We trust technology with a lot of stuff. We don’t even blink before putting out our personal information such as credit card numbers and addresses when we’re making online purchases. We place our safety in its hands when we open our taxi service app while drunk at 3 am. We even blindly follow maps that may or may not be as accurate as we think when gallivanting through a new city. Hell, we even make a wingman out of our phone when we’re looking for love. So, yes we put a lot of faith into these innovations. But how far does that trust go?
Recently there’s been talk of a new application of technology, one that also has high implications and possible consequences. Elina Berglund, a Swedish physicist, created an algorithm to track her own menstrual cycle, specifically ovulation. Eventually she developed an app, called Natural Cycles, that monitors a woman’s cycle in order to predict which days are her most fertile. The app has garnered plenty of praise and criticism because it has even been certified as a form of birth control by the European Union. It has even been hailed as a natural alternative to the pill. And here’s where things get tricky.
The way it works is like this: those on the app, wake up and take their temperature with Basal thermometer, a highly sensitive and accurate little gadget often used for natural family planning, also known as a fertility awareness method. The algorithm then takes into account how regular or irregular the user is, difference in temperature, as well as stuff like sperm survival. Based on all that data, the user will see whether it’s green day or a red day. Green means that there is a low risk for pregnancy, red suggests to avoid intercourse or to use another form of protection.
The goal is basically to reduce the possible side effects of the pill. Many women who are on oral birth control have a wide variety of these. Some are mild and uncomfortable such as bloating, sore breasts, nausea, spotting, and changes in sexual desire. But then there are scarier side effects such as stroke, blood clots, high blood pressure, and other cardiovascular conditions that, while not every woman will have, are still enough to keep most from using this method of contraception. So the idea is that, if you’re on a fertility awareness method, such as the aforementioned app, there will be no need for the pill. Yet there is a variety of reasons why you might not want to put your all your eggs (no pun intended) in this particular basket.
For starters, the thing that makes the app 93% effective is also what causes the pill to be 92%, and condoms to be only 82%. Let’s call it the human element. Not everyone remembers to take their birth control pill every day at the same time. Not everyone remembers that, as soon as things start, someone should be wearing a condom. Some people are still not entirely sure how to properly wear one. As for the app, sure, you might remember that this is a no-no day or to keep a condom handy. But, you’re also at risk of forgetting, not to mention that some women should always wear protection during sex if they or their partner has an STI. The algorithm cannot control that part.
Another part I find conflictive is the fact that this app was developed in a country where women have access to a variety of birth control as well as the possibility of termination of pregnancy. That alone changes the landscape. Women in other countries cannot risk it as easily. Also, this seems like a method made for a particular kind of sexual life, particularly a monogamous one. The problem is that it’s been marketed towards women who are under thirty. In today’s society we cannot pretend that every person will be able to have this sort of structure where they can get organized with their sexual partner about what days are a go and which are a no.
Fertility awareness methods promote the idea that birth control is the only form of protection people need. Contraception helps avoid pregnancy, but it doesn’t protect from STIs. Regardless of how many times doctors, pamphlets, and ads explain this, people continue to miss this part.
Another element that bugs me is the movement behind promoting the cease of hormonal birth control. Not every woman takes the pill for birth control purposes. But promoting a move away from the pill comes with even more misconceptions and taboos towards the woman who take them. Again, this is more in reference to countries where a teen or unmarried woman on birth control is not accepted.
So yes, this is a great idea and invention. But before we start this move towards this type of contraception, we need to make a point that there are also plenty of risks involved that are usually not considered.
Main image by: Marvin Meyer
**
STIs That Can Be Easily Spread Through Oral Sex
5 Myths About The Most Practical Contraceptive Method
