Women have been taught to track their menstrual cycle for as long as they’ve started having it in their teens. Fertility, hormonal imbalance, and overall tracking of your health are just some of the reasons why we do it. Today, there are several apps and even devices out there that can help track your cycle.
While tracking certainly does help, it may not be enough specially if you’re going for a planned pregnancy. This is where Natural Cycles comes in to help you start your own family in your own time.
Learning your body’s system
The idea started when scientists Elina and Raoul Berglund decided they wanted to start their own family someday, but not right away. During this time, Elina had to stop taking birth control pills to get her body back to normal. Since then, she and her husband went into studying factors that help in preventing or getting pregnant, such as the menstrual cycle and body temperature.
Of course, the concept of fertility awareness wasn’t new, however the two realized that they could use certain algorithms to predict when it’s more likely to get pregnant. Using this knowledge, they created the Natural Cycles app.
Currently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US has approved the Natural Cycles app as a Class II medical device. This makes it the first MedTech app recognized as a contraceptive by the FDA.
Checking the cycles
To see what the status of your fertility is, simply check your temperature, enter the result on the app, and see if you’re ovulating or not. It’s important to note that you have to take your temperature the first thing you wake up.
While you can opt to use a normal temperature, it’s best to use the basal temperature. This thermometer is basically more sensitive than your usual one, which is important when you check yourself. You don’t need to worry about that though if you opt for the annual subscription.
The conceit of this app is that it can help if you want to know when you are likely to have a pregnancy or if you simply want to take a break from birth control pills. If you do this consistently everyday, the app will learn more of your cycle.
However, be warned that the Natural Cycles app is recommended for people who want to have a planned pregnancy, not for avoiding getting pregnant altogether. While it does claim it has a 93% success rate as a birth control app, there’s still that 7%. It’s simply more suitable for ladies who are most likely regular in their cycles and overall lifestyle as it is reliant on body conditions. This also doesn’t act as protection against STDs.
If you’re someone who wants to plan out when to have kids, you can opt test it out with a monthly or annual subscription. Each subscription is worth $9.99 and $89.99 respectively. The app is available on both Android and iOS.
YouTube: How Does Natural Cycles Work?
Photo credits: All images used are owned by Natural Cycles and were provided for press usage.
Sources: Planned Parenthood / Chavie Lieber (Vox) / FDA
