Click Here for CycleBeads Global Impact Report Highlighting 7 Countries 

Posted in: Technology, International Family Planning, Contraceptive Options, Womens Health

Cycle Technologies Launches CycleBeads App in Spanish to Address Rising Unmet Need for Family Planning

“We are excited to launch the CycleBeads app in Spanish”, said Cycle Technologies Founder Leslie Heyer. “We know there is demand for a family planning option like this in Latin America, where concern about side effects is one of the primary reasons women cite for not using contraception. We are also very interested in helping address the huge contraceptive crisis that is occurring in Venezuela by providing women there with an effective option that they can access for free through their mobile device.

SEE THE PRESS RELEASE HERE.

Download the Android version of CycleBeads in Spanish here.
Download the iOS version of CycleBeads in Spanish here.

Posted in: International Family Planning, CycleBeads, Womens Health, Fertility Awareness

CycleBeads and the Standard Days Method of family planning have undergone over a decade of intensive research including efficacy, long term follow up, scale-up and impact studies. We work with leading researchers to ensure that this method is effective and works for women in a range of contexts.

Want to learn all about all the research behind this fertility awareness method? Check out this structured review on the research behind CycleBeads and the Standard Days Method from The Evidence Project. 

Posted in: Birth Control Effectiveness

Recent work in Ghana, Kenya, and India shows that the CycleBeads Android app is having a positive impact. Click on the following images or links to view progress taking place as of April 2017.

CYCLEBEADS® ANDROID APP GLOBAL IMPACT UPDATE: GHANA

CYCLEBEADS® ANDROID APP GLOBAL IMPACT UPDATE: KENYA

CYCLEBEADS® ANDROID APP GLOBAL IMPACT UPDATE: INDIA

CycleBeads® is a scientifically proven way to plan or prevent pregnancy by simply tracking the start dates of your period. It's over 95% effective as shown in efficacy trials. It has been used by millions of women around the world both as an app and as a physical product. CycleBeads family of products are based on the Standard Days Method® and are designed for women with cycles between 26 and 32 days long.

Posted in: CycleBeads, International Family Planning, Fertility Awareness, Research, Womens Health, Technology

Posted in: CycleBeads, Fertility Awareness, International Family Planning, mHealth, Natural Birth Control, Womens Health

Cycle Technologies is proud to announce that we’re expanding the contraceptive options available to the women of Madagascar. The CycleBeads Android app has been updated into French and was launched in Madagascar recently.

In a country where 19% of women have an unmet need for contraception, and the most common reason women aren’t using contraception is side effects and health concerns, CycleBeads can make a huge difference. 

CycleBeads® is a scientifically proven way to plan or prevent pregnancy by simply tracking the start dates of your period. It's over 95% effective as shown in efficacy trials. It has been used by millions of women around the world both as an app and as a physical product. CycleBeads family of products are based on the Standard Days Method® and are designed for women with cycles between 26 and 32 days long. 

Posted in: CycleBeads, International Family Planning, Fertility Awareness, Contraceptive Options, mHealth, Womens Health

Recent work in India shows that the CycleBeads app is having a positive impact. Key highlights to date include:

- Over 150,000 women in India have downloaded the CycleBeads Android app in the past three months.

- According to in-app surveys, approximately 79% of the women using the app to prevent pregnancy, were not using contraception prior to downloading the CycleBeads app.

- Top 3 reasons all women cite for using the CycleBeads app: 1) it’s simple and easy to use, 2) it’s natural, and 3) I was worried about side effects.

This work is ongoing so we hope to have more information to report soon. Read the original press release here.

Posted in: Contraceptive Options, International Family Planning, Womens Health, CycleBeads, Fertility Awareness, mHealth

IMPACT UPDATE (CycleBeads App - Ghana and Kenya)

WASHINGTON, DC, October 19, 2016 – Over 75,000 women in Kenya and Ghana have downloaded the CycleBeads® Android app in the past two months. Approximately half are using the app to prevent pregnancy. In-app surveys indicate that more than 20% of women using the CycleBeads app to prevent pregnancy were not using a contraceptive method prior to using the app.

Posted in: International Family Planning, CycleBeads, Womens Health, Fertility Awareness, Womens Health, Natural Birth Control

CycleBeads App Helping Women in Africa Prevent or Plan Pregnancy - Over 50,000 Women in Ghana & Kenya Use CycleBeads Android App

WASHINGTON, DC, September 28, 2016 – Over 50,000 women in Kenya and Ghana are using the CycleBeads® Android app to prevent pregnancy or plan pregnancy. The app, which has been undergoing rigorous usability and impact testing, is designed to help women use the Standard Days Method® of family planning. The CycleBeads app helps a woman identify her fertile days and track that her cycles are in range for using this method.

“We are thrilled with the impact that this technology is having” says, Leslie Heyer founder of Cycle Technologies. “There is a huge unmet need for family planning options that don’t cause side effects. Providing women with effective, easy to use, natural options, that they can access entirely through a smartphone, can go a long way towards addressing this need.”

In Ghana, 42% of women have an unmet need for family planning while in Kenya, 25% of married women have an unmet need.  In both countries, women cite “side effects” as the number one reason for non-use of contraception according to national health surveys.

The CycleBeads Android app is designed to provide women with an effective family planning option that does not cause side effects. It can be downloaded for free in the Google Marketplace.

More information about CycleBeads is available at: www.CycleBeads.com

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About Cycle Technologies

Cycle Technologies is a social impact company focused on women’s health. The company’s mission is to prevent unplanned pregnancies and help people have the families that they want when they are ready. Founded in 2002, Cycle Technologies products are available in over 60 countries and apps are available to anyone in the world with a smartphone. Learn more at www.cycletechnologies.com.

Posted in: Birth Control Effectiveness, Natural Birth Control, mHealth, International Family Planning, Womens Health, Research

Fertility apps are gaining more and more popularity these days but do you know the different types? Is an app designed to track your period and moods the same as one designed for pregnancy planning and prevention? Is an app that reminds you to take your birth control pill each day the same as one that gives you information about whether or not you're fertile today? Hint: No.

Let us break it down for you. There are three types of “fertility apps”:

1. Family Planning Apps - Apps that can be used as birth control and for pregnancy planning. These apps are based on one of the few proven family planning methods, including Standard Days Method, TwoDay Method, Sympto-Thermal Method, and Ovulation Method. They require different inputs from users depending on which method is used. There are only a handful of family planning apps. They include: Dot, CycleBeads, TwoDay Method, and Kindara.
    

2. Pregnancy Planning-Only Apps - These apps aim to help you get pregnant. They may or may not use a scientifically proven algorithm or method. These apps tend to use a general rule or proprietary algorithm, but it’s unclear which method is being used. They often include features that address women’s pregnancy planning concerns, i.e. nutritional journals, community forums, etc. They include: Ovia, Glowand many others. They are often confused with Period Tracking Journals which offer some of the same information.
    

3. Period Tracking Journals - Apps that let you track all kinds of information related to your period and menstrual cycle, and which should be used for informational purposes only - though they may be helpful if you are trying to get pregnant. There are hundreds of these and they vary from the basic to the involved. They includePink Pad, Period Tracker, Clue, Eve, and HUNDREDS of others.

​So what should you look for in your fertility app? The most important thing is to KNOW YOUR GOAL. If you are looking for an app to help you plan or prevent pregnancy, make sure you know what method it uses and are comfortable with using that method. And make sure it comes from a respected source. 

Where do Cycle Technologies’ apps fit into this? Our goal is to provide women with contraceptive solutions that meet their needs.  All of our apps - Dot, CycleBeads, and TwoDay Method, are family planning apps. They are based on proven, effective family planning methods. These methods are designed to be exceptionally easy to use, which is how they are different than other family planning apps. But we’ll leave that for another post.

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