It seems like birth control options haven't changed in years, and that's sort of true, sort of false.
There's the pill, the ring, the shot, the IUD, the sponge, the condom, and more, but there's one method with a 93% accuracy rate that jumps to 98% if done perfectly; tracking your own fertility by monitoring basal temperature changes.
People with uteruses have been finding the natural ebb and flow of their cycles for millennia, but only recently is there a science-backed and clinically-researched app for it: meet Natural Cycles.
With daily temperature readings to determine ovulation, the first FDA-cleared birth control app can help predict your periods and ovulation windows, so you know which days you can potentially become pregnant.
If this is all brand new to you, we're sure you have questions, so we debunked the myths and rumors about Natural Cycles and periods. Here's what you need to know.
Hormones are essential for pregnancy prevention.
False. The hormones in your birth control pill work to inhibit ovulation, preventing pregnancy. Tracking your cycle with Natural Cycles allows you to understand when you're ovulating, so you can use extra protection to prevent pregnancy, like with condoms. Hormone-free pregnancy prevention is an option.
You can't get pregnant every day of the month.
True. There's a lot of fear-mongering in high school health class, so you may not know this, but you're only ovulating for about 1 day a month. Sperm can survive in the reproductive system for 5-7 days, so Natural Cycles helps you detect those fertile days using your basal body temperature, so you know when you'll need a second form of protection.
It may take a few months for your body to regulate depending on what birth control you were on before.
True. If you're switching from a hormonal birth control to Natural Cycles, you should wait about two months before beginning for best results. Your body needs to adjust and your natural hormonal levels need to self-regulate.
Natural Cycles is an affordable option.
True. If you want to pay monthly, it's $9.99 a month, but annually it's 25% off at $89.99 for the year. This includes the basal thermometer, which records your temperature up to two decimal points instead of just one.
Natural Cycles is one of the only forms of birth control that empowers you to understand your body at a new level.
Natural Cycles is 93% effective with typical use (the same as the birth control pill) and 98% effective when used perfectly. The birth control pill is 99% effective with perfect use.
The app gives you the red light or the green light to engage in sexual activities without a secondary form of protection, and after a few months, you'll feel more in control of your cycle and your body.
Get the birth control you need, hormone-free, with Natural Cycles.
You must be over the age of 18. Does not protect against STIs. Natural Cycles is 93% effective with typical use, 98% effective with perfect use. No method of contraception is 100% effective. Natural Cycles does not guarantee that you cannot get pregnant, it only informs you whether and when you can become pregnant based on the information that you enter into the application.