I’m writing this after watching Davina Mcall’s channel 4 documentary about the pill which was very damning of the Natural Cycles app. Unfortunately, the documentary failed to recognise the pen and paper method of Natural Family Planning as a reliable method of contraception and that is very different from charting your cycle using an app.
In the documentary Davina meets a group of women who got unexpectedly pregnant while using the app to chart their cycle. For me, the unexpected pregnancies these women experienced using cycle tracking apps were not a surprise to me.
The one big difference no one is talking about when it comes to app versus charting pen and paper is fertility empowerment.
When we outsource our fertility awareness to an app, we put our fertility in the hands of an algorithm programmed with a few hard and fast rules. When we start paying for the app, we don’t know what these rules are and what can go wrong with them and we don’t get taught how they work.
When you learn Natural Family Planning with me, I teach you the rules to follow and the science about WHY the rules exist so you are empowered to work with the practice in whatever way suits you, your life and your fertility desires.
When we use an app, we are not taught what makes our fertility cycle work the way it does. We are not learning about sperm, ovulation and the everyday signs in our body that tell us our fertile phase is coming. The cycle app instead becomes just another thing we check on our phone each day. It doesn’t cultivate any sort of embodied connection to our cycle or understanding of our changing fertility in the real world moment to moment. All of this matters which is why I teach all of this through the pen and paper method in my charting your fertility cycle course.
Charting using pen and paper brings us so many benefits:
Increased fertility empowerment. Feeling in tune and informed about the changing fertility so we know where we’re at everyday
Increased body awareness, mindfulness and body listening
It becomes a practice or a ritual rather than a method so builds self discipline and responsibility for our own body
More menstrual cycle knowledge, scientific facts and fertility education alive in and amongst ourselves creating less reliance on health professionals, medications, medical interventions and devices
Less screen time and dependency on our phones for everything. Not needing our phones by our bedside
All of your menstrual cycle and fertility analysis available to you at all times. This is not dependent on your phone working etc
Enables us to more easily share the information and the responsibility for contraception with our partner and have access to menstrual cycle charts to communicate with medical professionals if needed
It is a visible, tangible way to talk to our children about the menstrual cycle and fertility awareness. When they see us charting, they may want to get involved and will ask questions
It can be fun! I love filling out my chart everyday
It brings our menstruality into the physical space of our home. I think this is truly radical in a culture where the menstrual cycle is largely hidden. I love having my chart up on the wall for my family to see
Our menstrual cycle can change month to month – it can get suddenly shorter or longer. We can sometimes ovulate early or not at all. If we have the knowledge and understanding of our fertility signs, we will pick this up in our charting practice IMMEDIATELY. An app will not do this. An app uses your cycle history to analyse your fertility on limited live information – what has happened before, not what is happening right now in your body. You and your cycle tracking skills are the best tool/device/application we have to maintain fertility empowerment whilst being hormone free.
True fertility empowerment is carrying the knowledge and the skills to understand and track our fertility cycle right here, moment to moment in our own mind, body and being. This means that whatever happens day to day and whatever changes we experience in our cycle, that we have an embodied understanding of where we are and whether we are fertile or not..
Are apps a reliable form of contraception?
Fertility awareness apps indicate likely fertile times. There are hundreds of apps for monitoring periods, but most apps are unregulated for use as a form of contraception.
Apps which only record period dates are not reliable enough to be used for contraception (21% accuracy). This is because the time of ovulation can vary from month to month, and from person to person, depending on biological and lifestyle factors. To estimate the time of ovulation with accuracy, an app must have as much evidence as possible about the app user’s period dates and other signs of fertility.
To rely on Natural Family Planning or fertility awareness, it is important to record more than two signs of fertility. The Natural Cycles app only records morning temperature alongside period dates.
There hasn’t yet been enough research to know how reliable the Natural Cycles app is at preventing pregnancy but there are reports amongst women that many unplanned pregnancies occur using it as a form of contraception.
Apps are a really good way to learn more about your body and the menstrual cycle, but to prevent pregnancy, it is necessary to use one which records period dates and at least two more signs of fertility (temperature, mucus or cervix).
How is what I teach different to cycle tracking apps?
What I teach is not the same as what you get using Fertility awareness Apps.
The algorithm used as contraception in the Natural cycles app is different to the practice I teach. It only uses the temperature method and the calendar rule which do not give you the efficacy the method I teach gives you.
The natural cycles app says that it is 93% effective with typical use and 98% effective with perfect use and people do report becoming unexpectedly pregnant using the app as a form of contraception. The statistics I was taught about the calendar rule (what the natural cycles algorithm is based on) is only 80-87% effective. Whatever the true statistics are, 80-93% is too low for those who want to reliably avoid pregnancy.
So how does the cycle tracking I teach with pen and paper charts offer so much more efficacy as a form of contraception?
The calendar rule, using our cycle length alone will not accurately identify the start of our fertile phase every month. Our cycle lengths can vary but also the day of ovulation can vary within consistent cycle lengths.
The problem with just using cycle length and temperature as a form of contraception
Taking our temperature alone or alongside using the calendar rule will not accurately identify our first signs of fertility. Taking our temperature confirms when ovulation has happened AFTER it has happened and confirms the END of our fertile phase. It cannot tell us when we are fertile or predict the start of our fertile phase. This means that the natural cycles app is relying solely on the Calendar rule to determine the first signs of fertility.
In the method of contraception I teach, the length of our cycle and our temperature reading are always being double checked against our cervical mucus and cervix position. It is changes in cervical mucus that give us the first reliable signs of fertility.
It is the double checking between many fertility signs that gives the method I teach its high 99% efficacy. This is why the method I teach and use is called the DOUBLE CHECK METHOD because it double checks multiple fertility signs against each other rather than relying on any one sign alone.
Less abstinence more certainty
I began my charting journey with an app (with a Daysy) and I soon got very frustrated by the high number of fertile days it was giving me each cycle. I had a beginners understanding of Natural Family Planning and knew how to check for mucus so it was annoying when I knew I had no fertile mucus but the app was telling me I was fertile. I realised the app was making my fertile phase 4-8 days longer than it was. So I went back to good old fashioned charting with pen and paper so that I could enjoy unprotected sex for more days of my cycle.
I don’t recommend fertility awareness apps because Natural Family Planning requires you to be taught by a trained, certified teacher which IS ESSENTIAL to understand your cycle and use your fertility signs as a form of contraception.
Teaching and 1:1 support is essential when using Natural family planning or fertility awareness methods as a form of contraception because it is complex, nuanced and you need the information and theory behind the rules so you understand what is happening in your body.
Our body and our menstrual cycle can do unexpected things and we need the knowledge I teach to be equipped to notice shifts and changes to prevent unexpected pregnancy.
When it comes to efficacy, which form of contraception is right for you?
Let’s explore the efficacy of the methods of contraception available to us and whether they are hormonal contraception or not. Hormonal contraceptives introduce synthetic hormones into the body to prevent, interrupt or inhibit ovulation and can cause side effects. Non-hormonal contraceptives maintain the natural flow of our menstrual cycle and cause no side effects.
Contraceptives that are more than 99% effective:
contraceptive implant (lasts up to 3 years) ~ hormonal
intrauterine system, or IUS (up to 5 years) ~ hormonal
intrauterine device, or IUD, also called the coil (up to 5 to 10 years) ~ hormonal
female sterilisation (permanent) ~ surgical
male sterilisation or vasectomy (permanent) ~ surgical
Contraceptives that are more than 99% effective if always used correctly, but generally less than 95% effective with typical use:
contraceptive injection (renewed every 8 weeks or every 12 weeks, depending on the type) ~ hormonal
combined pill (taken every day for 3 weeks out of every month) ~ hormonal
progestogen-only pill (taken every day) ~ hormonal
contraceptive patch (renewed each week for 3 weeks in every month) ~ hormonal
vaginal ring (renewed once a month) ~ hormonal
Contraceptives that are 99% effective if used according to teaching instructions:
perfect use of the symptothermal method of natural family planning ~ non hormonal
Contraceptives that are 98% effective if used correctly:
male condom (every time you have sex) ~ non hormonal
Contraceptives that are 95% effective if used correctly:
female condom (every time you have sex) ~ non hormonal
Contraceptives that are 92 to 96% effective if used correctly:
diaphragm or cap with spermicide (every time you have sex) ~ non hormonal
It is important for us to do what feels right for our body and our individual needs.
Remember that it’s always ok to ask to help and it’s always ok to ask for more information before making a decision about what is best for you.
Take your time to explore the contraceptive options that are available for you with your partner(s) and your medical provider if appropriate. You can reach out to talk to me about this too.
This process will support you to feel empowered on your fertility journey and give you the information and solutions that are best for your individual needs.
If you are interested in explore pen and paper Natural Family Planning, click the button to explore learning everything you need to know to get started with me.