I've had my fair share of long(ish)-term relationships. From puberty to my present age of 30, various characters have drifted in and out of my romantic life, some utterly ridiculous and unworthy, others mostly normal and somewhat fulfilling. But there were two common themes that came up in each liaison:
1. The Battle of the Birth Control: Who rocks it and what are we using—condoms? The crazy pill? Saran wrap?
2. The monthly “Are you pregnant?” conversation. I’ve experienced this nerve-racking time waster nearly 400 times and spent roughly $2,500 on pregnancy tests (all of which were negative) to back up my woman’s intuition.
While some women use My Days to plan getting pregnant, I’ve used the app to avoid it. My Days lets me know when it’s time to triple-deadbolt the chastity belt (ovulation), when to expect my head to start spinning on my shoulders as pea soup shoots from my mouth hole (PMS), and when I need to retreat to the modernized moon lodge in my mother’s basement with an 8-pound bag of chocolate-covered raisins, a ’90s rom com, a box of Kleenex, and my kitten (menstruation). It also lets me mark the days I have intercourse and helps me track blood flow, cervical mucus, body weight, and temperature.
By now, I’m sure some of you are wondering, “Why not take the good ole’ birth control pill? Wouldn’t it be easier?
Sure, but it’s also like buying myself a one-way ticket to McLean Psychiatric Hospital. As thrilling as it would be to run into Sylvia Plath’s ghost holding a picnic basket filled with Klonopin, I kind of dig living with my mom (especially after adding the 43” Samsung Plasma with Apple TV to the moon lodge).
Plus, the Pill supports a 28-day cycle, which isn’t regular for some women. For example, my cycle started at 29 days, but after four months, My Days noticed that my cycle was actually running 38 days, so it adjusted its schedule.
While the basic version of My Days is free, it also has an ad-free Pro version available for $4.99. My Days Pro includes an alarm system that will sound when your period is on the horizon or when it’s time to jump into those cast-iron panties and fend off gentlemen callers. Password protecting your data is an option, too.
Recent research conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggests that women have the potential to become pregnant at virtually any time during their cycle. While the chance of pregnancy is greater on certain days of a woman’s cycle, it is never completely absent. However, I haven’t used anything but this app for the past 9 months, and I’m still baby free!
Unfortunately, My Days does NOT prevent STDs, but I’m guessing that app feature will be available in the fall of 2017.
Image: Flickr, Monik Markus