Why I chose Natural Cycles

I finally made the big decision to come off the contraceptive pill and throw myself into Natural Cycles. 6 weeks in and I can honestly say it was the best move I have made for my mind and body. 

Having been on the pill for over 6 years, I was beginning to feel like I have run my course of taking these synthetic hormones, not only did I feel this way the doctors wanted repeated blood tests and appointments to check they were actually still safe for me to use. 

I did feel secure knowing that I was 99% safe to have sex without falling pregnant but it’s far from the best option for your body and the environment, with a huge list of side effects, some that can last your lifetime and some even causing cancer it’s a wonder why so many of us even choose this method. It all really does come down to our health service, doctors that are so willing to put you on the pill as the first option, even for young girls in their teens. Some of them becoming depressed and dependant for years to follow.

Contraceptive alternatives

The coil was recommended to me as a hormone free option but even then it comes with some pretty nasty side effects, a week of discomfort from the day it is placed into your uterus then every month my periods would be so heavy and painful I could take no more than 5 months so back to the doctors I went. 

Both options come at a huge cost to the NHS and subsequently our lives. So why aren’t more of us questioning it? I first heard about Natural Cycles from a friend, after doing my own research I felt compelled to give it a go. If I can remember my morning pill, I can remember to take my temperature, and it is really that easy. Every morning I stick the thermometer in my mouth and record it in my new fancy app. I feel so much more in touch with my own body and am genuinely interested to see the daily results stack up into green and red days, even days showing my ovulation. 

It does take a few weeks to kick in and give you the safe green days to have sex but we all know how quickly time goes so that wasn’t a problem for me and my partner. Best of all there are NO SIDE EFFECTS. Just you, living your natural life, hormone free completely independent from any doctor. 

I love being in control of something so personal.

More information

Natural Cycles app www.naturalcycles.com has over 380,000 users in 161 countries

• Natural Cycles is the first, and only, app to be certified as a contraception in Europe and has been shown in clinical studies to be comparable to the Pill
• The app can help women to prevent, plan and monitor pregnancies
• Natural Cycles' mission is to educate and empower women to take control of their fertility and future, championing a vision where every pregnancy brings happiness.
• Natural Cycles has been shown in clinical studies to improve the use of natural family planning and be comparable to other forms of birth control.
• Natural Cycles was founded by husband and wife team Dr Raoul Scherwitzl and Dr Elina Berglund, a top physicist who was part of the Nobel Prize-winning teamthatdiscovered the Higgs boson. With PhDs in physics, they applied their mathematical techniques to create a unique algorithm which allows Natural Cycles to adapt to each woman’s body individually.