This is a post written by Natural Cycles—an elephant partner. We’re honored to work with anyone who is this dedicated to a more organic approach to birth control, helping us understand our bodies better, and allowing me to solve the mystery behind my super annoying cranky-pants days. ~ Ed.

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Birth control is one of the most talked about topics at the moment.

This should cause us to pose the question of what choices do we even have as women.

Should we be reconsidering conventional methods? How much is going to come out of my own pocket? And just what am I putting into my body every day?

One option I think we ought to be (re)considering is natural birth control.

Because although it’s been around for a while now, new technology is empowering more and more women to make more conscious choices when it comes to contraception, their bodies, and fertility.

That’s where the Natural Cycles app comes in. Up until now, we thought natural birth control was complex and ineffective. And that’s about to change.

The Natural Cycles app breaks down everything you should know about your menstrual cycle (like the fact that you cannot get pregnant at every stage). By analysing your temperature and applying a unique algorithm, it tells you exactly when it’s time to use a condom—and when it’s not.

There’s no paperwork or second guessing because the app does the work for you. And through research carried out by Natural Cycle’s team with real women, they have proven that this is a go-to method we can rely on.

But the thing is, there is so much more than meets the eye when it comes to natural birth control.

Here are just some of the many positive side effects women have praised Natural Cycles for in the App Store, and I’m loving the fact that they’re so passionate about it:

Truly getting to know your body.

Natural birth control is about truly understanding yourself and your body better.

Once you have learned about your body’s natural signals and the science behind them, you become more in tune with yourself and just where you are in your cycle.

Simply by being more aware of what’s going on, you might just have a better idea of why you are, for example, cramping (’cause the app will tell you exactly when PMS is due), or you’re in the mood to get under the sheets with your loved one (hint: ovulation is just around the corner).

And you’ll always be prepped, whether it’s the lube or condoms you need at hand.

It’s not just for women.

Did you know that a woman can actually only get pregnant for up to six days in one cycle? And that’s taking the length of time sperm can survive within the body into account. A woman’s egg only survives for a maximum of 48 hours once she has ovulated, which is a pretty small fraction of a woman’s average cycle length (28 days).

So why do we use contraception every day? And isn’t it about time we have an option where both partners can contribute?

Natural birth control turns it into a shared responsibility, and I think that rocks hardcore. The woman measures her temperature in the morning and enters it into the app, and the guy slips on a condom when the app indicates to do so.

Sounds like a fair deal to me.

Fewer condoms.

That leads me on to the next topic…

Let’s face it. Although we get used to condoms, wouldn’t it be nice to use them….less often?

With natural birth control, we get to skip the condoms on some days and still have an effective method of birth control. For couples who are already using condoms as their main method of birth control, I reckon this should be a no-brainer.

Oh, and did I mention, there are no actual negative side effects?

Visit Natural Cycles to learn more!

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Editor: Catherine Monkman