Using the Natural Birth Control Method? There & #039;s an App for That!

Image credit: NaturalCycles Nordic AB A mobile app developer just became the first to score FDA permission to market its product as a method of contraception to prevent pregnancy.  The app, called Natural Cycles, contains an algorithm that calculates the days of the month a woman is likely to be fertile based on daily body temperature readings and menstrual cycle information, a method of contraception called fertility awareness. Designed for mobile devices, it is intended for use in pre-menopausal women 18 and older. Natural Cycles, developed by NaturalCycles Nordic AB, requires women to take their temperature daily using a basal body thermometer, in the morning immediately upon waking and to enter the reading into the app, which also tracks a user’s menstrual cycle. Basal body thermometers are more sensitive than regular thermometers and detect a minor rise in temperature, only about half of one degree Fahrenheit, around the time of ovulation. Women using the app for contraception should abstain from sex or use protection (such as a condom) when they see “fertile day” displayed on the app, which is typically four or five days a month, FDA said. “Consumers are increasingly using digital health technologies to inform their everyday health decisions, and this new app can provide an effective method of contraception if it’s used carefully and correctly,&a...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Digital Health Source Type: news