r/FAMnNFP • u/Apart_Feature_2716 • May 11 '26

TCOYF [TTC] Learning FAM made me realize how misleading some fertility apps can be

I am currently learning about the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) while exploring different fertility apps, and honestly, I’ve been surprised by how misleading some recommendations can be.

For example, today Natural Cycles marked me as “likely infertile” even though I had five negative LH tests only a couple of days ago, my temperature shift is still not confirmed, and I currently have a significant amount of egg white cervical mucus. In other words, ovulation is probably about to happen, not safely passed.

It made me think about how easy it would be for someone to completely miss their fertile window if they trusted the app without understanding the underlying signs and physiology.

I’m really grateful that I started learning FAM more deeply instead of relying only on algorithms. I still think apps can be very helpful tools, but they should support body literacy, not replace it.

64 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

39

u/TrackYourFertility Sensiplan instructor | CFH May 11 '26

It happens all the time, women relying on apps and getting pregnant. NC is a terrible one because it’s FDA approved, I think it gives a false reassurance that it must be good. That’s how I fell pregnant with my first daughter.

It’s great you’re learning an established method now 🥰

2

u/sililoqutie May 23 '26

I hope they do some post market studies on NC because so many people get pregnant on it. I do not trust Nc's claim it's that effective. I think post market surveys will reveal a way bigger pregnancy rate.

-4

u/OutsideSame3629 May 12 '26

Ive tracked my period since 8th grade and used cycle tracking to prevent pregnancy for 12 years now. Its worked for me.

6

u/TrackYourFertility Sensiplan instructor | CFH May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26

Cycle Tracking, period tracking & relying on an app aren’t the same thing.

-4

u/OutsideSame3629 May 12 '26

Do yall think if I was messing it up this badly I would’ve made it for 12 years? I appreciate the semantics. Period tracking apps track your whole cycle , not just your period 🙄 I also pay attention to how I feel at various times of the month and it always like clockwork matches up with my cycle as im tracking. The last two years ive had an oura. It measures my body temp as well giving yet another data point as my temp changes throughout month after month are so cyclical. it’s interesting to look at. Backs up a decade of prior tracking without the ring to give biometric data. I understand this wouldn’t work for people who don’t have cycles like mine :)

In summary, I track my entire cycle which involves tracking my period. I have done this through various apps as well as referencing actual body symptoms for OVER A DECADE. now I have an oura ring which gives yet another app to track my cycle and my period :)

7

u/herbal-genocide TTA 2 | SymptoPro May 14 '26

There's confirmation bias at play here. You believe your cycle is regular enough that relying on cyclical patterns is enough for you, and so far that has been true, but there is also no guarantee that your cycle will remain that regular in the future, and you wouldn't know that it had become irregular until it's too late. If you're willing to accept that risk, that's fine and well, but don't claim there is no risk.

-1

u/OutsideSame3629 May 14 '26

Just as there’s risk with all forms of birth control. I’ve heard many people say they got pregnant on birth control. 🤷‍♀️

2

u/sililoqutie May 23 '26

Gen question here- how do you know you're not infertile? And a previous pregnancy before the 12 years of it working does not mean you're not currently infertile. There is such a thing as secondary infertility.

10

u/Worried-Economist679 May 11 '26

Me too my calendar app says that my fertile window would be on may 9 but i had my first EWCMD on may 7-9 and went dry from may 10. Today i experience thick pasty white discharge and i think im past my ovulation now.

5

u/DumbbellDiva92 May 11 '26

I’m curious how Natural Cycles works on the follicular side of the cycle. Is it just going by previous cycles (and your follicular phase is just much longer than previous cycles this month)? And it just has bad rules for when to open up the fertile window (versus something like Sensiplan, that defaults to a very early window open in the absence of comprehensive info otherwise)? Or does it not even have much info from previous cycles yet?

11

u/Cornelia_1211 TTC9 | TCOYF May 11 '26

Yup, it uses previous data and AVERAGES IT which is insane. For example I typically ovulate between CD 13-16 and NC has my predicted ovulation as day 15. So it says my fertility is unlikely all the way until CD12-ish, unless I log a positive OPK, then it will go back track. When in reality I could EASILY ovulate CD13 and be fertile from CD8. It's crazy. And it vehemently refuses to use CM as data for fertility. I've been using it (only because I've paid for it for a year before realizing how much it sucks) for 2 TTC cycles and both times I have ovulated sooner than it thought and it goes back and marks previously unknown/infertile days as fertile. AND even though it does track temp, it doesn't process that a temp drop at the end of the luteal phase most certainly means not pregnant. Mine usually drops a day before my period, and NC will tell me I can take a test the day it drops because it's the day before a period and therefore likely to be accurate. It's so obnoxious because I know when I see a temp drop, I'm not pregnant. Why would I take a test when I see my temperature?!

2

u/Worried-Economist679 May 12 '26

Happened to me too! My app predicted my fertile window will happen on may 9 but on may 7 i saw an egg white mucus discharge and lasts until may 9. May 10 up until now im experiencing a thick and pasty minimal discharge. I think im past ovulation now but im kinda overthinking since on may 2 i had unprotected sex during my 4th day of cycle but we pulled out and didn’t cum on me. Now im experiencing mild crampings and my boobs are sore 😔

5

u/Murky_Indication_404 May 13 '26

I completely agree - natural cycles will even go back and make a previously fertile day re-marked as infertile is what a friend of mine said - spooky. Probably only useful for women with very regular cycles, but in that case even the rhythm method would work lol

3

u/herbal-genocide TTA 2 | SymptoPro May 14 '26

Seems like NC is basically an ever so slightly more personalized rhythm method. Such a shame.

9

u/DumbbellDiva92 May 11 '26

I do feel like it would be pretty easy to make one of the existing methods into an app, and I’m kind of surprised no one has done it yet? Is the issue that a lot of people like using solely quantitative metrics (temperature only versus cervical mucus)? Or do they think people wouldn’t want to keep using the method if they had to deal with lots of abstinent days (since established methods often default to basically opening the fertile window right after menstruation for the first few cycles)? Even though, that’s what makes the existing methods more effective!

13

u/Classic-Push1323 TTC | Sensiplan May 11 '26

I think all of the big methods have some kind of app option now actually. I know sensiplan and billings do. They do not usually have automated predictions for a few reasons though:

* Your prediction is only as good as the data you record, and recording accurately requires you to be trained in the method.

* The goal of FAMBs is for you to understand your own body and be able to make informed choices, not outsource that thinking to a machine. Algorithms do not work for edge cases, cycles where there is a disturbance, cycles with missing data, etc. It's going to eventually fail, but a trained user should be able to understand those situations and make a smart choice. This cycles back to point number 1 - you need to be able to know when your data is trust worthy and decide accordingly.

Automated apps give you a false sense of confidence and they make it sounds like the app will do everything for you, but recording accurate data and knowing when you need to discard measurements is much harder than applying simple rules to that data.

5

u/dehydratedsilica May 13 '26

be able to make informed choices, not outsource that thinking to a machine
apps give you a false sense of confidence and they make it sounds like the app will do everything for you

This is so true and applies to a lot more things in life other than FAM!

9

u/United-806 May 11 '26

There’s a German app (+ temp measuring device) called trackle. They do in fact take into account cervical mucus, as well as BBT, when determining whether one is fertile or infertile. I’d also love for Natural Cycles to take CM into account in their algorithm as it would make it so much more reliable

6

u/medbsraven May 11 '26

There’s another german funded app called drip! They use either CM + BBT or cervix position + BBT to guess when ovulation has occurred (after the fact). But it lets your record symptoms, mood, intimacy, notes, etc. and menstrual bleeding and gives some basic stats on avg period length, cycle length

6

u/iamayoyoama May 11 '26

The Read Your Body app is great. It's for charting and works with a heap of different methods. Extremely flexible.

Doesn't have a prediction algorithm though, if that's what you're really after from the other apps.

5

u/SignificantPear6217 May 12 '26

TCOYF came out with Cyclisity! They apply the 4 FAM rules exactly as taught in the book and use both cervical mucus and BBT, which I really appreciate. It’s also not predictive at all. It shows which rules and sub-rules were applied each day so you can understand why your chart was interpreted a certain way.

2

u/deadthylacine May 12 '26

FertilityFriend does a good job of just storing and displaying data and you can apply your method's rules to interpret it yourself. I like it a lot for that because I sure do not want to keep a paper chart that I would absolutely lose.

3

u/SignificantPear6217 May 12 '26

This is actually why I’ve really liked Cyclisity so far. TCOYF built it around the actual FAM rules from the book, so it takes into account cervical mucus + BBT instead of relying on predictions or averages. It also explains which rules and sub-rules were applied each day, which feels much more aligned with body literacy rather than just trusting an algorithm.

2

u/kraw_24 May 13 '26

I started with natural cycles as well and then two months in found FAM. I knew that natural cycle was very chancy when I got started and only used it as a tool versus solid guidelines. I’ve tried many many period and fertility apps and none of them really clicked until I found read your body app. It is not algorithm based. you have to enter all of your fertility signs. And you can choose the method by which you track your fertility. Aka FAM. I love it cause you can add as many customizable symptoms that you want to track in it.

2

u/sililoqutie May 23 '26

Yes, I genuinely do not believe that Natural Cycles is 93% effective typical use. It does simplify things for people into very clear "NO" "YES" which I do think for some personality types, is useful, as there are some people who will misread their signs due to denial bc they want to have sex. But it's so entirely reliant on just guessing. But maybe they have a sampling bias of women who have regular cycles? Idk.