News/Blog

CycleBeads® and the Standard Days Method® on which it is based are included as a contraceptive option that can help address worldwide family planning needs in a special series on Impatient Optimists, a blog created by The Gates Foundation. The series, called “What’s Your Method?” looks at different family planning technologies and asks experts to write articles explaining these technologies, their benefits, and the challenges with making them available to women globally.

The article, "Keeping An Open Mind: What the Evidence Tells Us About the Standard Days Method" by Victoria Jennings, PhD, and Elaine Murphy, PhD. looks at research which shows that this highly effective fertility awareness-based method attracts new users to family planning and is especially attractive to women and couples who normally wish to avoid hormonal and surgical methods. The Standard Days Method has brought significant numbers of new users to family planning in developing countries and has addressed a number of associated issues in a positive way. 

As stated on the Impatient Optimist blog, “Not every method is right for every woman. A variety of [family planning] options must be available for each woman to find the best fit for her and her family.”

We couldn’t agree more!

Posted in: International Family Planning, Birth Control Options, Contraceptive Options, Womens Health

Recently we ran a series on the CycleBeads blog, called Top 10 Myths About CycleBeads. In case you missed it, here is the list translated into the Top 10 Facts About CycleBeads.  To see the original articles explaining  the myths and responding in detail, see the links below:

Fact #1:  CycleBeads is a Highly Effective method of birth control

Fact #2:  Women are Interested in using a natural method.

Fact #3:   CycleBeads is NOT the Rhythm Method

Fact #4:   Women primarily choose CycleBeads for Health Reasons and to Avoid Side Effects.

Fact #5:   CycleBeads accommodates a Range of Cycle Lengths from 26 to 32 days which means most women can use this method.

Fact #6:   Men are Interested in having their partner use CycleBeads and like being involved.

Fact #7:   Couples using CycleBeads Have Sex Just as Often as couples using other methods.

Fact #8:  CycleBeads takes into account the Variation in the Timing of Ovulation from month to month.

Fact #9:  Women generally have No Problem Remembering to move the CycleBeads marker daily.

Fact #10:  CycleBeads is Highly Effective and has been shown to expand Contraceptive Prevalence and bring New Users to family planning.

Posted in: CycleBeads, Birth Control Effectiveness, Birth Control Side Effects, Womens Health

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

Posted in: Womens Health, Fertility Awareness, CycleBeads

CycleBeads are included as a part of the Global Health Innovation Insight Series.  The Global Health Innovation Project at Stanford University series is intended to develop tools and materials that innovators can use to increase their effectiveness in tackling common business-related issues in low resource settings.  The Insight Series looks at companies and products who have navigated these situations and are willing to share their learnings with others.

A number of the issues that we have faced with introducing CycleBeads over the past 10 years, and that are relevant to other innovative health products, are described in these articles. These issues include:

Posted in: CycleBeads, International Family Planning, Womens Health, Education

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

As CycleBeads' 10 year anniversary is fast approaching next month, we wanted to take a second and reflect on what we've accomplished...

One major accomplishment, more than 2.5 million women have used CycleBeads since our launch in late 2002! Why is this important? Read this recent article on the challenges of making natural birth control options widely available and how CycleBeads has been able to overcome many of these obstacles.

Posted in: CycleBeads, Womens Health

CycleBeads®, a natural birth control tool, is now available through Maternova, a one-stop shop for products that help save the lives of mothers and newborns. CycleBeads enables a woman to plan or prevent pregnancy by tracking her cycles and identifying her potentially fertile days. It is based on the Standard Days Method®, a highly effective natural family planning method.

Says Maternova Vice President, Allyson Cote, “As the first global Maternal Health marketplace and cutting-edge online community, Maternova is delighted to include CycleBeads in our robust portfolio of leading innovations. Maternova is dedicated to improving the lives of mothers and newborns, along with improving patient outcomes in low-resource settings. CycleBeads is a true innovation that provides a highly effective method of natural family planning.”

Posted in: International Family Planning, CycleBeads, Birth Control Cost, Birth Control Effectiveness, Birth Control Options, Womens Health

Sometimes we get so caught up in all of the warnings and potential risks that we forget that sex can be fun and healthy! Sexual activity has a number of health benefits that may surprise you. Check out the top 5 health benefits of having sex and why getting intimate once or twice a week may keep you from getting a cold!

Posted in: Womens Health

In a recent TEDTalk, Melinda Gates eloquently outlined why contraception should not be considered a "controversial" topic and the importance of giving people everywhere access to a full range of family planning options.  Thank you Ms. Gates, for your willingness to lend your voice to this important issue... And of course, we were thrilled that CycleBeads were included among the full range of family planning options!

Posted in: Contraceptive Options, CycleBeads, International Family Planning, Womens Health, Education