Thousands of British women have ditched the Pill in favour of a celebrity-inspired ‘natural’ contraception trend, official figures suggest.
The number of women relying on ‘fertility awareness’, which involves tracking their menstrual cycle to find out when they are most likely to get pregnant, has doubled over the last decade.
Meanwhile, the proportion taking oral contraceptives has fallen by more than two-thirds, according to the same data.
Dozens of celebrities, including Love Island’s Olivia Attwood and Montana Brown, Coronation Street’s Lucy Fallon and Made in Chelsea’s Tiffany Watson, have raved about the benefits using apps, such as Natural Cycles, and hailed them ‘the golden ticket’.
Social media is also littered with videos from influencers highlighting the supposed benefits of binning traditional contraception as part of the ‘back to nature’ movement. They claim hormonal forms of contraception, like the Pill, have left them feeling ‘ugly’ by causing weight gain, acne and depression.
However, despite its explosion in popularity, experts warn the ‘natural’ method isn’t as effective as other forms of contraception and shouldn’t be used by anyone who would find it a ‘disaster’ if they became pregnant.
The number of women using natural family planning — monitoring cycle length, temperature and cervical mucus to predict when they are fertile — has doubled over the last decade, NHS figures show
Dozens of celebrities, including Love Island’s Olivia Attwood (pictured in September), Coronation Street ‘s Lucy Fallon and Made in Chelsea ‘s Tiffany Watson , have raved about the benefits using apps, such as Natural Cycles, and hailed them ‘the golden ticket’. Attwood criticised other contraceptive options for leaving her ‘uncomfortable’ and battling ‘mood swings and migraines’
Montana Brown (pictured in February) meanwhile defended using the app — which some of her followers labelled ‘risky’ and ‘irresponsible’ — claiming she had ‘no idea’ of the effects of the Pill on her body and where she was in her cycle prior to using Natural Cycles
NHS data suggests the use of natural family planning apps as contraception has doubled in a decade.
Around 555,400 women using the health service’s sexual and reproductive health services in 2022/23 — equivalent to four per cent of 13 to 54-year-olds.
Of these, 8,800 confessed to using ‘natural family planning’ as their main method. This is up from 4,500 when records began in 2012/13.
It was most popular among those aged 25 to 34 (3,800) and those aged 35 to 44 (1,800), the data shows.
Over the same time frame, oral contraception use has dropped by more than two-thirds, from 420,600 in 2012/13 to 126,400 in 2022/23.
HOW DOES NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING ACTUALLY WORK?
Natural family planning involves identifying the signs and symptoms of fertility during your menstrual cycle so you can plan or avoid pregnancy.
There are no physical side effects, and you can use it to plan when you get pregnant.
It involves daily body temperature readings, logging any changes to the cervix — specifically, the secretions of mucus from the cervix and the length of the menstrual cycle.
The temperature method is used because there’s a small rise in body temperature after ovulation.
The temperature method involves taking your temperature every morning before you get out of bed. This should be done before eating, drinking and smoking, and ideally at the same time every morning.
Natural family planning is often done via an app like Natural Cycles, Flo or Clue.
But you can also use fertility charts to record and track your measurements over the course of each menstrual cycle.
The NHS says it can be up to 99 per cent effective when done correctly and around 75 per cent if not used according to instructions.
Yet it is still ten times more popular than natural family planning, which can be done manually or with apps.
According to the NHS data, the other most popular methods include long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs) — the implant, intrauterine system (IUS) and intrauterine device (IUD) — and condoms.
The figures don’t include responses from the hundreds of thousands of women who source their contraception from a GP or pharmacy, so only represent a snapshot.
Women contacting a service multiple times during the year will also only be counted once in the figures.
Natural family planning is often done via an app that requires women to report their temperature most days. Some also ask about changes to cervical mucus and the length of menstrual cycle.
Apps then use an algorithm to calculate their fertility.
Natural Cycles, Flo and Clue are among the most popular apps.
They then identify days when a woman is unlikely to fall pregnant, and those when pregnancy is likely, meaning contraception would be needed.
Yet these are not foolproof, with scores of women reporting unwanted pregnancies.
The NHS says it can be up to 99 per cent effective when done correctly and around 75 per cent if not used according to instructions.
Dr Janet Barter, president of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health, told MailOnline: ‘We have seen an increase in women turning to natural family planning recently, which can be great if followed consistently and correctly.
‘However, if the instructions aren’t followed consistently and correctly it can lead to pregnancy.’
She added: ‘It just isn’t as effective as other methods of contraception, and I would not recommend this method to anyone for whom a pregnancy at this point in their lives would be a disaster.
‘I would also recommend avoiding social media as there is a lot of misinformation out there which can be confusing.’
Katherine O’Brien, of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), said: ‘Women can struggle to access the full range of options and chose the method that is right for them.
‘Natural family planning can be an effective way to prevent unplanned pregnancy — but only if used correctly.
‘The numbers of women relying on apps may be increasing, but many of these tools are not supported by high-quality, evidence-based research.
‘The rise in interest in alternative methods of family planning is an understandable consequence of the woeful lack of innovation in contraception over the last 50 years.’
She added: ‘While there are more contraceptive options on the market, aside from the copper coil, all prescription methods are variations on the same synthetic hormones used since the 1960s.
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The proportion of women taking oral contraceptives has fallen by more than two-thirds, from 420,600 in 2012/13 to 126,400 in 2022/23, according to the NHS data. Around 555,400 women turned to the health service’s sexual and reproductive health services in 2022/23 — equivalent to four per cent of 13 to 54-year-olds. Of these, 8,800 confessed to using ‘natural family planning’ as their main method of contraception
The NHS says natural family planning can be up to 99 per cent effective when done correctly and around 75 per cent if not used according to instructions. By comparison, the Pill, implant, IUS and IUD are 99 per cent effective with perfect use, while condoms are 98 per cent
Coronation Street star, Lucy Fallon (pictured last month), lauded the ‘non-hormonal and non-invasive’ contraceptive method earlier this year in a post promoting the Natural Cycles app months after giving birth
Former Made in Chelsea star Tiffany Watson (pictured in July 2022) also promoted the app on social media months after welcoming her first child, earlier this year. Natural Cycles, made by a Swedish-based firm, costs £69.99 a year and claims to be 93 per cent effective with typical use and 98 per cent effective with perfect use
‘Women are still being told to “put up” with side-effects their mothers experienced decades earlier.
‘It is important that women receive evidence-based information about the efficacy of contraceptive methods, including apps.
‘But rather than criticising women for exploring new options, we should be asking ourselves why there has been so little innovation in this essential area of women’s healthcare.’
Other than natural family planning, condoms, IUDs and diaphragms are among the few other non-hormonal options available.
Social media videos highlighting the benefits of switching to ‘natural’ contraception have racked up hundreds of thousands of views this year alone.
In one TikTok posted last month, influencer @amanda_pac told her 17,000 followers: ‘When I was on the pill, I got really used to these days that were really just a waste of a day.
‘I didn’t want to get out of bed, I was so sad and there was no trigger or reason.
‘That doesn’t happen to me anymore, ever. I can’t remember the last day I was really really sad unless there was a reason to be sad.’
She added: ‘At this point in my life I definitely never want to go on anything hormonal ever again. Just being natural is such a flex. I feel like it’s just so nice.
‘On top of it, I was able to finally lose the weight that I’d gained in the last few months I was on the pill. It took a really long time to get there.’
In another TikTok clip watched more than 24,500 times, @makeke_g shared photos of herself before starting to use the Pill and when on the Pill.
‘Gurl i gained 35 pounds and I cant get rid of it,’ she wrote.
Horror stories about painful IUD coil installations, never-ending periods caused by the pill and contraceptive pill-induced mood swings are common arguments used by influencers arguing in favour of natural family planning.
Known side effects of the Pill — proven to be over 99 per cent effective at stopping pregnancy — include nausea, breast tenderness, mood swings and headaches.
Others claim they pile on pounds while taking the because of increased fluid retention and appetite, yet the NHS says there is no evidence it leads to weight gain.
Decades of research has failed to provide any conclusive evidence that this supposed side effect is real.
However, rarer side effects include blood clots and a slightly heightened risk of breast and cervical cancer.
Celebs have also posted similar messages hailing the benefits of one natural family planning app — Natural Cycles — in sponsored posts.
Attwood described the app as ‘the golden ticket’ and criticised other contraceptive options for leaving her ‘uncomfortable’ and battling ‘mood swings and migraines’.
Love Island’s Montana Brown defended using the app — which some of her followers labelled ‘risky’ and ‘irresponsible’ — claiming she had ‘no idea’ of the effects of the Pill on her body and where she was in her cycle prior to using Natural Cycles.
Both Fallon and Watson lauded the ‘non-hormonal and non-invasive’ contraceptive method earlier this year in posts promoting the app months after giving birth.
In one TikTok posted last month and seen 325,000 times, @amanda_pac, told her followers: ‘When I was on the pill, I got really used to these days that were really just a waste of a day.’ She added: ‘I didn’t want to get out of bed, I was so sad and there was no trigger or reason. That doesn’t happen to me anymore, ever. I can’t remember the last day I was really really sad unless there was a reason to be sad. On top of that it’s so cool to be actually able to feel your body go through the cycle that it’s supposed to go through because birth control kind of numbs that all and now I’m so in tune with where I am and what’s happening’
Meanwhile in another watched over 24,500 times, @makeke_g shared photos of herself before starting to use birth control and after when on the pill. ‘Gurl i gained 35 pounds and I cant get rid of it,’ she wrote
Natural Cycles, made by a Swedish-based firm, costs £69.99 a year and claims to be 93 per cent effective with typical use and 98 per cent effective with perfect use.
By comparison, the Pill, implant, IUS and IUD are 99 per cent effective with perfect use, the NHS say, while condoms are 98 per cent.
Natural Cycles claims to have hundreds of thousands of British users, while other fertility tracking apps, like Flo and Clue, say they have millions of users worldwide.
Natural Cycles uses body temperature readings, period data and optional ovulation test results to calculate daily fertility status — identifying ‘green days’ when a woman us unlikely to fall pregnant and ‘red days’ when contraception would be needed.
While Natural Cycles was the first birth control app cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2018 and certified in the European Union in 2017, the NHS does not recommend it as an effective method.
It argues that, like many other contraceptives, natural family planning does not protect against STIs such as chlamydia or HIV.
Meanwhile, stress, illness, travel, lifestyle and hormonal treatments can disrupt fertility signs — raising the risk of such apps giving inaccurate information on fertility status — and do not work without continued commitment and practice.
Dr Barter told MailOnline: ‘There is no single method of contraception that is the best choice for every person who needs it and there are pros and cons to every method.
‘While the coil remains the most effective form of contraception, with 99 per cent efficacy when fitted correctly and lasting for five to ten years, it is not for everyone.’
BPAS puts the fertility awareness method, which is similar to the idea behind Natural Cycles, at around a 15 per cent chance of failure.
It comes as the UK data watchdog last month announced it was set to review period and fertility tracking apps over data security concerns.
The Information Commissioner’s Office probe was in response to figures showing half of women using the apps are concerned over how their personal information is processed.
The apps have previously come under fire from UK watchdogs.
In 2018, a Facebook ad for Natural Cycles was banned by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority, after its claims that it was ‘highly accurate’ and ‘provided a clinically tested alternative to other birth control methods’ were found to be misleading.
