When BBC gave a report Changes in contraceptive use Many other women got in touch to share their experiences, from “hormonal” products like the pill to “natural” fertility tracking apps, among some women seeking abortions.

Their stories show how difficult it can be to find birth control that fits your lifestyle and has acceptable side effects.

Health experts recommend that all types have advantages and disadvantages.

Paula Baraitser, medical director of SH:24, a free NHS-partnered sexual healthcare provider, says the approach that was right for you at 18 may not be right for you at 28, 38 or 48.

Fertility tracking apps are a relatively new option that some people are using.

They use measurements such as body temperature to predict ovulation so the user knows when in each month or menstrual cycle she is most likely to get pregnant and can avoid sex or use condoms on those days. Can use.

Dr. Baraitser says some of the patients he sees have switched to apps after struggling with hormonal treatments like the pill.

“Taking hormones changes your body and people are very individual in their reactions, positive and negative.

“For example, estrogen often reduces acne and combined hormonal methods such as the combined pill, patch or ring help control your bleeding.

“On the other hand, people may experience mood swings or changes in their libido.”

She says it can be a process of trial and error, switching between methods until you find something that works for you.

Condoms are the only type of contraception that can prevent pregnancy and protect against sexually transmitted infections.

The BBC heard from the women about their experiences, none of them are identified or depicted in this article to protect their anonymity.

Georgia is 25 years old and from Bristol. She has been using the fertility tracking app for the last seven months.

She says that when she stopped the pill, which she had been taking for almost a decade, her mental health improved significantly.

Georgia knows that, unless used carefully, there is a risk of unwanted pregnancy, but says, “It’s a risk I’m willing to take to allow my body to be as it should be.” .

“(While on the pill) I struggled a lot with my mood, I felt completely out of control. After I decided to come off the pill I lost my ability to control emotions, how I felt about life. Noticed a big difference in how I’m doing and feeling about myself.

“I looked at the copper IUD but the heavy bleeding made me nervous. I already have heavy periods, so doing something that could make them worse felt wrong.

“I knew that for a long time I had been altering my body’s hormones. It was causing me a lot of trouble and I didn’t want to continue like that.

“I’m a personal trainer and work with women a lot. It’s extremely disappointing that the research is so out of date.

“If you go to a GP, the doctor may say ‘try this’. But you sometimes have to wait months to find out if contraception is working for your body.

“Now it’s come to the point where (using tracking apps) is a risk I’m willing to take to allow my body to be the way it should be.”

Emily, who is 39 and from Glasgow, had an abortion in 2021 after discovering she was pregnant while using a tracking app as a form of contraception.

In 2018 she stopped the pill she had been taking since she was 17, initially to control acne.

Emily said, “I was in a bad mood, my weight was increasing and I was not able to lose it. I was experiencing symptoms like low libido. I gave it a break and as soon as I came out of it, I felt infinitely better. “Felt better.”

Looking for a non-hormonal option and avoiding the experience of having a coil fit, she chose to use the menstrual cycle tracking feature on her iPhone Health app.

In 2021 she discovered she was two months pregnant with her partner of four months – who is now her husband.

Emily said: “I got a urinary infection, which threw off my cycle a bit. Before I knew it, a few months went by and I didn’t get my period. One day I felt really unwell and thought or So it’s Covid.” , or I’m pregnant. I went home and got both of them tested. The pregnancy test came back positive.

She says her partner, now husband, was wonderful.

“We talked about it and read a lot of resources online. We barely knew each other at the time and didn’t live together so we decided we couldn’t go ahead and have a baby.”

After termination, she decided to try a different contraceptive.

“(With tracking apps) I know that your cycle has to be really regular and consistent. I didn’t want to take that risk again,” she said.

She chose non-hormonal copper coil.

“I’ve always had lower back pain, but since the coil, it’s now worse on my periods. And now I have pain during ovulation. It’s not ideal, but it’s the way it is.

“It makes me angry that there is so much medical research happening in other fields in this day and age, but yet we have the contraceptive pill that is over 50 years old and this barbaric coil insertion procedure.”

Freya, who is 26, stopped taking hormonal birth control in an attempt to see if it might help her mental health.

“I’ve been on it since I was 15, so I didn’t really ‘know myself’ without it.

“I opted to use condoms when the app said I would be at risk of pregnancy.

“I became pregnant within three months and opted for abortion which I found extremely distressing both mentally and physically.

“The fact that I was using the app instead of my normal contraception made me feel like I couldn’t tell anyone.”

She says this experience has put her off using natural contraception again because “the risks seem too high.”

Alice is 41 and from Farnborough. She experienced side effects while taking the pill, including decreased libido, weight gain, mood changes, and bleeding.

“Now I have a daughter and I am sad about her future.

“Why women and girls have to bear the responsibility for not getting pregnant.

“Soon after giving birth you are asked what type of contraception you want.

“Luckily my husband doesn’t have a problem with condoms… and now I use a fertility app to track my periods, but I’m not dependent on it.”

For people interested in fertility tracker apps, there are a few things to consider:

• but there are so many apps The only licensed fertility app for contraceptive use in britain
• Period trackers are not the same and are not designed to predict when you will ovulate or become fertile
• If your menstrual cycle is not the same length each month, the days of your cycle may change when you are fertile.
• Apps may find it more difficult to predict your fertility if your cycle is very irregular.
• You must follow the app’s instructions correctly to make the app as reliable as possible
• If you are monitoring body temperature how you do this is important

Dr Baraitser explained: “After ovulation your temperature rises – but by a very small amount.

“To know this small difference, you have to take your temperature when the app asks you to, often daily, and you have to do this in the morning before you get out of bed and before you eat food or anything else. If you have a busy life “If you work nights, it can be hard to do if you have small children.”

New technologies that continuously monitor temperature — such as wrist temperature measured by a smart watch — could help with this, he said.

The app can only tell you when to have sex and when not to. It’s up to you to remember the advice and act on it.

Anatole Menon-Johnson is Clinical Director at Brook, which has sexual health clinics across the UK. She said it’s important to consider the possibility of unintended pregnancy.

She advised: “Find a provider who will listen to you and allow you to explore and experiment with contraceptive methods.

“Sometimes it takes a few tries to find the best one for you.”

The companies say the apps can be up to 93% reliable when used correctly, meaning 7 out of every 100 women will get pregnant if they track their fertility for a year.

it’s a little better than that 91% seen with typical Or less than correct use of pill and mini pill.

Correct use of the pill increases the success rate to 99% – similar to hormone-releasing coils or implants, which do not depend on the user remembering to take them.