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"If you tell someone you use a 'natural family planning' method they often have a different reaction than if you tell them you are using 'fertility awareness'" says Kate Abrams. Kate has been using the Standard Days Method® with CycleBeads® for years and told us that she always thought of the terms as interchangeable, but over time she has found that people often respond differently to the words she uses.

"When I told my doctor a few years ago that I was using a natural family planning method she asked if it was 'because of my faith'. I was surprised since my religion doesn't have anything to do with my decision to use a natural method." she says. "When I told a friend I was using 'fertility awareness' for birth control, she immediately understood that this was about knowledge and just understanding my body.

At first I thought it might just be those two individuals, but after talking to different people over the years I've definitely found there's a difference. 'Natural family planning' is often associated with religion while 'fertility awareness' seems to make people think of empowerment. But way more people understand the term 'natural family planning" than understand 'fertility awareness' so I often end up using both."

We've seen this difference in perception too, and while the terms "natural family planning" and "fertility awareness" generally mean the same thing, it's important to know that to some people they convey different meanings. 

Thanks for sharing your story Kate.

See an earlier article on this topic here: Natural Family Planning, NFP, Fertility Awareness - What Does it All Mean?

Posted in: Fertility Awareness, Natural Birth Control

Posted in: Birth Control Cost, Birth Control Effectiveness, Birth Control Options, Birth Control Side Effects, CycleBeads, Natural Birth Control

CycleBeads Myth: No one wants to use a family planning option like this.
In general, most people who claim that “no one wants to use this method” assume that people don’t want to use a natural family planning method at all. Occasionally they may be referring to the fact that the original CycleBeads tool is a color-coded string of beads and that somehow this is “too different” from what people think of when they think of family planning. Well we have a surprise for them.

The Truth:
Studies show that 1 in 5 women are very interested in using a natural family planning method when they are given good information about these methods in the context of a full range of family planning options. And while CycleBeads may be quirky to some, this unique tool has been used by more than 2.5 million worldwide, and 75,000 women in the US alone to plan or prevent pregnancy.  Of course while the initial CycleBeads tool is still eye-catching and useful, many women are starting to use digital tools such as CycleBeads Online and the iCycleBeads smartphone apps.

Posted in: CycleBeads, Natural Birth Control

To avoid side effects?  To save money?  For some other reason?  Everyone is different!  

We recently polled CycleBeads users about whether they use CycleBeads to plan or prevent pregnancy. Most users (approximately 75%) said they chose CycleBeads to prevent pregnancy.  So please tell us why you use CycleBeads as your birth control method in our anonymous survey!

Survey: Reasons for Choosing CycleBeads

Check back for the survey results.

Posted in: Birth Control Options, Contraceptive Options, Fertility Awareness, CycleBeads, Natural Birth Control

CycleBeads is a fertility awareness tool that can be used either to PLAN or PREVENT pregnancy. We were interested to find out how women were actually using CycleBeads, so we recently surveyed CycleBeads users. We found that most users, approximately three-quarters, were using CycleBeads (or an iCycleBeads app) to prevent pregnancy. In other words, most had chosen CycleBeads as their birth control method. Approximately one-quarter were using CycleBeads to plan a pregnancy, and a very small percentage were using CycleBeads simply to track their cycles. Interestingly, these results remain consistent with results from surveys in previous years.

Posted in: Birth Control Options, Contraceptive Options, CycleBeads, Fertility Awareness, Natural Birth Control, Womens Health

It seems there are a million fertility apps out there. Want to get a daily reminder to take your birth control pill? Want to get pregnant? Want to have a girl? Want to know what your baby will look like at week 8?  Want to know if your period is likely to come this weekend?

There's an app for that.

So how are iCycleBeads™ family planning apps different from other so-called "fertility apps"?

Posted in: Birth Control Options, mHealth, Technology, CycleBeads, Natural Birth Control

CycleBeads are available from Benin to Belgium, from East Timor to Ecuador, and from Uganda to the United States. Women in over 50 countries use this natural family planning option to plan or prevent pregnancy. 

How do they get them? CycleBeads are available throughout much of the world through healthcare providers, educators, retailers, NGO’s, Ministries of Health and of course... online! 

Posted in: Natural Birth Control, CycleBeads, International Family Planning

Natural family planning, fertility awareness, natural birth control, FAB, FAM - chances are you have heard these terms thrown around and may only have a vague idea of what they mean. All of these are terms used to describe basically the same thing - a set of practices that enable a woman to plan or prevent pregnancy by identifying when she is fertile during her cycle.

Some people consider "natural family planning" to be a term specific to family planning methods that are advocated by the Catholic Church. And a few go even further and define it as a way only to conceive children. But most people consider natural family planning to be a broader term that can be used interchangeably with fertility awareness, natural birth control, etc.

So what are the different natural family planning methods?

Posted in: Birth Control Options, Fertility Awareness, Natural Birth Control

We are thrilled to be launching iCycleBeads™ Online and our redesigned website! iCycleBeads Online is the only web app in the world based on the Standard Days Method® of family planning. A user receives a private internet account where she can easily track the days of her cycles, know if she is on a day when pregnancy is possible or not, determine that her cycles are in range and continue to be in range for using this natural family planning method effectively, and maintain her cycle history. To use iCycleBeads Online a woman tracks the date her period starts each month; she is not required to track other in-depth fertility symptoms for use.

Posted in: CycleBeads, Technology, Birth Control Options, mHealth, Fertility Awareness, Natural Birth Control

Studies show that while the pill is the most commonly used contraceptive method in many countries*, a significant percentage of women discontinue its use, primarily due to side effects and health concerns. Women who discontinue using a contraceptive method put themselves at risk of an unintended pregnancy and need to be counseled or educate themselves on effective, viable birth control alternatives.

Posted in: Birth Control Side Effects, Natural Birth Control, Womens Health