The number of women seeking abortions after using fertility apps has increased tenfold in five years.
About 2.5 percent of abortions occurred among women who relied on “fertility awareness-based methods” in the first six months of last year.
That compares with 0.4 per cent in the same period in 2018, according to analysis of figures from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS).
The increase came amid a rise in the use of apps that track menstrual cycles or ovulation symptoms to estimate a woman’s fertile window, so they can avoid sex and then prevent pregnancy.
These apps, which experts warn are “less reliable,” have become popular on social media amid a rise in hormonal hesitancy (skepticism around contraceptives like the pill because of their potential side effects).
According to the analysis, not using any contraceptive method remains the leading cause of unwanted pregnancies, increasing from 55.8 percent to 69.6 percent between 2018 and 2023.
But experts said the findings highlight a trend in women moving away from “more reliable” hormonal contraceptives, such as the pill, toward “fertility awareness-based methods.”
Researchers suggest that difficulties getting GP appointments could also be the cause. Official figures show record levels of abortions: 251,377 were carried out in England and Wales in 2022, a 17 per cent increase on the previous year.
The use of apps that track menstrual cycles or ovulation symptoms to estimate a woman’s fertile window has emerged so they can avoid sex and then prevent pregnancy (file photo)

Those who reported that they did not use any contraception when they became pregnant increased from 56 percent in 2018 to 70 percent in 2023 (file photo)
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh used BPAS data to compare January to June 2018 with the same period in 2023, involving 33,495 and 55,055 women respectively.
They found that reported use of fertility awareness-based methods by women seeking abortion increased from 129 in 2018 data to 1,364 in 2023.
The age of women using these methods also fell from nearly 30 to 27, the analysis showed. Women taking hormonal contraceptives such as the pill, mini-pill, patches and vaginal rings fell from nearly 19 percent in 2018 to 11 percent in 2023.
Use of contraceptive implants also fell from 3 percent to 0.6 percent during the same period.
Those who reported that they did not use any contraception when they became pregnant increased from 56 percent in 2018 to 70 percent in 2023.
The researchers said the findings show a “shift in contraceptive use from more reliable hormonal contraceptive methods to less reliable fertility awareness-based contraceptive methods among abortion patients.”
Writing in BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health, they said: “While the increase in abortion rates is multifactorial, one aspect that needs scrutiny is any change in contraceptive use, and particularly this increase in the use of ehealth, including apps fertility and period tracking apps. and natural family planning apps.
‘The possible relationship between these less effective contraceptive methods and unplanned pregnancy requires further investigation.
“However, it is necessary to inform the public about the effectiveness of such methods to facilitate informed contraceptive choice.”
They added: ‘There appears to have been a significant increase in the proportion of people attending BPAS to have an abortion and using fertility awareness-based methods as a form of contraception and not using any contraception.
“This may be the result of preference or may be related to difficulties with access to more effective contraceptive methods in the preconception and post-abortion periods.”
They suggested that hormonal fluctuation attributed to the influence of social media has been reported in other European countries and could be happening in the UK.

The researchers said e-health, including fertility apps, period tracking apps and natural family planning apps, was an aspect that required more scrutiny.
Dr Patricia Lohr, from BPAS, suggested that difficulties getting GP appointments could also be to blame, with almost half of women reporting barriers to accessing contraceptives, such as long waits for appointments.
She said: ‘This study of abortion patients showed an increase in the use of fertility awareness-based methods and a decrease in hormonal contraception. “This may indicate that women are making different contraceptive decisions or that they are not able to obtain the methods they want.”
Bekki Burbidge, of the Family Planning Association, said: “There certainly seems to have been increased interest in fertility awareness-based contraception in recent years.
‘This is likely due to a variety of reasons, including lack of access to other methods, a shift toward a desire for non-hormonal methods with fewer potential side effects, and the increased availability of fertility awareness apps.’