Getting pregnant is not always as easy as they make it seem in health class. In fact, having a baby requires having sex during a very specific time of the month – when you are the most fertile. Predicting that time is important for conceiving quickly, and now, there is an app for that. Actually, there are several apps for that.
Apps like Ovia and Clue, help women predict the time of the month when they are the most fertile and most likely to successfully conceive. But like anything, there are both pros and cons to using them.
Here are four pros and cons for relying on fertility apps to get pregnant:
Pro: Fertility Tracking Helps You Conceive Reliably
Fertility tracking helps women understand their fertile window, which is the days of the cycle where it is possible to conceive. Understanding your window of fertility will help you get pregnant because it helps you time sexual intercourse appropriately, and it provides you with a greater insight into your fertility.
Having real insight into your fertility saves a lot of the time it would usually take you to conceive for several reasons. First, you can make sure you have sex on the days when you are most likely to conceive. Second, if you have tried for a period of time, and it just does not happen, you will be more likely to understand whether you need any investigation or intervention into you or your partner’s fertility. Instead of spending years wondering and waiting, you will understand whether doing everything you can naturally is enough.
Con: Fertility Tracking Is Not Perfect
Understanding how fertility works is important; but it is not an exact science. There is no perfect way to tell exactly what day it is that you will ovulate. Most women’s cycles vary in length, and a variance of even a day can throw off what day you ovulate, which makes narrowing down your most fertile days difficult.
There are other clues that you can use besides to a calendar prediction. Your body temperature raises by around half a degree after you have ovulated. Though, you need to take measurements consistently for this to be useful. Doctors suggest taking your temperature at the same time every morning for best results.
Alternatively, you can learn more about the changes in your cervical fluid that predict ovulation. When your fluid becomes more slippery and a bit thicker than normal, you are typically at your most fertile.
Pro: Apps Are Helpful Trackers
Fertility apps are designed to track data and provide you with a calendar. You can record your cycle, your temperature, and the consistency of your cervical fluid. Some also allow you to log other details that you find helpful like PMS symptoms or mood changes. All of these things can help you get in better touch with your reproductive system – even if all you want to do is track your period.
Con: You Need the Right App
You can have all the correct data required ready to go, but if you do not use an app that calculates the data correctly, or don’t have a cell phone with a good signal, you may be back at square one.
Finding the right app is not so easy. A study from Obstetrics & Gynecology found that out of the 33 apps it tests, only three were able to correctly calculate a fertile window for a 28-day cycle. If your cycle varies, or is at a non-standard length, this could become even more problematic.
Using an app will not help you get pregnant overnight, but what it does do is help you make sense of what is happening in your body. When you are more mindful of all the factors that play a role in conception, it is likely easier to harness your biology, and use it to help you get pregnant faster.
Featured photo credit: Kaboom Pics via kaboompics.com
