News/Blog

This month, the planet will welcome the 7 billionth person! And the exploding population growth while slowing, is far from over. Not only are people living longer, but there are approximately 1.8 billion women of childbearing age on the planet right now. Therefore, even though on average each woman is having fewer children than she would have had just a generation ago, the global population is expected to keep growing for another few decades at least.

Posted in: International Family Planning, 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

A new study to be published in the October issue of the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care finds that couples who used the Standard Days Method® of family planning to prevent pregnancy are very likely to continue using this method along with the visual tool CycleBeads®. The study also found that the family planning method is not only effective in the first year, but effective over time with even fewer unplanned pregnancies among users in years 2 and 3 than in year 1.

Posted in: Birth Control Effectiveness, Natural Birth Control, Research

A True Partnership

Melanie and Levan are happy. Married for years, and co-owners of a school canteen in the Phillipines’ Marakina City, this husband and wife are partners in every sense of the word. Together, they raise three children, manage a business and even collaborate on family planning.

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

Congrats to the winner of the French Letter Condoms!

Julie S.

As mentioned in the original contest details, French Letter is a certified fair trade company that makes condoms using premium latex rubber from sustainable sources. When a consumer purchases French Letter condoms she is guaranteeing higher wages and better living and working conditions for the rubber suppliers with whom the company works. She is also getting beautifully wrapped protection that she won’t be embarrassed to carry!

How is that for eco-birth control?  If you happen to use CycleBeads, French Letter condoms are also a great choice for those fertile days.

Stay tuned for more exciting giveaways!

Posted in: Birth Control Options, Fertility, Womens Health

Many healthcare providers traveling to developing countries have found CycleBeads® to be a useful educational tool and family planning option during their medical missions.  Below is the story of one midwife’s experience in Haiti and how she used CycleBeads during her trip.

Posted in: Contraceptive Options, CycleBeads, International Family Planning, Men and Family Planning, mHealth, Womens Health

In a recent article on the Huffington Post, “Just Say ‘Yes’ to Access for Women’s Reproductive Health, Contraception”, Dr. Glenn Braunstein makes several good points about why increasing access to preventative services for women, including contraception, is important. Furthermore he says in the article that “No single form of birth control will do if we want to ensure optimal health for women, a serious reduction in the number of unintended pregnancies, and maximum effectiveness of contraception.”

Posted in: Birth Control Cost, Birth Control Effectiveness, Contraceptive Options

We recently interviewed Tracy Puhl, the new head of GladRags. GladRags offers reusable menstrual products, the benefits of which include less environmental waste, lower long term costs, and fewer issues with chemical sensitivies or allergies compared to disposable menstrual products. GladRags pads are made of organic cotton, locally sourced fabric and packaged with recyclable materials. Dedicated to sustainability, the company is conscientious of their footprint in every part of the business – from office work to manufacturing.

Posted in: Womens Health

July 27, 2011 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Cycle Technologies launched iCycleBeads™ on the Android platform. iCycleBeads is the first application that enables a woman to plan or prevent pregnancy easily and effectively, entirely through information provided by her phone.  iCycleBeads is the only app based on the Standard Days Method®, a modern natural family planning method that:

Posted in: mHealth, Technology