Non Hormonal Contraception: Natural Cycles Review From a Busy Mum

Last updated on February 12th, 2023 at 02:09 pm

Disclaimer: NC is for 18+ and does not protect against STIs. Natural Cycles encourage all women to talk to their healthcare provider when considering switching birth control. Always follow the advice that comes with your birth control to maintain the utmost level of effectiveness. I bought a subscription to the app and the thermometer with my own money. This is an honest review of Natural Cycles and the views are my own. I have been lucky enough to partner up with Natural Cycles to have them sponsor this post, and the links that appear here are affiliate links. They’re offering my readers a discount with the code, so take full advantage of it if you decide you’d like to give this non hormonal contraception a try!

Natural cycles is a product that’s been around for a few years, but some of us might still have a few questions about its user-friendliness, and this review wants to answer those questions for you! 

When I decided that I don’t want to be on the Pill anymore…

For a little bit of background on my contraception history, I was on the pill for years – I tried both types and had varying problems with my periods and moods. 

When I was on hormonal contraception my periods were unpredictable, I would get headaches, and terrible mood swings. 

Then in 2018 I became pregnant with my first child, and I absolutely loved nine months of letting my body perform one natural miracle after the other. 

Pretty much immediately after the birth my nurse said I should go back on the pill, and for some reason I just felt very reluctant to do that. 

It just seemed like a step backwards. 

All I wanted at that time was to be kind to my body. No pills, no interference, nothing unnatural, nothing that would knock me off-balance mentally or emotionally.

I’ve now been off the pill for three years, and have absolutely no desire to go back on it! I feel happier in my mind and body when my hormones aren’t being messed with. So that’s why I jumped at the chance to review Natural Cycles contraception and see if it works for my lifestyle. 

Here’s a video of unboxing my thermometer, along with a short app tour…

Choosing the right contraception is by no means an easy task. I’m sure many of you can relate to the feeling, when a nurse hands you some miserable leaflet with a bunch of unappealing options on it. 

The pill with its list of side-effects as long as your arm, a questionable injection, and the terrifying-looking IUD. 

We’re not exactly spoilt for choice when it comes to contraceptive methods that are effective and kind to our bodies. 

That’s where the appeal of Natural Cycles comes in…

Deciding Between Hormonal and Non Hormonal Contraception

Natural Cycles is a completely non-invasive and non hormonal form of contraception. A huge part of the appeal of Natural Cycles is that it’s a complete step away from hormone-altering injections, pills, and IUD’s. 

I think it’s fair to say that many of us wish there were more options for contraception that aren’t going to mess with our hormones. 

“Mood-related issues like anxiety and depression are super-common among women on the pill. Almost half of all women who go on the pill stop using it within the first year because of intolerable side effects, and the one most frequently cited is unpleasant changes in mood. Sometimes it’s intolerable anxiety; other times, it’s intolerable depression; or maybe both simultaneously.”

https://ideas.ted.com/how-the-birth-control-pill-affects-your-mood/

Asking my Followers How They Feel About Hormonal Contraception…

I made use of the big female following on my instagram and took some polls, just to get some up-to-date and accurate opinions on contraception.

I wanted to know what average women think about Hormonal Vs. Non Hormonal contraceptive methods, and if their feelings and their choices line up… 

80% of the women I asked said that hormonal contraceptives such as the pill or the mini pill had a noticeable negative effect on their mood…

100% of women asked, said that they do not think that hormonal contraceptives are kind to womens’ bodies. 

100% of the women asked, said that if effectiveness was not an issue, they would choose a non-hormonal form of contraception instead of a hormonal one. 

My Personal Comparison of My Old Contraceptive Method Vs Natural Cycles

	The Pill	Natural Cycles
Effectiveness	93%	93%
Risk of headaches	❌ Yes	✅ No risk
Risk of Depression/Anxiety	❌ Yes	✅ No risk
Potential improvement of periods	✅	✅ *
Potential negative effect on Periods	❌ Yes	✅ No risk
Quick to use	✅	❌
Easy to remember	❌ No	✅
Predictable	❌ No	✅
Overall winner	👎🏼	✅ NC!

How it Works

Natural cycles is a fertility tracking app, paired with a thermometer. The app is specially designed with an algorithm that knows how to identify how fertile you are on any given day, based on your basal body temperature. 

If you’re not sure what that is, it’s each persons lowest resting body temperature – best determined first thing in the morning. 

So, every morning when you wake up, you measure your temperature with the Natural Cycles thermometer and enter the result into your app. 

Within a few seconds, it’ll give you an answer – either it’s a red day or a green day. 

A green day, mean’s you’re not fertile. You can have intercourse and not worry that it’s going to result in a pregnancy. 

A red day, means you are fertile, and if you want to avoid pregnancy, you must use protection if you plan to have intercourse. Or avoid having sex altogether. 

My Favourite Features of the Natural Cycles App

• The extensive tracking options, making it easy to build up a really detailed and completely personalised picture of your menstrual cycle by building up data over time.
• Super helpful informational quizzes, I’ve learned things I never had come across before (such as what an LH test it, and why they’re helpful to do)!
• There’s a great blog on the app with genuinely interesting articles to read.
• The app pings you reminders at night and in the mornings, at times you can choose yourself. So it’s easy to remember to use it.
• You can get rewarded for referring a friend. Get someone to sign up using your code and you get a £10 voucher to spend on shopping. Get 10 people to sign up and you get NC free – for life! 

Is Natural Cycles Practical for a Busy Mum? 

I would say yes, Natural Cycles is practical for a busy mum like myself. And heres why:

All the information I need is right there on my phone to access 24hrs a day. Having a complete and unique insight into my cycle helps make life easier when it comes to planning activities around my period/ovulation. Also, the wealth of information, guides and prompts on the app make it difficult to mess things up. It’s all laid out clearly for me and the pressure I used to feel about taking my pill now doesn’t exist. 

Other Pros of The Natural Cycles App

When I first logged into the Natural Cycles app, I was impressed. 

I get real satisfaction out of being able to track my cycle, including all symptoms such as ovulation pain, mood changes, sleep and more. 

The app has an answer for everything, full of information and facts about what happens during your cycle, including why it happens and when! 

Knowledge is power. 

Having all that information about me, stored in one space, really builds up a full picture. It’s really been helping me get to know my own body,  and spot patterns that I honestly never took the time to notice before. 

I’ve done some period tracking in the past, but here’s how this is different… 

I think as girls and women, we’re taught a lot about periods. How to manage them, minimise them, suppress them, even. We get pretty good at noticing the signs of when a period is coming and what to expect.

But what about fertility? 

Can you tell when you’re in your fertile phase? Do you know what to look out for? Or does it mostly pass you by –  unnoticed?

Since using this app I’ve been fascinated to learn more about this and get more in tune with my FULL cycle, not just parts of it. 

Can Natural Cycles be Used to PLAN a Pregnancy?

Yes it can! 

Just as much as Natural Cycles can help you avoid getting pregnant, it can also help you improve your chances of conceiving. 

To change your NC app from preventing pregnancy to planning one, go to Menu > Settings > Mode. Then switch it to the mode you want.

Use My Natural Cycles Promo Code JUSTUSTWO

If this glowing review has left you wanting to give natural cycles a try, I would really recommend that you do so! And to make it a little easier, theres an exclusive natural cycles promo code for my readers to use. Just us the JUSTUSTWO code via this link.

Why is it worth paying the subscription for Natural Cycles?

In theory, you could try to do cycle tracking yourself, without the app – but you’d be much more likely to make a mistake. 

The app is like your support, with all the facts and the information you need to have an intimate working knowledge of your own cycle and fertility. 

That, to me, is more reassuring than blindly trusting a pill, or risking pregnancy by using less effective methods. 

Did you find this Natural Cycles Non Hormonal Contraceptive review helpful? Let me know in the comments.

Don’t forget to use your PROMO CODE to get a discount on your Natural Cycles subscription. 

Find other recommended products that we’ve tried and tested on Just-Us-Two.com here.