The only app I’ll ever use for fertility awareness

The days of popping synthetic hormone pills for birth control and “cycle regulation” are coming to an end, we all know it. The horrifying side-effects for not only individual women’s bodies and health, but on society at large are coming under the spotlight–and along with them a rising tide of fem-tech “solutions” to the “problem” of female fertility. From fancy (read: hideous) wearables, to pee strip hormone level testers in cute little egg shapes, and every integrated, insightful, super-genius-body-reading-artificial-intelligence app in between… The market is now saturated with companies promising that their product holds the solution to your confusion about your womanly body.

Because, you silly girl, you could never understand it without their help! Right?

Uhh... wrong.

Not sure if anyone has ever told you, but you’re so much smarter than you give yourself credit for, and you’re certainly smarter than the money-hungry and data-hungry vampires in Silicon Valley who create these high-tech wearables give you credit for. Well, I’m here to tell you that and to teach you how to take your reproductive health into your own hands. 

And don’t get me wrong, I’m sure not every single CEO of you-name-it-fem-tech-company is a blood sucking, misogynistic snake… but if the shoe fits…I know I know, that’s pretty strong language. In all seriousness though, even if they have the best intentions, the products they’re selling and the messaging they must employ to sell them rely on you not knowing how your body works on your own. They’re dependent on your ignorance. 

The simple fact of the matter is that you do not need to spend hundreds of dollars on a device that likely has a shelf-life of a few years (planned obsolescence much?) to understand your menstrual cycles or fertility.

That power is within you–a woman with a brain and reasonable faculties–to use your own senses to actually discern what your body is communicating with you in real time. By learning Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) you can make a determination about your fertility every single day by observing your two primary bio-markers: cervical fluid and basal body temperature.

“But doesn’t my hideous ring do that for me already?”

No, it doesn’t. The bulky ring in question (iykyk) neither gives you a real basal body temperature reading (that’s your core body temperature immediately upon waking) nor can it check the fluids coming out of your vagina for you. This ring and other fem-tech gadgets calculate your fertile window for you based on your previous data, the “average woman’s cycle,” and sometimes even other app-users’ data. And guess what? You’re not a math problem, and something as high-stakes as your fertility cannot be reduced to a simple formula. More on that in my course, which you can find here.

But, I digress. Perhaps in a future post I’ll delve into a full review of these fem-tech gadgets and why their algorithms leave us Fertility Awareness Educators wanting.

If you’re a modern woman with a smart phone, you have probably been using some kind of app to track your bleeds, and if you’re somewhat regular, you probably find this useful. And, I can’t fault you for it. I’ve used a handful of them from my days before learning FAM. And even if you already have a FAM practice, paper charts don’t appeal to everyone. Especially busy working women who are always toting around a heavy bag, the last thing you need is another notebook or binder full of your menstrual cycle data to pull out every time you feel a gush in your panties. Or, you’re a mother of young children who have a tendency to color on anything and everything, or give your belongings a bath in the toilet. So arises the need for apps and the convenience of storing your data on your personal phone. 

But, if you’re anything like me now, you probably are concerned about the privacy of your data, especially intimate data such as when you make love and when you bleed. I hate to break it to you, but most of the period tracking and even FAM charting apps available (there are hundreds) have horrifying privacy conditions and admittedly sell your data to third parties, much like the companies who make those fancy wearables I’ve been talking about. Lovely, huh?!

Thankfully, the creators of Read Your Body came on the scene. A non-profit app built on the values of total data privacy and protection and highly-customizable data storage, Read Your Body is the only app I will ever trust for my FAM practice. Unlike other apps, in Read Your Body all charting data is stored only on your device by default (the app can function 100% offline if you wish) with optional encrypted cloud-based backups.

And when I say highly customizable, I mean HIGHLY customizable. You can make your charts look just about however you want, and track symptoms that are unique to you. They also have templates for just about every Fertility Awareness Based Method under the sun, including The Well’s Cycle Mapping method, which is what I teach in my course Body Literacy with Bailey Jo.

And I’m incredibly grateful and excited to be able to offer you 3 months of free app use when you sign up for my course. This app is perfect for you if you’re looking to

• Chart your menstrual cycles

• Support your fertility goals 

• Mark your own interpretations 

• Import your menstrual cycle data from other apps

• Export or delete your data inside the app at any time

• Track unlimited cyclical symptoms and lifestyle factors

• Have all data stored only on your phone by default

• Have optional encrypted data backups for peace of mind

  So, if you’re ready to take your fertility into your own hands and claim your 3 months of free access to Read Your Body, join me in Body Literacy, and never be forced to depend on anyone–or anything–but yourself for information about your cycles.

In this course you will learn

• The history of Fertility Awareness Method in the USA

• The difference between calculation and observational methods

• Male and female anatomy and hormone physiology

• How to perform cervical fluid checks

• How to properly take your basal body temperature

• How to perform cervix position checks

• How to chart your data

• How to identify your fertile window

• How to confirm ovulation has taken place

• Rules for contraception

• Tips for increasing your chances of conception

• And how to interpret the data on your charts so you can make educated decisions about your self-care, lifestyle choices, and more!

Say less!

I would be honored to support you on this path, whether you want to prevent pregnancy, achieve pregnancy, or simply gauge your cycle health. I believe you have the innate capacity to understand your biology, and I am here to support your learning, empowerment, and radical transformation as a woman. I care so deeply that every woman is equipped with the knowledge she needs to break free from the reliance on invasive, technocratic “solutions” to our fertility. Here’s to you, stepping into your power and owning your body in a way you never thought possible!

See you on the inside,

Bailey Jo xoxo