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Swedish regulator says contraceptive app works as advertised
The Swedish Medical Products Agency has decided that Natural Cycles, the first app to be certified for contraceptive use, works like it says it does. It launched an investigation into the app after Stockholm's Södersjukhuset hospital reported that it caused 37 unwanted pregnancies. That number was taken from a study involving 668 women who went to the hospital seeking an abortion. Now, the Swedish MPA has closed its investigation after concluding that the rate of reported unplanned pregnancies among Natural Cycles users is in line with the typical use effectiveness rate of 93 percent, based on a study of over 22,000 women that the company conducted in 2017.
FDA approves contraceptive app Natural Cycles
The FDA has now granted marketing approval to an app that tracks a user's temperature and menstrual cycle in order to determine which days they are fertile and which days they aren't. The contraceptive app, called Natural Cycles, was approved in Europe last year. "Consumers are increasingly using digital health technologies to inform their everyday health decisions, and this new app can provide an effective method of contraception if it's used carefully and correctly," said Terri Cornelison, assistant director for the health of women at the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health. "But women should know that no form of contraception works perfectly, so an unplanned pregnancy could still result from correct usage of this device."
Contraceptive app under fire for causing unwanted pregnancies
A contraceptive app used by more than 500,000 women has come under fire after reportedly causing 37 unwanted pregnancies. Stockholm's Södersjukhuset hospital has now reported the Natural Cycles app to the Swedish Medical Products Agency (the government body tasked with the regulation of medical devices) according to news outlet SVT.
Natural Cycles says contraceptive app is more effective than the pill
Contraceptive app Natural Cycles is more effective than the pill, according to the latest and largest study into the app's efficacy. After testing 22,785 women throughout 224,563 menstrual cycles, the startup found the app provided 99 percent contraceptive effectiveness if used perfectly. If used "typically", the app was 93 percent effective. The contraceptive pill, meanwhile, is 91 percent effective.
Mobile app approved as an alternative contraceptive
For the first time, an app that monitors fertility via algorithms has been officially certified for contraception use. Germany's Department of Health approved the mobile Natural Cycles app, meaning it can now be prescribed by doctors in Europe and the UK in lieu of the pill, condoms or IUDs. It works in a similar way to the "rhythm" method, telling women how fertile they are and therefore when they can have sex with little risk of getting pregnant.
