Ladies, you can toss out your birth control pills — maybe.
That’s what Natural Cycles, an app that tracks fertility based on body temperature and a user’s menstrual cycle, wants you to do, at least, after receiving FDA approval to market its app on Friday. The app is the first direct-to-consumer app for contraceptive use to receive FDA approval.
Here’s how it works: Natural Cycles has women use a basal body thermometer to monitor their temperature on a daily basis. The app sorts the user’s calendar into green and red days; on red days, users are told to avoid having sex, or use protection, if they don’t want to get pregnant.
The app’s success rate isn’t perfect, however. A 1.8 percent “perfect use” failure rate, according to the FDA, means 1.8 women out of 100 will get pregnant, even when using Natural Cycles properly. The Stockholm-based company was investigated earlier this year after 37 women became pregnant while using the app, The Verge reported.
“Consumers are increasingly using digital health technologies to inform their everyday health decisions, and this new app can provide an effective method of contraception if it’s used carefully and correctly,” Dr. Terri Cornelison, assistant director for the health of women in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a statement. “But women should know that no form of contraception works perfectly, so an unplanned pregnancy could still result from correct usage of this device.”
Taking a birth control pill, on the other hand, is 99 percent effective, according to Planned Parenthood. But there isn’t an app for that.
10 Most Shocking Russian Troll Posts on Facebook and Instagram, From Hillary Clinton to Police Brutality (Photos)
The U.S. House Intelligence Committee on Thursday released more than 3,500 advertisements and posts spread by Russian trolls before and after the 2016 U.S. election. Below is a look at 10 of the most shocking examples that stood out from Congress's reveal.
House Intelligence Committee
Many posts pushed the narrative that Hillary Clinton would confiscate guns if she were elected President.
House Intelligence Committee
This graphic meme painted cops as KKK members attacking a young black child.
House Intelligence Committee
Only "sissies" and other undesirables wouldn't support Donald Trump, many of the memes said.
House Intelligence Committee
President Obama was a "pawn" and "traitor" in the hands of "Arabian Sheikhs," said one 2016 ad.
House Intelligence Committee
The "Black Matters US" page touched on hot button issues like police shootings.
House Intelligence Committee
The "Army of Jesus" page shared a bible verse, along with this meme.
House Intelligence Committee
Russian trolls also used Instagram to spread sponsored political memes.
House Intelligence Committee
The "Blacktivist" page routinely shared memes on Colin Kaepernick and other football players kneeling during the national anthem.
House Intelligence Committee
"Heart of Texas" routinely posted on "Killary Rotten Clinton," and threatened to secede from the union if she won the election.
House Intelligence Committee
The "Being Patriotic" page labeled ex-cons as "Obama voters."
House Intelligence Committee
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Congress just released 3,500 posts touching on a myriad of topics
The U.S. House Intelligence Committee on Thursday released more than 3,500 advertisements and posts spread by Russian trolls before and after the 2016 U.S. election. Below is a look at 10 of the most shocking examples that stood out from Congress's reveal.