China Project Report

Dr Evelyn Billings
February 2004

Sometime in 1985, Dr John Billings wrote to the Chinese Government offering to visit China to introduce the Billings Ovulation Method because of the enormous problems being experienced there in the field of fertility regulation. Paramount in the concern of the Government was the rapid expansion of the population despite the drastic contraceptive sterilisation and abortion programs. Prior to this time the Government had been exploring from the World Health Organisation availability of an effective natural method and had selected BOM as offering the best options despite weighty opposition from some quarters.

In 1986 the Chinese Government agreed to accept our offer to visit China and it was there that we talked first to a group of members of the State Family Planning Commission in China which is responsible for the National Program. A program approval was given for us to lecture on the work in Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing.

It was on this first visit to Shanghai that we met a remarkable man Qian Shao-Zhen, an Andrologist of very high standing in his profession and who at the end of the presentation spoke to us saying, "This method would be good for China. I would like to help you". Thus began a close and fruitful collaboration which still flourishes and without which the success we report would not have been possible. It sprang from his appreciation that the current program of fertility regulation was not serving China well and from a great love of his fellow Chinese.

Providentially we found an enthusiastic and competent group of young Chinese women in Caritas, Hong Kong, fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and some dialects. These translators rapidly learned the method and contributed much to the lectures demonstrating a genuine concern for the women of mainland China. They were able in time to establish BOM centres which we have visited in Hong Kong and surrounding territories including Portuguese Mancau.

During the next nine years we answered several invitations arranged by Professor Qian to Fertility Conferences, several Andological, and spent time establishing the BOM in Nanjing and surrounding counties. The audiences were composed mainly of women Gynaecologists. In Kunming which is the capital of Yunnan Province, doctors from among the ethnic mountain dwellers showed interest and this was seen to have born fruit when we returned years later among these very poor people. Since then we have travelled twice pre year on average accompanied by two trained teachers, Mrs Marie Marshell as leader plus one other teacher each time.

In 1995 the Australian Government granted us funding for a three-year project in Anhui Province and we travelled around 4,000 km, visiting almost all counties in that Province. It is mainly from this effort that the method has radiated to almost every corner of the mainland including the industrial, agricultural and minority regions.

This program still continues. We have trained 1,871 core-teachers who have been responsible for training 48,449 Chinese teachers; these are statistics measured up to 31 December, 2003.

During this time important refinements of teaching techniques were developed as well as comprehensive teaching materials; translations were made into the Chinese language. Up to date the method is being used by more than 3,645,600 fertile couples for avoiding pregnancy. The overall success rate is around 99%. Of 48,267 sub-fertile couples 15,640 have already conceived using the BOM. The Government wishes every couple to have a child and more than one is certain circumstances, for example, the poor minority groups. These figures come from complete records from the centres. As well as that, many more are using the method without centralised records and the BOM is now one of the principle choices of fertility regulation in China.

A randomised one-year comparison of the efficacy of BOM and the copper T was conducted by the Chinese themselves. The copper T is the most commonly used method in China. 1,556 fertile women of different educational levels were classified into two groups, one using the BOM and the other the IUD. It was shown in the study that both pregnancy and discontinuation rates are much lower in the BOM than in the IUD group. Of IUD users pregnancies, expulsions, haemorrhage and pain were leading to 65 use-discontinuations in the group of 662 cases. In the BOM group of 992 cases there were 5 pregnancies due to failure to learn the method properly before applying it. This was later corrected with subsequent successful use.

Recent surveys of all areas where the BOM is taught has shown a very pleasing seven-fold decline to 0.61% in artificial abortion-rate as compared with 4.06% rate where the BOM has not yet been introduced.

Very early on in our teaching program in China we were asked "What do you do about the pregnancies?" We gave a firm assurance that, "Abortion is no part of the BOM". We knew we would have to teach well to avoid pregnancies that would be terminated. Fortunately the Australian teachers have been excellent and have been inspired by a respect and love for these people. The Chinese teachers have responded wholeheartedly with confidence in the reliability of a thoroughly verified scientific method and they are very conscientious and meticulous.

All those who have supported this work financially and prayerfully are well pleased with the outcome and we are most grateful for the support they have shown.

Since there are calculated to be about 300 million fertile women in China there is still a lot of work ahead. The initial step of gaining Government acceptance for the BOM has been successfully accomplished and has resulted in some Chinese funding for the programs.

The time is fast approaching when the Chinese will take over this work. They are quite capable of proceeding autonomously but it will be advisable to offer any assistance in an advisory capacity particularly in the training of doctors and in the supply of authentic teaching materials for some time yet.