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Natural Cycles: Birth Control
Calling all women looking for a new birth control method! Natural Cycles, a digital birth control app, might just be the hormone-free solution you’ve been searching for.
Natural Cycles uses an algorithm and your basal body temperature (BBT)—that is, your body’s lowest temperature when at rest—to predict when you’re ovulating. When measured by a highly sensitive thermometer, slight variations in your BBT can indicate when you’re fertile (or when you’re not).
Measure your BBT at least five times a week and record the results in the app. Natural Cycles’ algorithm then plots on a graph your menstrual cycle and the days the app surmises you’re fertile.
When your body temperature changes, this triggers a change in the color of the home screen, which handily indicates if the app thinks you’re ovulating (red) or if you’re not (green). On red days, you’re prompted to abstain from sex or use another form of contraception. The more frequently you input your BBT, the more accurate the algorithm can be.
Natural Cycles can also help if you’re trying to conceive. Switch to the app’s Plan a Pregnancy mode, which plots and predicts your fertile days, suggests when to take a pregnancy test, and helps monitor your pregnancy as it progresses.
The app is approved for birth control use by the FDA in the United States and CE marked in Europe, and according to studies the company has conducted, the app’s effectiveness is in line with most common birth control methods, including the pill and condoms.
Monthly and annual subscription plans are less expensive than many birth control options—the annual version includes an oral basal thermometer to boot.