever made. The fee was nominal, and it was a wonderful start to learning about NFP.

However, I came across a book shortly after taking the CC class that has proved to be invaluable. In fact, after reading the book, I would not have had to take the CC class. The name of the book is Your Fertility Signals by Merryl Winstein. It is the most succinct book on NFP that I have found. Its format is simple, easy to understand, and covers mucus, temperature, and cervical positioning completely. In addition, the book covers topics like breastfeeding (and how it impacts your fertility signals) and infertility self-help. It also shows you a way to naturally determine pregnancy even before a store-bought pregnancy test can tell you (it works, too–it successfully confirmed my pregnancies with my 2 children before it even registered on the ept test!). The book also provides a helpful list of teachers if you still feel that you need one, plus a list of sources for further reading. It is only 160 pages and is chock full of useful information. I refer back to it many times. I highly recommend it!
 
Another question for you ladies and gents…

Is one method more effective than the other? By this question, I am assuming that the couple has been instructed and is practicing the method faithfully as they have been taught.
 
We use mucus and cervix readings only. Temps drive me crazy; my temperatures are always very, very low and I don’t sleep well, so “good sleep” readings are difficult to obtain. For us, those two signs are very, very obvious and easy to read–as well as accurate.
 
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TreeHugger:
Thanks Catholic Matt!
Strangely, there are no instructors listed in Toronto (Canada’s biggest city), so the homestudy version would be an option.
Click to expand...
In that case maybe you should consider teaching after you get through learning it. There is a great correspondence and interactive way of learning the method.

Matt:)
 
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Princess_Abby:
We use mucus and cervix readings only. Temps drive me crazy; my temperatures are always very, very low and I don’t sleep well, so “good sleep” readings are difficult to obtain. For us, those two signs are very, very obvious and easy to read–as well as accurate.
Click to expand...
Abby,

Have you had a thyroid workup? At times a low BBT can be a sign of a low thyroid function. Anyway, you might check out Fertility Cycles and Nutrition by Marylin Shannon.

As to the differences in the methods I would reccomend taking the CCL class. WIth the CCL class you learn the different signs and then you can use them how you will. Mucus only, Temp only or cross-checking. Cross-Checking (the symptothermal approach) gives the most flexibility in avoiding or achieving pregnancy.

Matt
 
I think that the CCL book says that if you even get 1 hour of sleep before you take your temp, then you should get a fairly accurate reading. I’ll have to look that up to be sure!
Jennifer
 
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TreeHugger:
Hi all,
My fiance and I have been researching places to do NFP.
Click to expand...
I would stick to the bedroom, personally.

No seriously, anything that costs $850 better come with installation and first month free.
 
Having to take ones temp. every morning was a hassle for me and I would sometimes forget to take it. The Billings method is so much easier to do and very effective.
 
Hi Matthew,

Thanks for you suggestion… does anyone know the symptoms of low thyroid? I guess I could google it…

Thanks, Abby
 
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CatholicMatthew:
In that case maybe you should consider teaching after you get through learning it. There is a great correspondence and interactive way of learning the method.

Matt:)
Click to expand...
Catholic Matthew, you are just full of great ideas…funny enough, my fiance and I went to adoration on Sat, and realized we are lacking in the volunteer department. Bravo, my chum!

And to everyone else, thanks for your quick responses.
Another question…When one is abstaining during the fertile period, how many days is this typically for? I suppose this might depend on how regular your periods are? bah? What can i say…i’m a newbie.
 
Hi,

We have used the Billings Method and I highly recommend it. We took the class at our parish and then I bought a book by the Drs. Billings. The book helped a lot over the years, especially the Q & A section. The problem I had with the temp method was that there were so many things that could cause the temperature to vary, like getting sick, having a glass of wine, not getting enough sleep, etc. The idea that having more than one symptom to use to confirm fertility or infertility is better is in reality not true because one or more could be off for some reason, causing confusion. But, we’re in the minority because most people support the CCL sympto-thermal method.

Try to find the book if you can.
blessings,
Mary
 
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