According to a latest study involving more than 90 fertility apps revealed that these apps are not very accurate in preventing and planning pregnancies. The study published in Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, recommends against relying on these apps to succeed or avoid pregnancy.
In a recent report, it was also pointed out that these fertility apps pin a woman's menstrual cycle to know exactly when they will ovulate and when they are likely to get pregnant. There are also apps that take basal body temperature (BBT) into account when calculating the exact day of ovulation. However, it is normal for BBT to increase two or three days before ovulation.
For the study purpose, researchers examined more than 95 fertility apps that could be downloaded from iTunes, Google Play Store and Google. Among these apps, at least 55 of them warned the users to not use it as a definitive means to prevent pregnancy or to achieve it.
The remaining 40 apps were reviewed by the researchers using a rating system used by Family Practice Management. The researchers then began rating each apps and their effectiveness in avoiding pregnancy. Only 30 apps were able to successfully predict the user's fertile days, which included six apps that were absolutely accurate.
As per their findings, the researchers recommend women to not rely solely on fertility apps for planning or prevention of pregnancy. Women who want to use these apps must also take help from a trained family planning facilitator before downloading the app based on their accuracy ratings.
