One of the most common questions FACTS receives from doctors, women, and couples interested in charting their fertility using a fertility awareness based method is “Which fertility app is the best?” A quick iTunes or Google play search for “fertility awareness” reveals nearly 100 apps women can use to chart their fertility. This makes the decision of which app to use that much more confusing.
Women and doctors alike are asking, which fertility app is the best?
When it comes to avoiding pregnancy, women and couples need to make sure their app is effective. Currently, the only reviews available are based on user feedback and may not reflect an app’s true scientific effectiveness.
That’s when the idea to review these fertility apps was born. FACTS researchers conducted a fertility apps study to be published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine the second week in July.
A new fertility app study
FACTS conducted a study to systematically review fertility apps claiming effectiveness at avoiding pregnancy. By developing a rating system based on criteria used by Family Practice Management to rate medical apps, FACTS rated each app on a five-point scale for 10 clearly defined criteria. Each criteria were then weighted based on their level of importance for avoiding pregnancy.
Rating criteria for fertility apps
The final results of this study will be available here on July 7th, published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. Until then, please review the following lists for the apps that were reviewed in this study.
Apps in the FACTS Apps Review:
2Day Method
Charting App
Cyclendar
CycleProGo
Cycles
FemCal
FEMM
Fertility & Ovulation
Fertility Calendar
Fertility Clock
Fertility Pinpoint
Glow
Groove Fertility Pro
iCycleBeads
iCyclus
Kindara
Knowhen
Lady Cycle
Lady Timer
LilyPro
Menstrual Cycle Woman Log
Menstruation & Ovulation
mfNFP.net
My Fertility MD
MyFertilityCharts.com
Natural Cycles
NFP Charting
NFP Project Caruso
Ova Ova
OvaGraph
Ovatemp
Ovulation Mentor
OvuView
Period and Ovulation Calendar
Period Log
Period Pace
Pink Pad Pro
Sympto.org
Symptopro
Woman Calendar
Apps excluded from the FACTS Apps Review
(not reviewed based on exclusion criteria*, unless otherwise noted):
Ahaba Marriage Meter, Baby Planner for Ipad, Basal Body Temp, BodyTemp and Period Monitor, Clue, CyclePeriods and Fertility Cycles, CyclePlus Fertility Tracker, Day After, Dot (not released at time of study), Fertility App, Fertility Flower, Fertility Friend Mobile Ovulation, Fertility View, fertilla, Free menstrual calendar, Get Pregnant Now, i-femion, i-period period tracker, Ladi Cal for iPad (BBT), Learning NFP, LifeCycle – Women’s health, Lily, LoveCycles, Menstrual Calendar, Maybe Baby 2013, Menstrual Calendar for Ipad, Menstrual Calendar Selene, Menstrual fertility calendar, Month Pal, Monthly Cycles Period Tracker, My Cycles period and ovulation, My Days Period and Ovulation, My period tracker, Ovulation Calendar – Surebaby, Ovulation Calendar and Fertility, Ovulation Calendar: Free Ladytimer, Ovuline Ovia Fertility (unable to enter past data), Period Diary, Period planner, Period plus, Period tracker, Period tracker! Period tracker/lite, Style period calendar, What to Expect Fertility, Woman Calendar Lite – Menstrual, WomanLog Calendar
*apps were not included in study if they either had a disclaimer prohibiting use for avoiding pregnancy or did not claim to employ an evidence-based FABM