How to track your fertility with Ava device
Three years ago, after years of being on the pill, we finally decided to get pregnant and populate the earth, sort of speak. Due to my age at that time and because I had read a lot about the increase chances of lower fertility after being on the pill, I searched for the best tools to help me get pregnant faster. I knew I had to track my fertility window so I bough a lot of ovulation tests to get to know my body better. To be honest, I didn’t really know what I was doing and I found the strips to be quite annoying to use. I sort of failed the first month of testing them so I decided to let nature take its course. Luckily, I was sitting on golden eggs because we got pregnant the second month of going off the pill. Talk about luck! I was actually joking with my husband saying we could’ve had a football team by now if I didn’t use any protection over the years. 
After having Emma, we were not planning for another child anytime soon, but I still wanted to know my body, especially after so many changes involved in a pregnancy. This is how I have discovered the Ava fertility tracker, a viable alternative to menstruation and fertility tracking apps that delivers accurate data measurements and a user-friendly solution for women trying to get pregnant, or who just want to discover how their body works. After 3 months of testing the tracker I can definitely approve it works!
Women’s bodies are never precise and we depend on the weather, stress, health issues, and other environmental factors which keep influencing our cycles every month. As you can imagine, tracking these milestone dates using a calendar has never been helpful. Family planning tends to rely on coincidence, faith or destiny as some people might think, because the rough estimations of menstruation and ovulation cycle is hard to predict. 
Numerous ovulation tracking apps have appeared in recent years, offering women a bit of a relieve. You can track your period together with any symptoms such as mood swings, severe cramps, headaches, bloating, and they usually predict when your next cycle begins. Fertility trackers are linked to menstruation cycle tracking, which help figure out when is the best time to conceive. the Ava fertility tracker has a similar promise, but a different perspective. With the use of a wristband to measure many health parameters, you can follow your estimations on your phone. The Zurich-based company developed Ava for women who wanted to know more about their bodies. To observe their menstruation or ovulation cycles or follow their pregnancies. Whether you are trying to get pregnant or avoid that situation, the logged in symptoms as well as data can indicate potential health issues, as well as getting a clear picture when you’re likely to be most fertile.
The design of the wristband is neat and the mint colour is quite lovely. The sensor is on the larger side, but you get used to it, and the overall bracelet is quite light. I don’t really like wearing any accessories when sleeping, but I was surprised of how comfortable the device is. 
You have to charge the device every day. When you plug it in, the tracker first starts synching with the Ava app via Bluetooth to read the measurement data gathered over night. If the dot lights up red, it needs charging, if it’s green the Ava app is ready to use, and it’s blue, it means it transfers data. It is quite simple to use. What I really love about Ava, is that I don’t have to wear it the entire day, only at night. You have to wear it for at least four hours with three hours of sleep for the data to be accurate. 
The Ava device has been clinically tested for a year at the University Hospital of Zurich and it is an FDA-registered and CE-certified device which measures skin temperature, resting pulse rate, breathing rate, heart rate variability ration, perfusion, movement, bioimpedance, heat loss and sleep. There are a lot of data gathered to predict your fertility, as well as changes in your lifestyle.
It took me around a month of permanent wearing to form a pattern and to get Ava into the daily routine before going to bed. The app is really user-friendly and it also shows little tips for women – when to try getting pregnant, information about unfertilised egg, etc. You can also set the app to send your data to your email, and this way it can be analysed by your gynaecologist, in case they need precious information about your cycle. 
I find the app really useful and I can see how a lot of women can get closer to getting pregnant by knowing their bodies better. Discovering the optimal time to conceive is a tremendous step forward for many couples who have issues in this department. The 3 million data points collected in your phone means several graphs along with a timeline of your cycle, which depicts when you’ll be the most fertile. Predicting a woman’s fertility window, or the six days a month when you can get pregnant is essential information. The fact that it also tracks stress levels and sleep is a bonus.
Whether we’ll be planning on conceiving a sibling for Emma (which will make her and our family so happy) or simply avoid the situation, wearing the Ava bracelet has brought so much insight about how my body functions. I can understand my mood swings better, and I can improve my sleep, and my health. If I’ll ever decide on getting pregnant, I know I can double the chances with constantly tracking my body changes with this amazing device. The benefits of Ava don’t stop here, because you can also track data about your pregnancy. Such a clever piece of technology! You get £20 off on ordering the Ava device with code EATWEARTRAVEL20.
Post written in collaboration with Ava. All opinions are my own.
