How to use the app after an abortion

If you recently decided to terminate a pregnancy, know that we're here to help in any way we can. 

In this article, you will find some information on how to use the app moving forward. 

How to log an abortion

To log the end of the pregnancy, you can select No longer pregnant or log a negative pregnancy test from the Add Data page by scrolling all the way down to Pregnancy Options. 

Once you’ve logged the abortion, you’ll be prompted to answer a few questions (for instance, to confirm the date the pregnancy ended). This will help the algorithm understand your current situation better and adjust accordingly.

How to measure after an abortion

Moving forward, we encourage you to continue logging your temperature to stay in the routine, if you feel comfortable. The algorithm will take into account that your temperatures and cycle may be affected by the changing hormone levels for some time.

At this stage, you may experience some cycle irregularities, temperature fluctuations, and/or anovulatory cycles, but this will even out in time – remember to be patient with your body. While your cycle recovers, you may get more Red Days (for NC° Birth Control) or Brown Days (for NC° Plan Pregnancy).

Why am I not seeing any predictions?

When you log an abortion in the app, the predictions will be adjusted to give your body time to recover. During this time, your predictions will only show one cycle in the future in your Calendar view. However, if you have already passed your average cycle length in your current cycle, you’ll only be shown predictions for the next seven days. 

Once your body has recovered and you start a new cycle, your predictions will return to normal, meaning that your app will show predictions for the next six months again.

Because the algorithm takes into account that your cycle may be affected for some time due to the hormones, it won’t predict your ovulation or next period at first. 

Once the algorithm is able to determine that your cycle is returning to normal based on the data you log, you’ll see the ovulation and period prediction again.

How to log abortion bleeding

When you log that you’re no longer pregnant, the Period option will be replaced by Bleeding in the Add data page. If you bleed from the abortion, we recommend that you log this as Bleeding for as long as you bleed. 

The Bleeding option will be available for three weeks after the pregnancy ends, and you won’t be able to log a period at this time. You’ll get the Period option back three days after you’ve last logged Bleeding or if the algorithm detects your ovulation. The Bleeding option will then be removed. 

The end of pregnancy will mark the start of a new cycle (Cycle Day 1), and the algorithm won’t start a new cycle if you log Bleeding. It will only start a new cycle once you log your next period – Period is not the same as Bleeding for the algorithm.

You can learn more about periods in this article What is a period?

Keeping track of the recovery

At this time, you may also wish to track your emotions and symptoms to follow your recovery. 

The Natural Cycles app has many trackers available, and you can adjust these via the Add Data page > Manage tracker settings or by clicking the top menu > Settings > Trackers. If you’d like to track additional symptoms, feel free to use the Notes section of the Add Data page.

Additional support

If you need extra support, here is an overview of who to contact depending on your needs: