Fertility app blamed for 37 unwanted pregnancies is now FDA approved in the USA

On August 10, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) made a surprising move by officially approving fertility app Natural Cycles in the USA.

Though the fertility app was approved in Europe last year, has over 700,000 users, and is available in 161 countries, Natural Cycles hasn’t gone without its controversies.

Earlier this year, a hospital in Stockholm reported that 37 out of the 668 women who sought abortion over a four month period had been using Natural Cycles to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Since this incident, the fertility app has been under investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK.

The investigation follows concerns over Natural Cycle’s advertising, which is particularly misleading on social media. The aggressive marketing strategy saw influencers promoting a hormone-free contraception through sponsored posts.

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The association was concerned that Natural Cycles was preying on an audience that already believe there is an app for everything and that users may become over-reliant on it – without realizing the discipline needed for the app to be successful.

This decision made by the FDA has made history, as it’s the first time the notoriously strict regulator has allowed an app to market itself as a form of contraception, especially with its rocky reputation.