CycleBeads is a visual tool that was developed by the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University. This device helps women use the Standard Days Method, a fertility awareness-based family planning method. The sole manufacturer is a US for-profit company, Cycle Technologies[1].
The Standard Days Method is based on the fact that there is a fertile window during a woman's menstrual cycle which begins several days before ovulation and ends a few hours after ovulation. During this time a woman can become pregnant. The Standard Days Method identifies days 8-19 of cycle for women with cycles between 26 and 32 days long, as the potential fertile window. This formula is based on computer analysis of 7,500 menstrual cycles and takes into account cycle length, the timing of ovulation, the variation of the timing of ovulation from one cycle to the next, as well as the lifespan of the sperm and ovum.[2] To prevent pregnancy using the Standard Days Method and CycleBeads, users avoid unprotected sex by using a condom or abstaining during days 8-19 of the cycle.
- ^ Weis, Julianne; Festin, Mario (30 March 2020). "Implementation and Scale-Up of the Standard Days Method of Family Planning: A Landscape Analysis". Global Health: Science and Practice. pp. 114–124. doi:10.9745/GHSP-D-19-00287. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ M. Arevalo et al. "A fixed formula to define the fertile window of the menstrual cycle as the basis of a simple method of Natural Family Planning," Contraception 60 (1999);357-60.