DOCTORS SAY NATURAL CYCLES “NOT RECOMMENDED” FOR YOUNG GIRLS

Healthcare professionals have said they would not recommend the contraceptive app Natural Cycles for young women and teen girls.

 

Doctors are “worried” and “uneasy” about the way the app is being promoted on social media to young women, stating it only works “if you’re tending towards the obsessive compulsive”.

 

“It’s a great app, but for an 18-year-old that has different sexual partners, I wouldn’t recommend it,” says former GP Dr Ewoma Uke. “I would want something that’s more failsafe. There’s just too many variables. In a situation where a woman is married and already has a kid, then I would endorse it. But for young girls? No. A lot of girls can’t even take the Pill at the same time each day.”

 

The app and thermometer kit, which has been promoted online by social media influencers in sponsored ads, uses the traditional ‘rhythm method’ to predict the risk of pregnancy.

 

“I feel uneasy with the way it’s being advertised on social media in the same vain as a new lipstick. I’m worried about the translation of such information, especially for young girls,” says Dr Uke.

 

As an increasing number of women are rejecting the Pill in favour of low-hormone contraceptives, Natural Cycles promises a side-effect free solution. The app is the only natural method approved by the NHS and is just as effective as the Pill if used correctly.

 

“It’s increasing choice for women who don’t want hormones,” says family planning consultant Dr Kate Guthrie. “But Natural Cycles is fine if you’re tending towards the obsessive compulsive. I would hope any rational young woman who tries it and thinks, ‘oh god, I forgot to take my temperature again’, will realise it’s not for them.”

 

For more about the pushback against the Pill, pick up our debut issue, out now!