'Pregnancy is a risk I'm willing to take': Why some women are ditching the pill

When the BBC reported a shift successful contraception use from "hormonal" products similar the pill to "natural" fertility tracking apps among immoderate women seeking abortions, galore different women got successful interaction sharing their experiences.

Their stories uncover however hard it tin beryllium to find commencement power that fits your manner and has acceptable broadside effects.

There are pros and cons with each types, wellness experts advise.

A method that suited you erstwhile you were 18 mightiness not erstwhile you are 28, 38 oregon 48, says Paula Baraitser, aesculapian manager of the NHS-partnered escaped intersexual wellness work supplier SH:24.

Fertility tracking apps are a comparatively caller enactment that immoderate radical are using.

They usage measurements similar assemblage somesthesia to foretell ovulation truthful the idiosyncratic knows erstwhile she would beryllium astir apt to get large each period oregon menstrual rhythm and tin debar enactment oregon usage a condom connected those days.

Dr Baraitser says immoderate of the patients she sees person switched to the apps aft struggling connected hormonal treatments similar the pill.

"Taking hormones changes your assemblage and radical are precise idiosyncratic successful their responses, affirmative and negative.

"For example, oestrogen often reduces acne and combined hormonal methods, similar the combined pill, spot oregon ring, assistance power your bleeding.

"On the different manus radical mightiness acquisition temper changes oregon changes to their libido."

She says it tin beryllium a process of proceedings and error, switching betwixt methods until you find thing that suits you.

Condoms are the lone benignant of contraception that tin some forestall gestation and support against sexually transmitted infections.

The BBC heard from women astir their experiences, nary of them are identified oregon pictured successful this nonfiction to support their anonymity.

Georgia, is 25 and from Bristol. She has been utilizing a fertility tracking app for the past 7 months.

She says her intelligence wellbeing improved massively erstwhile she came disconnected the pill, which she had been taking for astir a decade.

Georgia is alert that, unless utilized carefully, determination is the hazard of unwanted gestation but says "it's a hazard I'm consenting to instrumentality to fto my assemblage beryllium however it should be".

"[On the pill] I struggled a batch with my moods, I felt wholly retired of control. After I decided to travel disconnected the pill I did announcement a monolithic quality successful my quality to modulate emotions, however I'm feeling astir beingness and astir myself.

"I looked astatine the copper IUD but the dense bleeding enactment maine off. I already get dense periods truthful going onto thing that could marque them worse felt wrong.

"I was conscious that for a agelong clip I had been altering my body's hormones. It bothered maine a batch and I didn't privation to proceed to bash that.

"I'm a idiosyncratic trainer and enactment a batch with women. It's highly frustrating the probe is truthful dated.

"If you spell to the GP, a doc mightiness accidental 'try this'. But for you to cognize if a contraceptive is moving for your body, you sometimes person to hold months.

"It's travel to the constituent present wherever [using a tracking app] is simply a hazard I'm consenting to instrumentality to fto my assemblage beryllium however it should be."

Emily, who is 39 and from Glasgow, had an termination successful 2021 aft uncovering retired she was large portion utilizing a tracking app arsenic contraception.

In 2018 she came disconnected the pill which she'd been connected since the property of 17, initially to power acne.

"My temper was low, I was putting value connected and I couldn't suffer it. I was experiencing symptoms similar debased libido. I gave it a interruption and arsenic soon arsenic I came disconnected it I felt infinitely better," Emily said.

Looking for a non-hormonal alternate and wanting to debar the acquisition of having a coil fitted, she chose to usage the menstrual rhythm tracking diagnostic connected her iPhone Health app.

In 2021 she recovered retired she was 2 months large with her past spouse of 4 months - who is present her husband.

Emily said: "I got a urine corruption which kicked my rhythm retired of sync a small bit. Before I knew it a mates of months passed and I'd not had a period. I felt truly unwell 1 time and thought either this is Covid, oregon I'm pregnant. I went location and took a trial for both. The gestation trial came backmost positive.

She says her partner, present husband, was amazing.

"We spoke astir it and work tons of resources online. We hardly knew each different astatine the clip and didn't unrecorded unneurotic truthful we decided we couldn't spell up and person a child."

Following the termination, she decided to effort a antithetic contraceptive.

"[With tracking apps] I cognize your rhythm needs to beryllium truly regular and truly consistent. I didn't privation to gamble that hazard again," she said.

She opted for the the non-hormonal copper coil.

"I've ever had little backmost symptom but, since the coil, connected my periods that is present worse. And I present get symptom during ovulation. It's not ideal, but it is what it is.

"It enrages maine that successful this time and property there's truthful overmuch aesculapian probe successful different areas, but past we person a contraceptive pill implicit 50 years aged and this barbaric coil insertion procedure."

Freya, who is 26, came disconnected hormonal contraception successful an effort to spot if it mightiness assistance her intelligence health.

"I had been connected it since I was 15 oregon so, truthful I didn't truly 'know myself' without it.

"I opted to usage condoms during the times erstwhile the app said I would beryllium astatine hazard of pregnancy.

"I ended up large wrong 3 months and opted for an termination which I recovered highly distressing mentally and physically.

"The information I'd been utilizing the app alternatively of my mean contraception made maine consciousness arsenic though I couldn't archer anyone."

She says the acquisition has enactment her disconnected utilizing earthy contraception again due to the fact that "the stakes consciousness excessively high."

Alice, is 41 and from Farnborough. She had broadside effects portion connected the pill, including debased libido, value gain, temper swings and bleeding.

"I present person a girl and I consciousness bittersweet astir her future.

"Why bash women and girls person to carnivore the work of not getting pregnant.

"Immediately aft giving commencement you are asked what benignant of contraception bash you want.

"Luckily my hubby is good with condoms... and present I usage a fertility app to conscionable way my play but I don't trust connected it."

For radical funny successful fertility tracker apps, determination are immoderate things to consider:

• There are tons of apps but only 1 licensed fertility app for contraceptive use successful the UK
• Period trackers are not the aforesaid and person not been designed to foretell erstwhile you ovulate oregon mightiness beryllium fertile
• If your menstrual cycles are not the aforesaid magnitude each period the days of your rhythm erstwhile you are fertile mightiness change
• If you person a precise irregular rhythm past apps whitethorn find it much hard to foretell your fertility
• You indispensable travel the app instructions correctly for it to beryllium arsenic reliable arsenic possible
• If you are monitoring assemblage somesthesia past however you bash it is important

Dr Baraitser explained: "After ovulation your somesthesia goes up - but by a precise tiny amount.

"To prime up a quality this small, you person to measurement your somesthesia whenever the app tells you to, often daily, and you request to bash this earlier you person got retired of furniture successful the greeting and earlier you person eaten oregon person had thing to drink. If you person a engaged life, if you enactment nights, if you person young children this whitethorn beryllium hard to do."

New technologies that show somesthesia continuously - specified arsenic wrist somesthesia measured by a astute ticker - whitethorn assistance with this, she said.

The app tin lone archer you erstwhile to person enactment and erstwhile not to. It's up to you to retrieve and enactment connected the advice.

Anatole Menon-Johnson is objective manager astatine Brook which has intersexual wellness clinics astir the UK. He said weighing the accidental of having an unintended gestation was important to consider.

He advised: "Find a supplier that volition perceive to you and let you to research and experimentation with contraceptive methods.

"It volition sometimes instrumentality a fewer attempts to find the champion 1 for you."

Companies accidental apps tin beryllium arsenic overmuch arsenic 93% reliable erstwhile utilized correctly, meaning 7 successful each 100 women would get large erstwhile tracking their fertility for a year.

That is somewhat amended than the 91% seen with typical oregon little than cleanable usage of the pill and the mini pill.

Perfect usage of the pill increases the occurrence complaint to 99% - akin to hormone-releasing coils oregon implants, which bash not trust connected the idiosyncratic remembering to instrumentality them.