Disclaimer:
This blog post is for informational purposes only, does not contain medical advice and should not be a substitute for professional advice or your own decision making. Please consult a medical professional for any question you may have.
I have used the Ava tracker for almost half a year, and it has become a part of my daily routine. The Ava tracker is a watch like device can be worn for many reasons, including cycle tracking, TTC (trying to conceive), and pregnancy tracking. In this post, I will only focus on the cycle tracking aspect only although TTC is exactly the same process.
How Does It Work?
You don’t need any prior experience or data in order to onboard. Some women who’re familiar with the process know that there is an analog way to track your cycle and ovulation. The app will ask you very simple questions about yourself.
Every night, you simply wear this tracker to sleep. In the morning, you need to manually open your smart phone, go to the Ava app, and click on the sync button to sync all your data collected overnight.
The parameters tracked are
your skin temperature
resting pulse rate
breathing rate
sleep
HRV ratio
It also allows you to log other things you notice about yourself.
The parameters are key indicators of different female reproductive hormone levels, and as they fluctuate during your cycle, Ava uses a proprietary machine learning algorithm to predict when you ovulate. Based on that, it also predicts each phase of your cycle, namely menstrual, follicular, ovulatory, and luteal.
How Is This Relevant to Me If I’m Not Trying to Get Pregnant?
I only use it to track my cycle. The truth is, many women suffer from various kinds of recurring conditions, such as PCOS and endometriosis, which are very painful and cause many downstream conditions, such as acne and weight gain.
In order to treat any type of menstrual disorder, you first need to understand your cycle. As seen in the chart above, the hormones, estradiol, progesterone, and LH, vary throughout your cycle. Many tests used by doctors to treat menstrual disorder require you to time the tests according to your cycle. For example, it doesn’t make sense to test your progesterone level at the beginning of your cycle. It will be very low, and it’s the way it should be.
The chart above assumes that you have a 28 day cycle and it’s always a Day 14 ovulation. This is a fatally flawed assumption. In the book Take Charge of Your Fertility, the author introduced the FAM method, and she has so many case studies of women who are perfectly fertile, but the doctors couldn’t time the treatments properly, and ended up wasting a lot of time and money.
By having an accurate tracker, it enables you to
provide valuable information for your doctor to treat any issue you currently have, e.g. PMS, even if you’re not ready to be a mother
accurately time your fertile window if you’re trying to get pregnant
The Pros
Multi-purpose
It can be used as a simple cycle tracker, and you can easily switch into TTC mode or pregnancy mode.
FDA Cleared
The fertility detection algorithm is FDA approved. This gives many people a peace of mind.
Eligible for Fertility Benefits
It costs about $450 CAD. However, mine was fully covered by my employer’s fertility benefit provider. You should seek this type of coverage if you choose to get one.
Hassle Free Temperature Tracking
In the book Take Charge of Your Fertility, the author described the old school, analog way of temperature tracking in detail. You’d have to wake up at the same time every day, and manually jot down your temperature. With Ava, you don’t have to wake up at the same time every day. The tracker takes care of it all.
No Subscription Fee
As I mentioned in the benefits section, it’s a one time charge of approximately $450 CAD. Some competitors charge an upfront fee for the device, and then a subscription fee for as long as you use the device.
Cons
No Cervical Fluid Tracking
In the book Take Charge of Your Fertility, the author has cited numerous studies that the cervical fluid is as important as the temperature tracking. In Ava, you can still log it, but the UI doesn’t display it. It is not part of their algorithm, meaning that the prediction doesn’t care about this variable, and the app only keeps it for your information.
As seen in the screenshot from my Ava app below, you can see the two squiggly lines representing cervical fluid. You simply cannot see the description of the state of your cervical fluid at a glance. The UI requires you to click on it and view each description individually.
The analog FAM method, on the other hand, lets you customize it according to your own conditions. See the following example from Take Charge of Your Fertility
Cannot Be Used For Contraceptive Purposes
Unlike the FAM method and analog cycle tracking, this tracker and its algorithm cannot be used for contraception. It is a shame because a competitor device allows both modes.
Can Be Pricey
I’m not sure if I would spend $450 without my workplace benefit. However, the Ava website states that they’ll refund you fully if you don’t get pregnant after using their tracker. Please educate yourself on their terms and conditions.
The Battery
It has to be charged every night. The battery doesn’t last for more than 2 nights. I sometimes forget to charge and would miss a night of syncing inevitably.
Conclusion
Overall, I enjoy using this tracker and plan to use it in the future if my life goals change.