For many people, the knowledge of a woman’s fertility cycle is a major factor in their lives. This could either be for pregnancy achievement or for birth control or both. However, still lots of these people are deterred by the amount of work needed in these methods. But then there are those more traditional schemes of taking daily body temperature, noting and calculating a woman’s cycle days and then interpreting these pieces of data to determine when sex is safe from causing conception or when sex is a perfect timing to conceive a baby.
Today’s technologies have simplified the natural conception or birth control methods through electronic devices known as fertility monitors. A fertility monitor is primarily used for fertility awareness, i.e. when a woman is fertile and when she is not. It analyzes any or a combination of the following samples: urine, saliva, vaginal fluids, basal body temperature. These methods eliminate the tedious task of daily monitoring body temperature.
The market is flooded with fertility monitor brands used either to achieve pregnancy or to control conception while some are used for both purposes. Here are some of the most common fertility monitors found in the market today.
ClearBlue Fertility Monitor Complete Kit – this is the most commonly used kit for increasing one’s chances of conceiving a baby. Using a urine sample, it tracks changes in the two key female hormones - the Luteinizing Hormone and Estrogen. Price ranges from $200 - $250 per kit.
Fertile Focus Ovulation Microscope – this uses the saliva to detect hormone estrogen changes prior to ovulation. Fertility period shows crystal "ferning patterns" in the saliva sample. One test can cost as low as $27.
OV-Watch Fertility Wrist – is worn on the wrist just like a watch as it detects the chemical composition of one’s sweat or salt levels in the body. It presents a full 6-day fertility prompt. OV-Watch Fertility Wrist is considered one of the coolest gadgets which can cost from $40 – 50 each.
OvaCue Fertility Monitor – uses saliva samples to predict ovulation. The changes in the saliva predicts the woman’s fertility for the day and automatically records her most fertile period. The OvaCue is for pregnancy achievement only and is manufactured by Zetek. At $298 each, this monitor is cost efficient and can be used for many years.
