Opinion: The app that helps you track your cycle and prevent unwanted pregnancies

A great number of people, females especially have been subjected to unplanned babies, others alternate to contraceptives to have a well-planned sexual life. Contraceptive is the order of the day but may have long lasting negative effects on the individual’s life span. Why don’t you opt for a natural method where you can decide to prevent, plan pregnancy or track your cycles?

I want to introduce you to an App you can download on your phone to check all these things to have a planned life.

CycleBeads is a virtual tool developed by the institute for reproductive health, Georgetown University. It is a birth control chain developed for a rough estimate of fertility based on days since menstruation and is designed to be an easy and effective way for women to plan or prevent pregnancy naturally.

CycleBeads is a colour- coded string of beads that represents the days of a woman’s cycle, helps an individual use the standard days method, by helping her track her cycle days. Starting the first day of her period, she moves a band to the red bead then to a new bead every day. The colour of the bead let’s her know if today is a day she is likely to be fertile or not. Couples use condoms or barrier methods to prevent pregnancy on fertile days.

The standard days method identifies days 8-19 of cycles for women with cycles between 26 and 32 days long as the potential fertile window. This formular is based on computer analysis of 7500 menstrual cycles and takes into account cycle length, timing of ovulation, variation of ovulation timing as well as the lifespan of the sperm and ovum.

Efficacy trials found this method to be more than 95% effective at preventing pregnancy when used correctly and 88% effective with typical use. This is similar to or better than the efficacy of most other user-dependent, family planning methods.

To use the standard days method and CycleBeads App, a woman should have cycles between 26 and 32 days long. Approximately 80% of cycles are in this range. If you have more than one cycle in a year outside this range, this method may not be appropriate for you. If you are unsure about whether or not your cycles are in this range, track your cycles before using this method to prevent pregnancy.

The standard days method is based on the fact that there is a fertile window during a woman’s menstrual cycle which begins several days before ovulation and ends a few hours after ovulation. During this time a woman can become pregnant. For women with cycles in the 26- 32 days range, the method identifies days 8- 19 of a woman’s cycle as the potential fertile window. This fertile window takes into account cycle length, the timing of ovulation, the variation of the timing of ovulation from one cycle to the next, a well as the lifespan of the sperm and ovum.

If you have recently been pregnant or switched from hormonal birth control, you may need to wait until your cycles have returned normal before using this method. The method is as well not effective for women who have cycles outside of the 26-32 days range. Breastfeeding women or those who have recently used contraceptive injections must wait before using cycle beads.

CYCLE BEADS HAS THESE FEATURES

General info button: This button when clicked gives information about the overview of the application. Thus, it explains the color codes used in in describing the beads on the cycle chain as well as the calendar display.

It also gives the directions on how to use the application and a general detail of the application.

Calendar View button: This button opens the calendar in the application and this keeps track of progress of your cycle in relation to real life time processes. This inbuilt calendar can also be used to check dates in case the user doesn’t have a calendar.

Cycle View: This button when clicked opens a 32 necklace like beads that represents the current progress, when cycle begins and ends, as well as the description of the current day (whether you are fertile or not).

My History button: Gives a general overview of past recorded menstrual cycles.

It also has other buttons like; settings, which when opened can be used to password encode the application, allows you to start or end notifications, etc.

Add New Button: located at the upper right corner of the application is the plus button that allows you to edit or start a new cycle.

SIGNIFICANCE OF CYCLEBEADS

Helps prevent unwanted pregnancy

To  prevent pregnancy, users should avoid unprotected sex by using a condom or abstaining during days 8­-19 of their cycles.

Plan pregnancy

To plan pregnancy, couples target those days where the bead colour indicates fertility is highest for intercourse to conceive a child.

Track menstrual cycles

Used in place of contraceptives.

If you want a natural way to track your cycles, prevent or plan pregnancy, birth control and the likes. Instead of using contraceptives, look no further because cycleBeads has got you covered. Keep track of your self and have a planned life.

CycleBeads is available on Apple Store for Iphone users and available on play store for android users. For more specific guidelines and more informations about this method, how it works and frequently asked questions, visit the FAQ’s at www.CycleBeads.com