Leslie of Cycle Technologies joins us for a guest post with answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about CycleBeads. We love this all-natural family planning method, and hope you’ll consider giving CycleBeads a try!

What are CycleBeads? When were they invented?

CycleBeads (www.CycleBeads.com) is a visual tool that helps a woman plan or prevent pregnancy naturally. Specifically, CycleBeads is a color-coded string of beads that represents the days of a woman’s menstrual cycle. It helps a woman track her cycle and know if she is on a day when pregnancy is likely or not. CycleBeads and the family planning method on which it is based, the Standard Days Method , were invented by the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University (irh.org). The Institute tested the Standard Days Method using CycleBeads in large-scale clinical trials and found CycleBeads to be more than 95% effective at preventing pregnancy and very easy to use.

My company, Cycle Technologies, launched CycleBeads in late 2002 once the efficacy results were published.

How do you use CycleBeads?

A nice thing about CycleBeads is that it is very visual. In fact it might be easier to just show you a picture than to try and explain it in detail.

As you can see it’s a lot of information when you try to explain it someone. I think that’s one of the reasons why CycleBeads is such a cool tool – it provides a wealth of information in a very simple way so you don’t have to keep track of a lot of numbers or do any calculations.

I should note that to use CycleBeads a woman’s cycles must be between 26 and 32 days long. This is the one medical criteria for using this family planning option. Most women’s cycles are in this range, but it’s important to know this before using CycleBeads especially if you are using them to prevent pregnancy. Of course, if you are unsure if your cycles are in this range, CycleBeads can also be used to help you figure this out.

Why would someone choose to use CycleBeads?

Most women tell us that they choose to use CycleBeads because they don’t like the side effects of hormonal contraception. A lot of women just like the simplicity of it. It’s a very intuitive family planning tool. It’s also useful both to plan and prevent pregnancy so many women like to use it as birth control and then switch over to using it to help them get pregnant when the time comes. Most importantly is the fact that it’s a natural family planning method that is highly effective. CycleBeads is more than 95% effective at preventing pregnancy which puts it on par with or better than other user-directed family planning options such as condoms in terms of effectiveness.

What are the benefits of using CycleBeads?

Well the primary benefit is that it’s an easy way to use an effective natural family planning method. As a natural family planning method there are no side effects, it helps a woman get in touch with her body, and it’s inexpensive. And since it’s easy, it means a woman will actually use it correctly.

You recently launched iCycleBeads, a smartphone app. How does it differ from other fertility/period tracking apps on the market?

Right now iCycleBeads is available on iPhone and Android devices and we plan to make it available through other interactive technologies soon. iCycleBeads differs from other fertility/period tracking apps on the market in a number of ways.

While there are a number of fertility and period tracking apps on the market, there are only a handful of apps that help a woman plan AND prevent pregnancy by tracking her cycle. Most of the apps that claim to identify the fertile days based on just your period dates are unclear about their methodology and cannot be used to prevent pregnancy. iCycleBeads is the only app based on the Standard Days Method of family planning so it’s methodology is very clear and well researched; it has been designed to be used as birth control as well as to plan a pregnancy..

There are also apps that are based on FAM or the symptothermal method of family planning. These apps can be quite effective at planning and preventing pregnancy. However, they require a woman to track a lot of information about fertility signs such as cervical mucus and temperature. If a woman already knows how to use these methods and is comfortable doing so, these apps can be very useful. But for women not familiar with these methods, they can be challenging to use.

One feature of theiCycleBeads app that I also really like and differentiates it from a lot of apps is that it proactively sends you alerts when you are key days in your cycle. So even if a woman doesn’t open the app and check it every day, she’ll get a message letting her know when her fertile window starts, when it ends, and when a new cycle is likely to come. It also proactively alerts a woman if she has had a cycle out of range and reminds her to input her cycle data if she forgets.

Tell me about your efforts to make family planning tools accessible to women in developing countries.

We are really proud of the impact that CycleBeads has had in the developing world and we work hard to make this family planning tool available to all kinds of health programs in developing countries at an extremely low cost. CycleBeads is being used in many countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia and has been made available in over 50 countries total.

CycleBeads is a good fit for developing countries because it addresses a lot of issues. Issues that are particularly acute in developing countries which CycleBeads help address include:

1) concerns about side effects – many women in developing countries, like women in the US, are concerned about side effects and unwilling to use a family planning method that they perceive might cause health concerns,

2) costs – CycleBeads are low cost and can be used indefinitely – one study showed that CycleBeads is the most economical family planning option for programs to offer, and given that they are one time purchase, we know that they are extremely economical to the end user,

3 ) ease of use – because CycleBeads is visual and intuitive, it can be used by women who have very little education,

4) access – CycleBeads can be offered in a variety of settings such as retailers and through local programs; it doesn’t require a highly skilled health practitioner to offer it. Also, unlike most other family planning options, it doesn’t require re-supply, break down over time, or need special storage so it’s easy for a program to keep them in stock and make them available. And since a woman only needs to learn about it one time, she doesn’t need to constantly go back to her health provider for refills.

5) couple communication – in many developing countries, couples may not be able to talk openly with each other about family planning or a woman’s cycle. CycleBeads have been shown to be a great tool for helping couples communicate.

We also donate a portion of proceeds to programs that help expand women’s family planning options and to empowerment programs for women.

It’s no secret that we love moms around here, and in honor of Mother’s Day — yes, it’s this weekend, get your mama something nice! — we’re hosting a giveaway here on the GladRags blog. You could win a Color Day Pad 3-Pack AND a Color Pantyliner 3-Pack, so you can divide the loot with your favorite mama… or keep them all for yourself, we won’t judge!

There are two ways to enter (you can do both):

- Post a comment below with the number one thing you love about your mom (or your grandma, auntie, godmother, etc).

- Sign up for our newsletter, then post a comment here letting us know that you did. If you’re already signed up for our newsletter you can still post a comment letting us know you’re a subscriber!

Important: Please comment one time only for each way to enter (max two comments total). We’ll pick a winner Monday morning using a random number generator.

Happy mother’s day, everyone!!

Congratulations to the winner of the giveaway, commenter #88 — Laura!

Thank you to everyone who donated GladRags pads to Haitian women earlier this year!  Midwife Jennifer S. shared the email and photo below with us about her work with Midwives for Haiti.  Jennifer, we applaud your generous spirit!  Thank you for making this possible.

I just got back late last night from Haiti and as you can imagine I had an amazing trip with Midwives for Haiti.  They work mostly out of the central plateau in Hinche.  Midwives for Haiti’s main goal is educating midwife auxillaries (notch above trained birthing assistants) to serve the women of Haiti.  The current class – class 3 – was just getting ready to graduate.  My job was to be a support for them, and to help keep the midwifery services going while they had off preparing for graduation.  There were a lot of mobile prenatal clinics that I attended at first as I got my feet wet.  We saw 45-60 women at each clinic.  For almost half the women, it was their one and only prenatal visit their entire pregnancy.  Most women deliver at home, most unattended (thus the need for the midwives) so the “new mommies” packets I made with many of the supplies you donated were very very much appreciated — diapers, soap, diaper pins, baby blankets, cloth menstrual pads — all precious items to these very poor families.  Thank you so much.  We also treated everyone for malaria and worms as well as anemia and passed out lots of prenatal vitamins — all purchased with funds many of you assisted me with — I thank you again.

This was my first time in Haiti and it was amazing.  I also ended up doing a lot of public health education about cholera out in the villages and worked a lot of nights in the cholera tents in Hinche.  It got a bit scary with the riots the beginning of this week, but I was working along with JP/HRO and PIH two very well funded and well supported organizations and was kept safe while we continued to provide care.  I also volunteered at the Azili in Hinche — this is an asylum run by Mother Teresa’s nuns — I was with the very ill children — starving, TB, etc — just holding them and helping with feedings — it was very moving.  I was in L&D, caught a baby, helped with a 16wk loss in the cholera tents and a woman who had an eclamptic seizure, met the midwife grads and many many more experiences.

As you can see I was really busy and now I am exhausted and trying to get back into the swing of things at the birth center, feeling a bit overwhelmed.  I think you all so very much for your love and support and prayers.  Having this opportunity to work in Haiti was something I have always wanted to do and now I will never forget.  I thank you for all the women we helped this last two weeks.

Diane used to work at GladRags years ago before she moved away to study Vipassana meditation.  We loved having her around then and we still miss her. It was always fun to watch her at lunch time intently writing away in her journal.

Name: Diane
Age: 37
Hometown: SF East Bay, CA
Current location: Charlotte, NC
Occupation: SAHM

Interests: poetry, flash fiction, Vipassana meditation, family life
Dreams: I have a one year old… my dream right now is to take a really long nap. Beyond that I’d like to continue reducing my carbon footprint, nurture a happy healthy family, and to write, published or not.

How long have you used reusable menstrual products?: 16 years
Reason for making the switch to reusables: It just made sense to the environment, to my health- it was a logical decision for me.

Funny anecdotes, deep thoughts, or anything else you’d like to share: (currently my mind is pretty clear… or full of hearing ‘mommy! mommy! mommy!… so I’m going to go now. I’ll think on this…)

This blog post originally appeared on My Red Tent.  We thought it was just to cute and funny to not share with the GladRags community!  Thanks to GladRags Guerrilla, Lafan, for allowing us to re-post it.

Who would have thought that a Gladrags cloth pad could double as a teddy bear cast.  Thank you to my kids for creativity and good laughs!

Take a break from your (hopefully not too) manic Monday with this week’s Menstrual Monday: a line-up of interesting news articles, blogs, art, and more, straight from the GladRags Twitter feed.

• Pick up a copy of the latest Mothering Magazine for their awesome article on cloth diapers; a lot of the concepts in “The Diaper Dilemma” apply to cloth pads, too.

• Lunette Selenes are in!  You’ll have to excuse us shouting this from the rooftops, because these cups are just so darn pretty.  I think I actually clapped my hands with glee when the package arrived at the office.

• Read “Saving the World by Not Using Tampons” to learn more about the founder of Green Drinks Singapore and why her first experience recycling was not so fun.

• “Eight Myths about Washable Pads Dispelled” makes me love the folks at Scarleteen even more than I already did.  Such an amazing resource for young people!

• Kali from The MakeUp Drawer Blog recently heard about cloth pads for the first time and shares her thoughts.  She says she’s not a convert (yet) but wants to hear your experience in the comments — so make sure you let her know how much you love reusables!

• Go Green Street has five super easy tips to help ease menstrual cramps — naturally.

• What does it mean to stop menstruating?  The Great Whatsit reflects on the finale of her 29 years of menstruation.

• Here at GladRags HQ we’ve been preparing for this year’s Green Festival in Seattle.  We’re hoping lots of GladRags fans will stop by our booth to say hi! Volunteers for the festival get free passes, so there’s no excuse to miss this incredible event!

April Monthly Friend: Viki Carter

Name: Viki Carter
Age: 38
Hometown: Boulder, Colorado
Current location: Denver, Colorado
Occupation: Hospice Social Worker

Interests: Spending time with my two amazing daughters, my husband, and our Boston Terriers; knitting, reading, music and art.
Dreams: Honestly, I am living my dreams – I love my job, my family, and my life in general!

How long have you used reusable menstrual products?: About seven years now.
Reason for making the switch to reusables: When my youngest daughter was born, we were firmly committed to cloth diapering, both for the environment and for her health. When my period started back up after her birth, I was having a great deal of discomfort and irritation from tampons/disposable pads. I thought; “Wait a minute – I am already cloth diapering – how is this different?!” I ordered some GladRags online, and have never looked back!

Funny anecdotes, deep thoughts, or anything else you’d like to share: I am so grateful that using reusable menstrual products has almost “forced” me to be really open with my daughters about this. We talk very openly about Mommy’s period and what it is and what it means. My oldest is showing all the signs of impending puberty, and she wants to use cloth pads when the time comes. Nothing will make me prouder than ordering her her very own set!

This week’s Menstrual Monday is slightly irregular (pardon the pun) but better late than never, right?  We’ll be back to our regular schedule next week!  And now the news:

• From The F-Word comes an article about the weird (but effective) advertising techniques used by disposable feminine product manufacturers, from blue liquid to tampons with “skirts.”

• Kotex launches a new advertising campaign — watch a video clip and read responses to the ads here and here.  Is this campaign hilarious or obnoxious? Discuss!

• There’s a great conversation about teaching kids about their bodies happening in the comments of Execumama’s post on menstruation.  Go share your two cents or just see what others are saying!

• Get serious about tracking your menstrual cycle with these detailed instructions for creating a chart in Excel.

• Have you checked out our reading list yet?  We want to know which books you recommend, too!

• Find out what experts say about vaginal discharge during pregnancy — and why you shouldn’t use a tampon or douche to deal with it.

• Here’s a great review of reusable menstrual products, including the Lunette cup, from a self-proclaimed Period Proselytiser.

March Monthly Friend: Mary

Name: Mary
Age: 26
Hometown: Laramie, WY
Current location: Laramie, WY
Occupation: University Staff

Interests: Dogs, cooking, coffee, travel…
Dreams: To be a great mom (in 12 weeks when my baby is due!)

How long have you used reusable menstrual products?: 1 year
Reason for making the switch to reusables: I always found regular pads to be so uncomfortable, sticky, and frankly made me yeast-prone no matter how often they were changed. I know a lot of people are worried about the environment, and I care about that too of course, but the bottom line for me was comfort. I picked up GladRags at my local organic co-op and loved them! I have since switched over completely.

Funny anecdotes, deep thoughts, or anything else you’d like to share: So I noted above that I am 28 weeks pregnant. You might think, why does she even need GladRags??? Well let me tell you… it wasn’t too long into the pregnancy that I began to realize that when you are pregnant, everything drips like a faucet. I was at the library a few months ago in an elevator, trying to crane around to look past my belly to see what was on my pants when my boobs started leaking milk too. I may not be having my period, but if I don’t wear a liner every day it looks like I peed my (stretchy) pants! No fun at all. This is the adventure that is motherhood, I suppose. Since I had used GladRags my last few periods before I conceived, they were the natural choice for protection with the increased discharge and I am so grateful! Not only do I leak but I sweat too and I think I might die of heat rash if I had to wear sticky plastic every day. Yuck. Not only have cloth pads been good for me, they have been good for my baby too. I’ve been inspired to stock up on reusable breast pads and cloth diapers! These more natural options just feel right, and that’s important when I’m making choices for the little girl I love the most.