Doubts have been cast over the accuracy of many popular fertility and pregnancy planning apps, researchers warn today.
A scoping review by researchers at the School of Health, Wellbeing and Social Care, The Open University, UK, published in the latest edition of BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health, says that despite their popularity, there is little hard evidence to inform the use of these apps in practice.
Many have been developed without any specialist input and there is minimal regulation, say the researchers, who carried out a scoping review of 18 relevant studies, published between 2010 and 2019 from 13 countries.
They analysed the data according to three main themes: fertility and reproductive health tracking, of which there were six studies; pregnancy planning, of which there were four studies; and pregnancy prevention, of which there were 11.
They found that women use fertility and health tracking apps for different reasons, which are likely to change over time.
The team also noted that the apps do not always involve women in their design or development or take account of the way in which they are used in practice.
“This is especially important because the user is considered to be the single greatest ‘risk factor’ in the accuracy of apps, and this is particularly significant if women are seeking to prevent, or plan, a pregnancy,” they write.
The researchers say there is a lack of published evidence about the accuracy of the apps for pregnancy planning.
“The ability to accurately predict the fertile window is important,” they write, “but the limited research that exists seems to indicate that many of the most popular apps are not accurate, even though they might contain information that supports pregnancy planning or are marketed specifically for this purpose. This could be very misleading for women and couples that are trying for a baby.”
They also found that several studies indicated that fertility apps can be successfully used as a means of contraception. However, not all of them marketed for this purpose were designed to include this feature, they warn, which means women risk unintended pregnancy.
The researchers say only studies published in English were included in their review, while the differences in study design and methods, make it difficult to compare them.
They say there is considerable scope for research, looking at ethnic, cultural, geographic and age diversity, and which is free of commercial influence. They also call for discussion about how these apps should be regulated, as well as specialist input.
Earle S, Marston H, Hadley R et al. Use of menstruation and fertility app trackers: a scoping review of the evidence. BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health 7 April 2020
Leave a Reply