Health Canada has officially approved the Natural Cycles birth control app. Should I use it to prevent pregnancy?

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Health Canada has officially approved the Natural Cycles birth control app to market and sell itself as a form of birth control.

The app, previously approved as a fertility tracker in Canada, is the only digital birth control and the first app of its kind to receive a Class II Medical Device License from the federal agency. It markets itself as allowing users to “prevent and plan pregnancy naturally.”

According to release, it has more than three million users worldwide; it has been cleared by the US FDA since 2018, and in Europe since 2017.

“Our mission has always been to reach as many women as possible and with our latest regulatory clearance from Health Canada, the Natural Cycles app is now accessible to more than 380 million women worldwide, ” said co-founder and CEO of Natural Cycles, Dr Elina. Berglund Scherwitzl, in the release.

But how exactly does this app work, and is it recommended by Canadian health experts? Here’s what you need to know.

What is ‘Natural Cycles’ and how does it work?

Natural Cycles is a medical control app and device used to prevent and plan pregnancy, without hormones or side effects.

Users of the app are asked to take their temperature overnight or in the morning, log it into the app and confirm their fertility status. If you are fertile (marked by Green Day), you do not need to use protection. On a Red Day (meaning fertile), protection is recommended.

“Our hormones cause the body temperature to rise around ovulation. By analyzing this we can find where you are in your cycle,” explained the app.

Here’s how bike tracking works in the app, according to Natural Cycles:

1. Your cycle starts on the first day of your period (Green Days)

2. As ovulation approaches you enter the fertile window (Red Days)

3. After ovulation your temperature rises and you are no longer fertile (Green Days)

The story continues

Dr. Amanda Black, president of the Canadian Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists tells Yahoo Canada The app is considered a Fertility Awareness Method (FAM).

“It works by estimating the days when a woman is likely to be fertile — when she’s likely to get pregnant if she’s had intercourse — based on her body temperature and menstrual cycle,” Black explained in an email, adding with that there is a “slight rise” in body temperature around the ovulation stage.

“People of childbearing potential should avoid intercourse (or use condoms) on these fertile days if they wish to avoid pregnancy.”

How effective is the application as birth control?

According to Natural Cycles, the app is 93 percent effective as birth control with typical use, and 98 percent effective with perfect use. This means that, on average, seven out of every 100 users will become pregnant in a year.

For its FDA clearance in 2018, Natural Cycles analyzed 180,000 menstrual cycles from 15,000 women to obtain this data. As explained on their website, typical use “includes all unintended pregnancies and reflects the way a method is used in everyday life,” while perfect use “includes pregnancies that have occurred as a result of method failure, and therefore reflects effectiveness when it is used perfectly.”

Compared to a hormonal contraceptive pill, the app is on par when it comes to typical use. Planned Parenthood explained, “If you use it perfectly, the pill is 99 percent effective. But people aren’t perfect and it’s easy to forget or miss pills — so really the pill is about 93 percent effective effective.”

The application is also more effective compared to normal condom use (87 percent efficiency) or the pull-out method (80 percent efficiency with normal use).

However, Black explained of all the contraceptive methods, FAM tends to be one of the less effective methods of contraception.

“They tend to work best for women who have very predictable menstrual cycles and who comply with avoiding intercourse or using condoms on fertile days and the window around that time,” she claimed. “Sperm can live for up to five days before ovulation so if you had intercourse two days before ovulation, you could be pregnant.”

The OBGYN called IUDs and implants “much more reliable” as contraceptives.

Is this app recommended as the primary birth control for Canadians?

According to Black, it’s important for Canadians to be aware of all birth control options — including FAM (like the app). But, that doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for everyone.

“For some women, an unintended pregnancy can be devastating for medical or personal reasons (or both). For those patients, a more effective method of contraception may be a much better option, ” said Black. For those who are more ambivalent about pregnancy – “if it happens it will happen” – less effective methods may work.

Patients who want to avoid hormones can also look into copper IUDs which are effective, and “highly motivated patients with regular cycles” can consider FAM. It’s a fair choice for those who “have predictable menstrual cycles” and “want to avoid other contraceptive methods.”

But, the expert warned that whatever contraception one chooses, condoms are still recommended to prevent STIs.

While Natural Cycles can be used to prevent pregnancy, Black said it is most useful as a fertility aid, helping patients conceive.

Yahoo Canada has reached out to Health Canada for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.

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