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Fertility App Looms As Better Alternative To Birth Control Pills

By Brian McNeil | Update Date: Apr 16, 2016 07:22 AM EDT

Accidental pregnancy is something that people have a hard time figuring out, though resorting to contraceptive pills is advised.

But then again, there is that lingering possibility that relying on contraceptive could come with costly side effects. Normally, physicians (when consulted properly) would make patients aware on that aspect to properly identify the safe ones from the rest.

Going over these practices, one would say that they will someday come to an end. With the advancements in technology, it may only be a matter of time before an app can do all that for you. And apparently there is now an app for that.

The app is called the Natural Cycles app, something that could eventually take the place of the old contraception method. The app makes use of an algorithm based on a woman’s temperature that is taken each morning to establish a data plan of fertility.

It eventually plots out something that would show the days when a woman could (potentially) get pregnant. Days will be themed green and red. Green days mean women can have sex on these days while red days are the ones to avoid.

How effective is it?

A clinical trial in Sweden showed more than 4,000 women (aged 20-35) showed the Natural Cycles app rendering practically the same results with that of a contraceptive pill on the ‘Pearl Index’.

For those who are not familiar with it, the Pearl Index (also known as Pearl Rate) is something that measures the effectiveness of birth control methods in clinical trials.

With that angle proven, the app stands to be a better alternative for the ones who are not too keen on using contraceptive pills. Side effects are the obvious fear, something that could technically interfere with the human body’s natural method as pointed out on The Telegraph.

"The future of birth control lies in knowing your body rather than altering it with hormonal contraceptives, and we are excited to be leading the way and creating a future where every pregnancy is wanted," the authors claimed via the Economic Times.

The app has been around for about two years now and was created by physicist, Elina Berglund. The app is available for Android and iOS both for free. It is however advisable to subscribe where the monthly charge will be $9 a month. Those who want to get some savings can do so if they take the annual subscription of $70 which includes a free thermometer sent right at your doorsteps.

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