Pregnancy risk as apps replace the pill - study

Women in England and Wales are increasingly ditching the pill in favour of fertility tracking apps, risking a rise in unplanned pregnancies, a study has suggested.

- Andrew Gregory Health editor

Researchers highlighted a shift in attitudes towards contraception in the last five years, from "more reliable" hormonal options such as the pill and the implant to less reliable "fertility awareness-based methods".

While further research was needed to understand the reasons behind the change, the trend away from hormonal contraception corresponded to a rise in abortion rates, with wider implications for healthcare services, researchers said.

More women are using smartphone apps to track menstrual cycles or symptoms of ovulation. The aim of the apps is to help to estimate a woman's fertility window, with women avoiding unprotected sex on those days to prevent pregnancy. The researchers said fertility awareness-based methods, which were often promoted on social media, could be less reliable, with the potential to increase unintended pregnancies.

Typical failure rates for these methods ranged from two to 23 in every 100 women in the first year of use compared with seven in 100 for the pill or implants and less than one in 100 for the coil, they added.

"While the rise in abortion rates is multifactorial, one aspect that needs scrutiny is any change in contraceptive use, and particularly this surge in the use of ehealth, including fertility apps, period tracker apps and natural family planning apps," experts at the University of Edinburgh said.