News/Blog

You may be surprised to hear that most women have no idea when they can get pregnant. A recent study showed that 2/3 of young adults in the U.S. do not know that women are most fertile around the middle of their cycles (Berger, 2012). In an Australian study, only 16% of women actively seeking fertility treatments could correctly identify which days of their cycles they could get pregnant, despite the fact that most of these women thought that they were targeting the right days to achieve pregnancy. And according to a study by Johns Hopkins researchers, almost 60% of women and 50% of men say it is somewhat likely that they are infertile, without having information from a healthcare provider. Furthermore, the American Infertility Association, says that at least 20% of "perceived infertility" cases are due to mistimed intercourse.

So what is going on? Why are so many women unaware or misinformed about their fertile days? Why do so many people believe they may be infertile? And how can using a simple family planning tool like CycleBeads help reduce the number of anxious couples trying to get pregnant, and the millions of dollars spent on unnecessary fertility treatments? We have a few ideas...

Posted in: Fertility, CycleBeads, Pregnancy, Research

A recent survey of women who had purchased CycleBeads with the intention of planning a pregnancy, indicated interesting results:

-  80% of women using CycleBeads to achieve pregnancy, were pregnant within 6 months and most of these women were pregnant within the first 3 months.

-  Of the women who successfully achieved pregnancy, more than 40% achieved pregnancy in the first month of trying and 75% had achieved pregnancy within 3 months.

-  90% of respondents used CycleBeads as their only conception aid. They did not invest in thermometers or expensive ovulation kits.

Posted in: Pregnancy, Research, Fertility, Fertility Awareness

You are likely familiar with CycleBeads® as a tool for using the Standard Days Method® of family planning and as an aid for health care providers and health educators to teach about fertility awareness.  But CycleBeads also plays an important role as a product for social impact.  In a series of case studies, researchers at the Stanford Graduate School of Business included CycleBeads among the solutions they examined to find out what it takes to commercialize a health-innovation product in the global market place.

Posted in: International Family Planning, Research, Womens Health

Two recent studies conducted by researchers at the Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH) at Georgetown University looked at integrating the Standard Days Method® using CycleBeads® into health programs. Results showed that offering this fertility awareness-based family planning method brought new users to family planning and increased overall contraceptive use in general.  It also helps programs fulfill their missions of offering a full range of family planning options by enabling them to offer a non-hormonal, effective option. However, the studies also highlight some of the challenges with introducing a new fertility awareness-based method.

Posted in: CycleBeads, Research, Interviews with Health Providers, Contraceptive Options

Recently we asked women to tell us if they were using CycleBeads to plan or prevent a pregnancy.  The survey results showed that approximately 3/4 of women use CycleBeads to prevent pregnancy while about 1/4 use CycleBeads to plan a pregnancy.  We then asked those women who are using CycleBeads as contraception to tell us why they chose this natural family planning option. The answers were overwhelming health reasons such as to "avoid side effects" or because of "concerns about specific health risks".  See the graph below for more detailed results.

Posted in: Birth Control Effectiveness, Contraceptive Options, Research, Birth Control Side Effects

Using a condom correctly is difficult according to a recent study in the journal Sexual Health. Led by the Kinsey Institute Condom Use Research Team, the study compared 50 research articles across multiple countries and found that incorrect use of condoms is prevalent and causing unintended pregnancies and infections.

Posted in: Birth Control Effectiveness, Contraceptive Options, Research

We’ve heard it all… Is this jewelry? Should I wear CycleBeads® around my neck? Are these rosary beads? And even a few responses that aren’t quite fit for print.

So why did we decide to use beads to help women use the Standard Days Method® of family planning?

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

The number of twins born in the U.S. has grown signficiantly over the last 30 years according to a new CDC report. The reason? Increasing numbers of women waiting to have children until their 30′s and the growing use of fertility treatments.

Posted in: Fertility, Pregnancy, Research, Womens Health

A recent study featured in the New York Times found that injectable contraceptives such as Depo-Provera,  double the risk that women will become infected with HIV. Furthermore, if a woman is HIV positive, use of injectable contraceptives appear to double the risk that she will transmit the virus to her partner.

Posted in: International Family Planning, Men and Family Planning, Research, Womens Health

Here it is! The article in the October issue of the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care that describes the recent study that shows couples are very likely to keep using the Standard Days Method of family planning as well as CycleBeads long term, and that the method’s effectiveness continues to be extremely high. Read the full article here: “Continued Use of the Standard Days Method”

Posted in: Research, CycleBeads, Natural Birth Control