Apple Health app is perfect for helping you track your fertility.
There are many apps out that enable you to not only track your period but also with it, track your fertile days. Some of these apps can be very expensive, or, to use certain functions you need to make in-app purchases.
The recent updates to iOS have added some great changes to the Health App. These including tracking your fertility as well as your menstrual cycle!
You can set your iPhone (and Apple watch if you use one), to notify you when your period is due and when your fertile window is.
Notifications are sent at 8 pm… perfect timing really!
The Cycle Tracking app makes it really easy to see when your period is due as well as to log your period days. By adding your details, including Period and Cycle length the Health app will work with YOU and your data to get your timings right.
You can add symptoms (at any time of the month) including things like cramps, bloating, constipation, mood changes and ovulation pain.
The app also shows you your Cycle History including how many days your period was for each month and there is a Statistics section which gives an overview of typical period and cycle lengths. Great data for the data lover in all of us!
There are some wonderful features especially for women trying to get pregnant.
Fertile Window Prediction – The app will show you exactly when your fertile window will be. This is based on your cycle times. I recommend having sex every second day during your fertile period. For women on a 28-day cycle, your fertile period will be day 10-20. The great thing about this app is that each time you log a period, the app updates the data and adjusts your fertile window prediction accordingly.
Other great features of the Health App are Basal Body Temperature. Your basal body temperature is your temperature when you’re fully at rest. This is taken first thing in the morning, before you get out of bed.
Your basal temperature may rise slightly – typically less than 0.3 C when you are ovulating and by tracking this may help you determine the best days to have sex. You’ll be most fertile during the two to three days before your temperature rises.
The app enables you to track your basal body temperature easily.
Cervical Mucus Quality
Cervical mucus has a very special job in the fertility process… to help transport sperm through the cervix into the uterus as well as provide nourishment.
Cervical mucus is produced by glands near the cervix. As your hormones change through the cycle, your mucus changes too. When ovulation is approaching the mucus changes, there is more of it, it is slippery and wet. This is called fertile cervical mucus.
The app allows you to add details of your Cervical Mucus Quality
These are the general changes that the mucus goes through during a monthly cycle and when it is at the Egg White to Watery stage is the best time to have sex to get pregnant.
By using both the Basal Body Temperature and Cervical Mucus Quality functions of the Fertility Tracking function you can gain a better understanding of when you may be ovulating, the best times to have sex and help you plan your pregnancy. Remember – the more information you input, the more accurate the predictions get.
While there is mention of ovulation tests within the app –this is not something you need to waste money on. Stick to the general rules of having sex every second day between day 10-20 on a 28-day cycle and start tracking using all the great free things within the Apple Health app.
To add Fertility Tracker go here.
