Smartphone apps not so smart in helping to avoid or achieve pregnancy

You might not want to depend on your smartphone app alone to help you avoid or achieve pregnancy, say the authors of a new study. A review of nearly 100 fertility awareness apps finds that most aren't based on solid science.
The findings, published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, also found that many apps include a disclaimer discouraging use for avoiding pregnancy.
The study was led by Marguerite Duane, MD, adjunct associate professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine and executive director of Fertility Appreciation Collaborative to Teach the Science.
“Smartphone apps are increasing in popularity because more and more women are interested in using natural or fertility awareness-based methods of family planning because they want to feel empowered with greater knowledge of their bodies,” says Duane, a family physician.
But, as the authors write, these methods depend on women observing and recording fertility biomarkers and following guidelines. Apps offer a convenient way to track fertility biomarkers, the authors say, but only some employ evidence-based methods.
Fertility awareness-based methods depend on the user's ability to accurately make and classify daily observations. But the authors say relying solely on an app may not be enough to avoid pregnancy.

40 apps reviewed

For the review, more than 95 apps were identified on iTunes, Google, or Google play. Of those, 55 were excluded from evaluation because they either had a disclaimer prohibiting use for avoiding pregnancy or did not claim to employ an evidence-based method.
The researchers evaluated the remaining 40 apps for accuracy using a rating system based on criteria used by Family Practice Management. Each app was rated on a five-point scale for 10 clearly defined criteria, weighted based on their level of importance for avoiding pregnancy.
“Of those reviewed, 30 apps predict days of fertility for the user and 10 do not," said Duane.
Only six apps had either a perfect score on accuracy or no false negatives, days of fertility classified as infertile, the researchers wrote. Apps that do not predict fertile days scored high on accuracy only if they required women receive training in a fertility awareness-based method before using the app.
“We recommend that women first receive instruction from a trained educator and then look for an app that scored four or more on mean accuracy and authority in our review,” says Duane.
Source: Georgetown University Medical Center: http://gumc.georgetown.edu