Fertility Apps Are Mostly Useless, Georgetown Researchers Find

If you're relying on one of the many fertility apps available for smartphones to try to get pregnant — or avoid pregnancy — a new study from Georgetown University has advice for you: don't.

Researchers at Georgetown reviewed around 100 smartphone fertility applications in the United States and found that most apps didn't help at all in either goal when it came to pregnancies, according to a university statement. That's a bit concerning, because the use of such apps is rising nationwide.

A total of 55 percent of the apps had a disclaimer even admitting that they weren't meant to be used to avoid or predict pregnancy.

The apps work by tracking a woman's menstrual cycle and predict which days she is likely to be ovulating. They also monitor the basal body temperature of the user when the person is at rest.

"Smartphone apps are increasing in popularity because more and more women are interested in using natural or fertility awareness based methods of family planning because they want to feel empowered with greater knowledge of their bodies," Dr. Marguerite Duane, adjunct associate professor at Georgetown School of Medicine, said in the statement. "When learning how to track your fertility signs, we recommend that women first receive instruction from a trained educator and then look for an app that scored 4 or more on mean accuracy and authority in our review."

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