Drum – 15 August 2019

42 |^15 AUGUST^2019 http://www.drum.co.za

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Control in

your pocket

You can now manage your

fertility and monitor your

periods online thanks to

a crop of clever new apps

COMPILED BY KIRSTIN BUICK

P

ILLS, condoms, intra-
uterine devices and... an
app? Late last year the US
Food and Drug Adminis-
tration (FDA) approved a
birth control app as a
method of preventing
unwanted pregnancy.
To be fair, Natural Cycles – which is
now officially allowed to market itself
as a form of contraception in the USA –
is more than just a run-of-the-mill app.
The birth control system requires a
basal thermometer with which users
have to measure their body temperature
and input the data into the app. Using
algorithms that track a woman’s body
temperature and cycle, the app is de-
signed to predict from the data when a
woman is least likely to become pregnant.
This method, known as fertility aware-
ness, isn’t foolproof (it’s 93% effective)
and does absolutely nothing to protect
against STDs, so the FDA move was con-
troversial among doctors.
Natural Cycles isn’t considered a con-
traceptive in South Africa, but there’s
certainly something to be said for tech
that can help you track your menstrual
cycle and understand your body a bit
better.
The app and others like it are part of
the rise in the fast-growing “femtech”
sector – technology developed for
women’s health. The market will be
worth $50 billion (R711 billion) by 2025,
according to VentureBeat.
Whether you’re trying to figure out
when you’re most fertile or just keep
track of when to expect your next period,
there’s an app out there for you.

FLO

There’s a reason this simple app is one of

Google Play’s top-rated trackers. If it’s basic

tracking and cycle predictions you’re after,

Flo is a great start.

As with all period tracker apps, you start

by inputting the dates of your most recent

period and how long they usually last, and

the app churns out a generic cycle for you

to plan by. But as you keep tracking dates

and other data (such as your flow, mood

and PMS symptoms) the app gets smarter,

giving you more accurate predictions.

But the best part about Flo is the Insights

page. Using data you’ve put into the app, it

churns out inter-

esting info tailor-

made for you, in-

cluding bite-size

explanations

on every thing

from the size

of your breasts

tomasturbation.

Freetodownload

fromtheGoogle

PlayandApple

Appstores.

MYFLO

The brainchild of US

hormone guru Alisa

Vitti, this takes track-

ing to the next level.

It’s less focused on

where you are in your

cycle in terms of fertili-

ty (although it does offer a fertility mode)

and more on the various phases of your cycle

and how you can work with them. For exam-

ple, in the follicular phase, which starts when

your period finishes, low hormone levels

mean an increase in concentration and it’s

an optimal time to be creative, apparently.

MyFlo also gives you advice on what food

and exercise is best for each phase of your

cycle, and tips related to what kind of data

you input – such as how to beat blemishes,

cravings and more.

The app can be a bit buggy at times, but all

the info packed into the app is fascinating.

Download for R27 from the Google Play and

AppleAppstores.

OVIA FERTILITY

This highly-rated app is for women trying to

conceive. Unlike the other apps, this tracks

ovulation rather than periods and gives you

a daily fertility score so you know when it’s

a great time to get busy.

You can also export all

the recorded data such

as periods and food onto

an Excel spreadsheet or

generate graphs on your

fertility window. You can

also customise the

colour scheme.

Free to download from

the Google Play and

Apple App stores.

EVE

Eve markets itself as the “Cosmo magazine of

period apps” – and you’ll quickly discover why.

Along with the standard tracking system, Eve

is full of quizzes, sex tips and tricks as well as

fun Cyclescopes, which offer daily horoscope-

style forecasts based on where you are in

your cycle. “Take advantage of your rising

levels of take-charge testosterone and get

your finances in order!”

Its cheeky approach

to tracking is also re-

freshing. Tick “Do me

now” if you’ve had a high

sex drive on a given day,

and rate your flow from

“light” to “crime scene”.

Free to download with

in-app purchases on the

Google Play and Apple

App stores.

HEALTH