In January of this year I posted an article about how more and more British women were turning away from the Pill and using their phones to prevent unwanted pregnancy. They were using an app called Natural Cycles which tracks changes in body temperature to determine when sex is unlikely to result in pregnancy.

Natural Cycles was cleared for use in Europe last year and this month became the first contraceptive app to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Health experts here in Britain have called for more research into the birth control app that is now used by a quarter of a million British women. The app tracks a woman’s cycle with daily temperature readings and determines on which days she will be fertile. The temperature must be taken every day immediately on waking using a basal body thermometer that comes with the £39.99 annual subscription.

The Swedish developers claimed that the app “empowered” women by using a smart algorithm instead of hormones that can cause anxiety, mood changes and an increased risk of breast cancer.

The app has now been linked to dozens of unwanted pregnancies in Sweden. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and BPAS, the leading provider of abortion services in Britain has reported a rise in the number of women seeking terminations who have become pregnant while using the app. This is the reason why they are seeking more research before such apps are promoted as a viable form of contraception.

According to Natural Cycles’ data, the app has a success rate of 93 per cent, which compares with 99 per cent for the coil. It was launched in 2016 and has 900,000 registered users worldwide. Many report feeling mentally and physically better after coming off hormonal contraception. The company said: “Natural Cycles provides a new option for women looking for a natural form of contraception. The number of pregnancies reported with Natural Cycles on a monthly basis has consistently remained within the expected threshold based on our published typical use effectiveness rate.”

Based on an article by Katie K Gibbons