Why I don't Recommend Most Period Tracking Apps for Contraception

FemTech is booming but has body literacy increased?

I’ll cut to the chase, my professional opinion is no. Body literacy has not increased with the emergence of FemTech.

If women exchange hormonal contraceptives, for FemTech that “does all the work for them,” then she is still outsourcing to Other, instead of relying on oneSelf. She is not really learning. (At least not nearly as thoroughly as she could be.)

As a certified fertility awareness educator and registered herbalist, I see a ton of confusion among clients that started their fertility awareness journey using and relying on predictive apps. These types of period tracking apps, even if taking a woman's basal body temperature into consideration, are algorithm based. 

Anytime an algorithm is involved, there is room for error because women's bodies are not predictable. The day of ovulation can and usually does change from cycle to cycle.

However, when a woman learns how to interpret her own fertility signs for herself on any given day, she is way more accurate than any app could be in identifying her fertile and infertile days of her cycle.

I highly recommend learning with a certified fertility awareness educator (the fast-tracked, thorough way to learn), or through self-educating by reading several books before using natural birth control with fertility awareness based methods, INSTEAD of using apps for birth control. 

A more concise definition of body literacy by Megan Lalonde is “learning to read and understand the language of our body.”

If you want the knowledge to determine on any given day with up to *99.6% efficacy (SymptoThermal method), whether you are fertile or not…

Then education will be your best friend. This is a prime example of knowledge is power, because a woman who has knowledge of her fertility and how her body works, and WHY, is powerful. 

If your curiosity is piqued, you are the type of woman who would benefit from learning the SymptoThermal fertility awareness method, especially when taught by a holistically minded teacher who can mentor you. 

The most effective and powerful type of natural birth control is one that teaches you how to be self-reliant.