Getty
Dancing With the Stars professional dancer Sharna Burgess sparked pregnancy rumors with fans recently by posting a photo on her Instagram page, but those rumors were debunked as soon as her followers read the caption alongside the photo.
Burgess posted a photo of her holding a pink stick while sitting up in bed, and fans thought that the stick could have been a positive pregnancy test until they read the caption that went along with it. The object in her hand that was mistaken as a pregnancy test was actually a basal thermometer.
“CHILE I THOUGHT THIS WAS A PREGNANCY ANNOUNCEMENT,” one person commented. “MY HEART FULLY STOPPED.”
Another commented, “Thought this was a pregnancy announcement for a sec.”
“Thought this was a pregnancy announcement. I got so excited for nothing,” another person commented.
The post was actually an endorsement for a birth control app.
Burgess Was Posting About Birth Control
Burgess’ post was a paid endorsement for an FDA-approved birth control app.
“I haven’t had to be on hormonal birth control for years so when it came time to get back on, my body really struggled,” Burgess wrote. “I tried the pill, but I experienced mood swings, weight gain, periods that were nearly knocking me out with fatigue and pain. It seemed after so long without it, my body just didn’t like it.”
She said she tried the Natural Cycles app and has been using that ever since.
“I’ve also been able to get to know my body and my cycle a lot better,” she wrote. “Every morning I take my basal body temperature with my thermometer and add it into the app. The app’s algorithm is then able to tell me if I’m fertile or not that day. It’s been an amazing natural alternative to the pill.”
Burgess says she recommends the product for people who are trying to get pregnant or looking for natural birth control options.
The post was labeled #ad, meaning Burgess was paid to post the content.
Commenters Had Mixed Reactions to the Post
Some commenters loved that Burgess was talking about periods and cycles openly, but others warned her that it might not be completely effective in preventing pregnancy.
“Way too risky for pregnancy prevention!” one person wrote. “Hope people understand that.”
Another wrote, “My mom got pregnant using this method! Also known as the rhythm method.”
According to the FDA, the app has a “perfect use” failure rate of 1.8%. That means that out of every 100 women who used the app as intended, 1.8 would become pregnant “because they had sexual intercourse on a day when the app predicted they would not be fertile or because their contraceptive method failed when they had intercourse on a fertile day.”
For “typical use,” meaning when some women didn’t use the app correctly, the failure rate was 6.5%.
For comparison, hormonal birth control has a failure rate of 9% for “typical use,” according to the FDA.
The app was approved for use by the FDA in 2018.
So, Burgess is not pregnant, but fans were still excited to see her talking so openly about hormones and birth control.
READ NEXT: Former ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Contestant Reveals They’re Still Suffering From Show Injuries