Natural Cycles – Is it for Everyone?
Disclaimer: This is not a lesson in Fertility Awareness or natural birth control. Nor is this method necessarily right for you. I strongly advise you to continue researching birth control options that are right for you, and seeking professional help if you’re experiencing problematic menstrual symptoms.
Also, this review is not sponsored.
When it comes to birth control, everyone’s choice is personal and intimate to their life. It’s important to make a decision based on facts, and suitable to their needs. My personal experiences have led me to explore many birth control options and it’s vital I acknowledge that for some, hormonal birth control fits into their lives and they live comfortably.
An increasingly common alternative to the “normalised” birth control methods, include the “FemTech” industry. These devices are seeing a rise in popularity , and it seems like there are an overwhelming number of options.
Perhaps one of the better known apps, and what I’ll be discussing today, is Natural Cycles. Developed by a CERN particle physicist (a nobel prize awardee), NC was cleared by the FDA as Birth Control in 2018 and approved by Health Canada as a form of Birth Control in 2024. It also received the CE certification in the European Union in 2017.
What does it do?
You might be thinking (or trying to picture), how can an app act as birth control?
I know it sounds weird at first, but with perfect use, NC is 98% effective (the hormonal contraceptive pill is <99%). This means that with perfect use, not having unprotected sex on red days and no condoms breaking, 98 out of 100 people using NC as birth control will not get pregnant. Once we look at typical use, the effectiveness of NC slides down to 93% (which is the same as the pill’s typical use too). So this means that 7 people who did not use a condom on a red day or relied on the pull out method will get pregnant.
Now that we know how effective NC can be at preventing pregnancy, let’s talk about how it actually functions.
Natural Cycles is an algorithm-based app. It collects data (Basal Body Temperature BBT, and hormone tests) to predict and project red and green days throughout your menstrual cycle.
Users take their temperature in the morning (before getting out of bed or snoozing) and enter the data into the app. The app will then display whether it is a red day (pregnancy could occur with unprotected sex) or a green day (pregnancy will not occur with unprotected sex). NC uses the BBT data you input congruently with Luteinizing Hormone (LH) tests taken from early morning urine to determine your cycle’s patterns. When you feel sick, hungover or your sleep was altered by 2 hours or more from it’s usual schedule, you will void the temperature in the app so the algorithm doesn’t take it into consideration when projecting days.
Once ovulation has been confirmed, green days begin because pregnancy cannot occur once ovulation has taken place. Some still choose the pull out method during green days (please note the pull out method is not a reliable form of pregnancy prevention).
On red days, you either use a barrier method such as a condom or abstain from sex completely. The pull out method is NOT an acceptable form of barrier during a red day.
As you approach possible ovulation days, the app will prompt you to take an LH when you wake-up. This test analyses the level of LH and can indicate a spike which usually precedes ovulation. It’s important to note that a positive LH test doesn’t confirm ovulation. In order to confirm ovulation, the BBT must be tracked for at least 3 days after possible ovulation occurs and the temperature must rise each day.
And that’s basically it.
*I should mention that the first couple of cycles will be full of red days because the algorithm has to learn your body’s patterns before recommending green days.
**Remember that NC cannot protect against STDs, therefore, you and your partner(s) should be tested if you’re not planning to consistently use condoms.
How is this different from Fertility Awareness? Or the Rhythm Method?
While Natural Cycles uses only your temperature to make predictions, the Fertility Awareness Method uses a combination of symptoms (there are multiple types but most use 2 or more body indicators). FAM looks at the four phases of the menstrual cycle (Menstruation, Follicular, Ovulatory, and Luteal) and tracks signs from the body to interpret which phase is present. It takes into consideration everyone’s unique cycle. Cervical fluid / mucus changes appearance and texture through the follicular, ovulatory and luteal phases, which can help identify if ovulation is about to happen or already has.
BBT is taken everyday to track when it spikes after ovulation. Another area to track is cervical position. This literally means the position of your cervix. Depending on where you are in your cycle, your cervix changes positions such as opening during ovulation and menstruation. For more information on FAM, check out Fertility Friday and Fertility Awareness Project.
The Rhythm Method is an outdated form of cycle charting that assumes everyone has a 28 day cycle and everyone ovulates on day 14. This is not accurate and no matter what you’re told, FAM is not “basically the Rhythm Method”.
Essentially, the Rhythm Method treated everyone as the same and those who followed it (popular in the 20th century before widespread research and education on menstrual cycles was available) all assumed the body was an identical consistent clock.
It turned out that the body is not that simple.
Oops.
The Rhythm Method assumed all bodies had a 28 day cycle and everyone ovulated on day 14. For some, this may have been true for a couple cycles, but no one’s cycle is consistently 28 days with ovulation always happening on day 14…nevermind assuming that every single person with a cycle is the same as the person next to them.
The Price & Costs Associated
Natural Cycles consists of two pricing options: an annual plan of $99.99 CAD, and a monthly plan of $13.99 CAD.
Some insurance providers will reimburse the cost of a subscription with the use of a Health Spending Account (HSA), however, it may require a prescription (which should be relatively easy to obtain from a physician).
And as I mentioned in my disclaimer, this review is not sponsored, but I have a family and friends referral (I don’t get commission) for you to use if you’re interested in 20% off an annual subscription and a free BBT thermometer. Get the code here.
My Experience with Natural Cycles & Why I Chose It
After nearly 2 years of using the app, I can say it has been effective.
I don’t want to say I had perfect usage, but as someone who was sceptical, I was diligent with my temperature recording and LH testing.
For background information, I used NC in a long-term monogamous relationship.
After trying two hormonal contraceptive pills (combination pills), I developed some side effects that I did not want to live with everyday (I also developed amenorrhea from an eating disorder), which meant I needed to get my cycle “back”. I should also note that I was put on hormonal contraceptives to clear my skin, not for actual birth control.
Next, I tried a copper IUD (Intrauterine Device)…which didn’t go well for me either. (If you’re interested in hearing my experience, listen to Nicole Jardim’s podcast interview with me here).
After my IUD was removed, I started looking around for more options. Unfortunately, my OBGYN didn’t have any suggestions further than trying another pill, or the hormonal implant in my arm (at the time, the thought of inserting another object into my body wasn’t appealing).
I stumbled upon the world of FAM, but as someone who, like most of us, didn’t receive adequate education about the menstrual cycle, I wasn’t ready to trust myself to accurately track my symptoms.
Enter an Instagram ad…yeah seriously.
Natural Cycles popped up and I immediately started a rabbit hole of research and review reading. I listened to many podcast interviews with the creator of NC, Elina Berglund.
Once I decided to try out the first month, it was easy for me to incorporate the tracking into my morning. I was years past taking hormonal birth control which meant my cycle was regular again, and I like to have a consistent sleep schedule (perfect for tracking BBT with a thermometer).
As I mentioned earlier, the first month was pretty much all red days while the algorithm learned my cycle and fluctuations. Because of this, and the fact I was recovering from PID (Pelvic Inflammatory Disease), I basically had all red days in the first month…so I subscribed for a year.
Looking back on almost two years using this app, it not only taught me a lot about my body and my symptoms, but it was also effective (again, I was diligent).
However, I learned during my first year, that sometimes the body does the unexpected (sometimes because of external forces such as stressors). Generally, my body ovulates around day 15, however, I had one cycle where the app projected my ovulation on day 15, but confirmed ovulation on day 10 instead. When this happened, I received a message saying that if I had not used a barrier method or abstinence during the days leading up to day 10 or on day 10, I should seek emergency contraception.
This was not a problem for me, and reinforced my belief that even if the app says green, I always use a barrier method prior to confirmed ovulation.
I hope this example doesn’t completely deter you, as it hasn’t happened again, however it should be a reminder that an app cannot know 100% what is happening inside your body.
It might seem strange to even be discussing an app as birth control when hormonal IUDs and pills, as well as copper IUDs are so much more common in North America.
If you’re interested in why some seek options outside of the “usual” contraceptive methods, read the short article I posted about it here.
Okay, What About Those of Us With PCOS and Endo?
Let’s start with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). While this is not an educational article about PCOS, if you have already been diagnosed via the Rotterdam criteria, read on!
For those with PCOS, tracking your cycle and logging symptoms can help you and health practitioners pinpoint triggers and areas to work to increase fertility or decrease uncomfortable symptoms. It’s also a handy tool to confirm or deny whether you’re ovulating, which can often be troublesome for PCOS cycles. NC states that irregular cycles do not impact the effectiveness of the app but can result in increased red days.
It’s a pretty similar situation for those with endometriosis who are interested in using the app. Tracking your cycle and logging symptoms can help you identify triggers of inflammation and can help confirm whether you’re ovulating. It’s also a helpful way to keep track of changes as your cycle fluctuates and endometriosis shifts during any sort of treatment or health plan.
So Much MORE Than Birth Control
Although my experience and review has strictly been NC as birth control, the app actually has multiple other modes.
For those wishing to conceive, the Plan Pregnancy mode is perfect to track and identify your most fertile days and gives suggestions on how to foster a more fertile environment.
Similarly, it also shifts into a full pregnancy mode when you become pregnant. This mode allows you to track the development of the fetus and log your symptoms.
The final mode is Postpartum. As expected, this is for the recovering (often I like the idea of a “fourth” trimester) after birth. It’s one of the only postpartum supports I’ve seen and frankly it’s very important to take care after birth. The body and mind have experienced a LOT and it is beneficial to have somewhere to record how your healing is progressing. Not to mention there is lots of information provided about mental health after giving birth, including loss.
Wrapping It Up
That may have been an overwhelming bout of information if you’re newer to the world of birth control and menstrual health.
The bottom line of my review is, it worked for me, no side effects, and I can recommend it for someone who does their homework and knows they can be diligent.
If you’re already familiar with the Fertility Awareness Method, you might be ready to track your fertility and prevent pregnancy without an algorithm, because at the end of the day, an algorithm won’t always be correct, but the symptoms your body displays are true indicators (and testing your hormones never hurt), check out FAM education for in-depth education.
As I stated above, you can check out Natural Cycles using my friends and family code here.
Reach out to me or the NC website if you have any questions, I’m here to help and support you!
Certified in Traditional Herbalism, Women’s Hormone Health; Post-Graduate Certificate of Science, Doula and Yoga Instructor.
Please know this is not a substitute for medical care, medical examination, or diagnosis. The information provided is educational and any severe or emergency symptoms should be taken to a medical professional.