Call for ‘inaccurate’ fertility apps to face tighter health regulation

‘Involvement of specialists should be an important aspect of future research and development in this field’

THE majority of period tracking and fertility apps will not help women have or avoid a baby, researches have warned.

Their review, published in The BMJ, highlighted the need for greater regulation on what it described as “inaccurate” pocket technology.

There has been a surge in the use of mobile health apps, including those that monitor monthly menstrual cycles and fertility.

Period-tracking apps were downloaded at least 200 million times in 2016, according to the authors.

And they have raised concerns about the way these are marketed, and the strength of the evidence for their effectiveness in helping women plan to have babies or to avoid unintended pregnancies.

The Open University study reviewed the evidence of 18 studies from 13 countries about the use and development of fertility apps.

They analysed the data according to three main themes: fertility and reproductive health tracking, pregnancy planning, and pregnancy prevention.

The team also found that developers rarely involve health professionals in creating the apps.

Dr Sarah Earle, director of the Open University’s strategic research area in health and well-being, said: “The research seems to indicate that many of the apps are not accurate.”

The authors of the report called for further research, discussion and regulation, which should include input from health specialists.

“The involvement of fertility specialists and other health professionals should be an important aspect of future research and development in this field,” Dr Earle added.