When the BBC reports a Shifts in contraceptive use From "hormonal" products like birth control pills to "natural" fertility tracking apps used by some women seeking abortions, many other women are getting in touch to share their experiences.

Their stories reveal how difficult it can be to find birth control that fits your lifestyle and has acceptable side effects.

Health experts advise that all types have advantages and disadvantages.

What works for you at 18 may not work for you at 28, 38 or 48, says Paula Baraitser, medical director at SH:24, a free sexual health service provider working with the NHS.

Fertility tracking apps are a relatively new option that some people are using.

They use measurements such as body temperature to predict ovulation so the user knows the times of the month or menstrual cycle when she is most likely to become pregnant and can avoid sex or use condoms on those days.

Dr. Barrese said some patients she has seen have turned to these apps after taking hormonal treatments such as birth control pills.

"Taking hormones changes your body and everyone's response is individual, whether positive or negative.

"For example, estrogen can often reduce acne, while combined hormonal methods, such as a combination pill, patch or ring, can help control bleeding.

"On the other hand, people may experience mood changes or changes in sexual desire."

It can be a process of trial and error, switching between methods until you find what works for you, she says.

Condoms are the only contraceptive method that both prevents pregnancy and prevents sexually transmitted infections.

The BBC heard the experiences of the women, who have not been identified or photographed in this article to protect their anonymity.

Georgia, 25, from Bristol. She has been using a fertility tracking app for the past seven months.

She said her mental health improved greatly when she came off the medication, which she had been taking for about a decade.

Georgia realizes that there is a risk of unintended pregnancy unless used with caution, but she says "it's a risk I'm willing to take to keep my body the way it's supposed to be."

"I struggled with my emotions[on the pill]and I felt completely out of control. After I decided to come off the pill, I definitely noticed a huge change in my ability to regulate my emotions, how I felt about life, and how I felt about life . about myself.

"I looked at copper IUDs, but the heavy bleeding put me off. I was already having heavy periods, so it didn't feel right to continue doing something that might make it worse."

"I realized that I had been changing the hormones in my body for a long time. It bothered me and I didn't want to keep doing it.

"I'm a personal trainer and work regularly with women. It's very frustrating that this research is so outdated.

"If you go to your GP, the doctor might say 'try this'. But in order to know if the pill works for your body, you sometimes have to wait a few months.

"It's gotten to the point now where (using tracking apps) is a risk I'm willing to take to keep my body looking the way it should."

Emily, 39, from Glasgow, had an abortion in 2021 after discovering she was pregnant while using a tracking app to prevent pregnancy.

In 2018, she stopped taking the medication she had been taking since she was 17, initially to control acne.

"I was depressed, gaining weight and couldn't lose it. I was experiencing symptoms such as low libido. I took a break and once I stopped, I felt better," Emily said.

Looking for a non-hormonal alternative and hoping to avoid the coil experience, she chose to use the menstrual cycle tracking feature on the iPhone Health app.

In 2021, she found herself two months pregnant with her then-four-month-old partner - now her husband.

Emily said: "I had a urinary tract infection which caused my menstrual cycle to be a bit out of sync. Before I knew it, a few months went by without my period. One day I felt really unwell and I thought it might be It was COVID or I was pregnant and I went home and took two tests and they both came back positive.

She said her partner, now husband, was wonderful.

"We talked about it and read a lot of resources online. We barely knew each other at the time and didn't live together, so we decided we couldn't go ahead and have a baby."

After terminating her pregnancy, she decided to try another method of birth control.

"(Through the tracking app) I learned that your cycles need to be very regular and very consistent. I didn't want to take that risk again," she said.

She chose non-hormonal copper coils.

"I've always had lower back pain, but since using the coil, my periods have gotten worse. Now I have pain during ovulation. It's not ideal, but that's what it is.

"It angers me that in this day and age there is so much medical research in other areas and yet we have over 50 years of birth control pills and this barbaric coil insertion procedure."

Freya, 26, stopped taking hormonal birth control to try to see if it would help her mental health.

"I've been using it since I was about 15, so I couldn't really 'know myself' without it.

"When the app said I was at risk of getting pregnant, I chose to use condoms.

“I became pregnant three months later and chose to have an abortion, which was extremely painful both physically and mentally.

"The fact that I've been using the app instead of normal birth control makes me feel like I can't tell anyone."

She said the experience stopped her from using natural birth control because it was "too risky."

Alice, 41, from Farnborough. She experienced side effects while taking birth control pills, including low libido, weight gain, mood swings and bleeding.

“I now have a daughter and I feel sad about her future.

“Why women and girls must take responsibility for not getting pregnant.

“Immediately after giving birth, you will be asked which method of contraception you would like.

"Luckily, my husband is used to using condoms... Now I use a fertility app to track my period, but I don't rely on it."

For those interested in fertility tracking apps, here are some things to consider:

• There are many applications, but There is only one licensed fertility app for contraceptive use in the UK
• Period trackers are not the same and are not designed to predict when you will ovulate or when you might become pregnant
• If you have different menstrual cycle lengths each month, the fertile phase of your menstrual cycle may vary
• If your cycles are very irregular, apps may find it more difficult to predict your fertility
• You must follow the application instructions correctly to make it as reliable as possible
• If you are monitoring your temperature, how you do it matters

"After ovulation, your body temperature will rise, but only very slightly," explains Dr. Baraitser.

"To spot such a small difference, you have to take your temperature when the app tells you to, which is usually every day, and you need to do it in the morning before you get up and before eating or eating. If you have a busy life, If you work nights, this can be difficult to do if you have young children."

New technologies that continuously monitor temperature - such as measuring wrist temperature via smart watches - could help, she said.

The app can only tell you when to have sex and when not to have sex. You need to remember these tips and take action.

Anatole Menon-Johnson is Clinical Director at The Brooke Clinic, which operates sexual health clinics across the UK. He says it's important to weigh the possibility of an unintended pregnancy.

He advises: “Find a provider who is willing to listen to you and allow you to explore and try birth control methods.

“Sometimes it takes a few tries to find what works best for you.”

The company says that when used correctly, the app is 93% reliable, meaning that when tracking fertility for a year, 7 out of 100 women will get pregnant.

This is slightly better than that 91% see typical Or pills and mini-pills are used imperfectly.

Perfect use of the pills can increase success rates to 99% - similar to hormone-releasing coils or implants, they don't rely on users remembering to take them.