The contraceptive app Natural Cycles is being blamed for 37 pregnancies after being certified by the European Union as a form of birth control, the Swedish publication SVT said, according to The Verge.
Stockholm's Södersjukhuset Hospital reported the app to Swedish regulator MPA, the Medical Product Agency, after 37 women visited the hospital for an abortion after becoming pregnant while using Natural Cycles, The Verge wrote.
The app reportedly uses an algorithm and measures factors like temperature to determine the period when a woman may be fertile, the website said. The app has become a popular alternative to hormonal contraceptives like the pill because those contraceptive have potential side effects, The Verge wrote.
The app was launched in 2014 and was approved in Europe in 2017, according to CNN. The app also reportedly takes into account sperm survival rates and past menstruation cycles to predict when women should use traditional contraception, the broadcaster added.
CNN said that Natural Cycles now has about 700,000 users globally.
"No contraception is 100 percent effective, and unwanted pregnancies (are) an unfortunate risk with any contraception," Natural Cycles said in a statement to The Verge, adding that it has begun an internal investigation to the pregnancies. "Natural Cycles has a Pearl Index of 7, which means it is 93 percent effective at typical use, which we also communicate.
"At first sight, the numbers mentioned in the media are not surprising given the popularity of the app and in line with our efficacy rates. As our user base increases, so will the amount of unintended pregnancies coming from Natural Cycles app users, which is an inevitable reality," the statement continued.
In a statement to CNN, Natural Cycles said that "hundreds of thousands" of women continue to trust the brand as a birth control prevention or pregnancy planning tool.
According to the website Crunchbase.com, Sweden-based Natural Cycles bills itself as the world's first and only certified contraceptive app, spearheading digital contraception, a new category in female reproductive health.
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