Can you rely on an app?
Apps can help you record your data but don't rely on one to tell you when you're fertile, unless you're happy with a lower effectiveness rate - or want to get pregnant.
If you want to use fertility awareness as contraception, you need to interpret your own data.
That might sound scary but it's probably not as difficult as you think, and can be wonderfully liberating - a bit like learning to ride a bike.
It’s also the option recommended by the NHS website.
To start with it's usually easiest to record your data on paper charts (like this one). Once you know what you're doing you can shift to recording your data on either the free US app Kindara, or the low cost and easier to use UK app Read Your Body.
If you want an app to do the work for you, Natural Cycles is your main option. You need to enter your temperature most days, pay about £50 a year, and be comfortable with a 93% effectiveness rate.
CycleBeads is a less well-known app that's free, 95% effective with correct use and very easy to use. Enter day one of your period and the app does the rest. It's only suitable if your cycles are 26 to 32 days long. It's based on the Standard Days Method which means avoiding unprotected sex from day 8 to 19.
A similar app for women with cycles 20-40 days long is due soon in the US as Clue Birth Control. The correct use effectiveness rate is 97%. Pricing will be "premium". The shortest fertile window will be around 11 days, which is about what you can expect from interpreting your own data.
If you want to use fertility awareness as contraception, you need to interpret your own data.
That might sound scary but it's probably not as difficult as you think, and can be wonderfully liberating - a bit like learning to ride a bike.
It’s also the option recommended by the NHS website.
To start with it's usually easiest to record your data on paper charts (like this one). Once you know what you're doing you can shift to recording your data on either the free US app Kindara, or the low cost and easier to use UK app Read Your Body.
If you want an app to do the work for you, Natural Cycles is your main option. You need to enter your temperature most days, pay about £50 a year, and be comfortable with a 93% effectiveness rate.
CycleBeads is a less well-known app that's free, 95% effective with correct use and very easy to use. Enter day one of your period and the app does the rest. It's only suitable if your cycles are 26 to 32 days long. It's based on the Standard Days Method which means avoiding unprotected sex from day 8 to 19.
A similar app for women with cycles 20-40 days long is due soon in the US as Clue Birth Control. The correct use effectiveness rate is 97%. Pricing will be "premium". The shortest fertile window will be around 11 days, which is about what you can expect from interpreting your own data.
There is one gadget that might help
There's all sorts of expensive fertility gadgets that claim to take the hassle out of fertility awareness.
This might sound harsh, but I think nearly all of them are a waste of money and not to be relied on unless effectiveness is not your number one priority (which is allowed by the way).
The only potential exception to this is Tempdrop (affiliate link) - a wearable thermometer.
It's expensive, and they're not shipping to the UK at the moment, but it might be worth the hassle of shipping it via a friend in another country if you have trouble getting an accurate temperature because you don't sleep well, or you work shifts and wake at very different times each day.
Don't rush to buy one though. You can make allowances for waking at different times, and there's plenty of days each month when you can skip temp taking. It's also not a good idea if you're breastfeeding.
Find out if fertility awareness as contraception is right for you here.
This might sound harsh, but I think nearly all of them are a waste of money and not to be relied on unless effectiveness is not your number one priority (which is allowed by the way).
The only potential exception to this is Tempdrop (affiliate link) - a wearable thermometer.
It's expensive, and they're not shipping to the UK at the moment, but it might be worth the hassle of shipping it via a friend in another country if you have trouble getting an accurate temperature because you don't sleep well, or you work shifts and wake at very different times each day.
Don't rush to buy one though. You can make allowances for waking at different times, and there's plenty of days each month when you can skip temp taking. It's also not a good idea if you're breastfeeding.
Find out if fertility awareness as contraception is right for you here.