A ‘significant increase’ in the proportion of women having abortions using natural methods such as period tracking apps to prevent pregnancy could relate to problems accessing contraception, researchers have said.
Women could also be choosing not to use hormonal contraception opting for alternative methods instead, they said.
An analysis published in BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health compared contraception use among more than 33,000 patients who had an abortion at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) in 2018 with 55,000 patients in 2023.
Self-reported use of ‘natural’ fertility methods of contraception based on tracking cycles increased from 0.4% in 2018 to 2.5% in 2023.
Over the same period, the use of hormonal methods of contraception decreased from 18.8% to 11.3%.
The researchers also found that use of long-acting reversible contraception fell from 3% to 0.6%.
Women who said they were using no contraception at the time of conception rose by 14% when comparing data from 2018 with 2023, the study found.
It highlights a shift in contraception use in the last five years, from hormonal contraceptives such as the pill, to fertility awareness-based methods, the researchers concluded.
They noted that tracking of menstrual cycles or symptoms of ovulation are usually done using smartphone apps.
But these methods can be ‘less reliable, with the potential to ‘increase unintended pregnancies’, they added.
‘There appears to have been a significant increase in the proportion of individuals attending BPAS for abortion who use fertility awareness-based methods as a form of contraception and are using no method of contraception.
‘This may be a result of preference or it may be related to difficulties with access to more effective methods of contraception in the preconception and post-abortion periods.’
Social media influence on hesitancy around hormonal contraception has been reported in other European countries, they added.
Dr Patricia Lohr, director of research and innovation at BPAS, said the findings may indicate women are making different contraceptive choices or that they can’t get the methods they want.
‘A separate BPAS survey of the general population found that nearly half of women (49%) face barriers to accessing contraception, such as long waits for appointments, which restrict their ability to choose the methods that work best for them,’ she said.
Dr Janet Barter, president of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare said:
‘All women should have the choice about what contraception works for them. But making that choice can be a complex and personal one, so getting good advice from a healthcare professional is really important and we know that accessing that advice is becoming harder because of cuts to sexual and reproductive health services and pressures elsewhere across the NHS.
‘This, coupled with the growing amount of misinformation online is really concerning. And, while we can’t directly attribute the rise in abortions to these two factors, we know from our members working in clinics that there are growing levels of unmet need for women who need good contraception advice.’
