Nowadays there's an app for everything from virtual pets to pocket heaters. For contraception to branch out into this ever-growing industry comes as no surprise.
We put so much trust in our phones, they carry most of our personal information and even our card information. We even give them the power to dictate what we do in the day, from when we drink water to when and how we exercise. So why not let them predict and track when we’ll have out period and when
Unfortunately, it is a little more expensive than using NHS approved methods. It costs £5.99 per month or £39.99 a year where you also get a free thermometer. The app (obviously) has no side effects and claims to be 93 per cent. So, I decided to take out the one-month free trial to see if I can be persuaded over to this new form of mobile, contraception.
So, I decided to seek medical help and give the app a go, at least for the free trial.
Red flags started the moment I mentioned the app to my nurse, her immediate reaction was, “Do you want to get pregnant?”
I said, “no” and then I was told not to use and do not come off the pill.
From her professional experience and prior knowledge of the app it seems that the professional opinion of herself and the NHS is only use apps like this if you are trying to get pregnant.
My nurse wasn’t the only professional I spoke to who is sceptical towards this new approach to contraceptives. A CSRH (community for sexual and reproductive health) trainee said: “I’m concerned that the natural family planning apps encourage a potentially unreliable method. There are situations where contraception is important and I’m not sure that these apps can be relied upon to assess a woman’s suitability for fertility awareness methods. It’s estimated to be 75 per cent effective with imperfect use. The potential effects of making a mistake could be unplanned pregnancy and the impact on the woman could be massive.”
After receiving advice from more than one health professional, I decided that for the sake of my degree I’d give it a go. However, I will be using it alongside the pill to be on the safe side.
After creating an account, it was really easy to set up, it was much quicker than any contraception consultation I’ve been to. All you need to do is some personal details; your age, height, weight, how long you’ve been off hormonal contraception, and whether or not you want to get pregnant. Once you’ve entered these details you’re ready to go, and all you’re required to do is take your temperature each morning, along with a couple of other details including whether you’ve been sexually active since you last entered your temperature and if you’ve experienced any bleeding.
To help you remember to do all of this you can set up daily reminders, and even get friendly emails from a Natural Cycles employee every few days with helpful information and reminders. You even get achievements after reaching certain goals as an incentive.
Even though the app says the golden number is five, and that is how many times you have to take your temperature a week to begin to get accurate results, I forgot. Surprisingly to me it’s a little more difficult to remember to check the app and take my temperature when I get up than take my pill, for me anyway. However, I wasn’t alone in this. Claire who has tried similar apps to Natural Cycles, said: “I kept forgetting to put in information and to check it. For me it was unreliable, but they might work for others. If someone was trying to get pregnant it might help be more accurate but for people like me who are more just wanting to track their period it didn’t really work as well.”
This opinion Claire has about the app being better for someone trying to get pregnant echoes that of the nurse I first consulted before giving the app a go. As did Lucy who said: “I wouldn't trust it fully, using other forms of contraception would give me a better piece of mind. I'd only use it if I was trying to get pregnant because the worst that can happen is not getting pregnant, but using it as a contraceptive, if it fails falling pregnant would be the worst outcome.”
However, people believing that the app is better suited for people wanting to get pregnant rather than avoiding it is not the only scrutiny the app has come under fire for. Ellie said: “I think a lot of people have issues because bloggers are getting paid a hell of a lot for it. I heard most of them are paid around £1,000 so it’s a big campaign. And because of that I think some bloggers have lost their ethos just to accept the money, and it’s a few (people) ruining it for the community.”
What Ellie says could explain why I’ve been seeing the app all over my Instagram and Twitter page. By being paid to publish content by Natural Cycles has led to speculation that the reviews bloggers are posting about it may not be 100 per cent true and accurate. They may just be saying positive things about the app, so they can be paid.
Ellie also said: “I think Natural Cycles is a great app because there are so many women who can’t use any other form of contraception. Some can’t take hormones, I personally cannot use the coil (because I am too small) and there are so many reasons to not be able to use other methods. It’s such an amazing thing for people who usually would have no other option.”
There does seem to be an outcry among women for more research to be conducted into creating contraceptives with less or no hormones. So even though I definitely will not be taking out a subscription, and begrudgingly staying on the pill I believe that the Natural Cycles app is a big step in the right direction.
*I contacted Natural Cycles for a comment. However, they were unable to provide one at the time.
