My app tells me when I have "safe days". Why should I study my fertility?
Indeed, why bother when it's so easy to input your cycle length into the app and see green and red days on the screen.
It is known that every single day a new application for monitoring the female cycle comes to the world.
There are different types of apps:
Calendar-based apps predict fertile days based on the duration of your previous cycles (e.g., Clue Menstruations, Flo, Period Tracker Deluxe, WomanLog-Pro-Kalender, and others).
Temperature-based apps predict ovulation based on temperature spikes in previous cycles (Natural Cycles, Ovolane, OvulaRing).
Apps that analyze temperature and mucus in the current cycle (myNFP, Lady Cycle, Lily, and OvuView).
In 2018, the German Society of Gynecological Endocrinology and Fertility (DGGEF) analyzed about 2,500 such apps and concluded that all of them are useless for contraception.
There are too many factors that affect female fertility. Therefore, predicting ovulation based on analysis of previous cycles is almost always wrong and can result in an unplanned pregnancy. According to a DGGEF analysis the error in determining the fertile window was 6 days or more.
For women planning pregnancy, calendar and temperature-based apps are also of limited value. It's better to use apps that analyze temperature and cervical mucus data in the current cycle (PMID: 29666788).
In its recommendations, the Natural Fertility Section considers the sympto-thermal method (STM) of fertility awareness a highly effective method of natural contraception.
Currently there is no available apps that follow STM rules and provide predictions. But you can learn how to track fertility biomarkers, taking into account possible disorders that affect your cycle, so you can confidently manage your fertility.
My advice on how to get the most out of a mobile app:
Turn off ovulation prediction and use the app as a journal for your observations.
Read about the menstrual cycle, female hormones, ovulation, and how to make observations. Apps usually provide this information.
If you want to know everything about what happens in your cycle and learn how to properly manage your fertility, I invite you to one of our fertility management programs:
What app do you use?
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