Can your smartphone help you conceive?
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Two weeks ago I succumbed to the current iPhone frenzy and upgraded my handset. I resisted and resisted for reasons I am not sure existed, but in the end the temptation got the better of me.
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- Can your smartphone help you conceive?
Two weeks ago I succumbed to the current iPhone frenzy and upgraded my handset. I resisted and resisted for reasons I am not sure existed, but in the end the temptation got the better of me.
I am now successfully addicted.
I am quite strict when it comes to the Apps I choose. I have a great "To Do List" App, my bank account, a handy torch, and of course the essential Facebook App. And now I have extended my App search into all things health, considering health is my main passion and I need to keep up with my patients who already record their daily food and caloric intake on their phones.
That’s when I stumbled onto a plethora of menstrual cycle apps. There are a number of Apps to record your cycle and that cleverly track your fertile and non-fertile days. You can enter your basal body temperature, your cervical mucus changes and when you have intercourse. You can record your PMT symptoms, ovulation and period pain and just about anything else menstrual cycle-related.
In my private practice I regularly ask women to chart their cycle. I give them a paper chart and ask them to fill it in as per the instructions and bring it back when I see them next. This option however, does not have the pretty colours or the automatically highlighted “green means GO!” days to indicate when to commence their attempts at conception.
I wonder if having these attractive and easy to interpret Apps enhances a woman’s understanding of their own fertility and womanhood. I wonder how many women use them whilst trying to conceive and if it actually helped them conceive.
I have started using a menstrual cycle App and enjoy entering in my daily info and watching my cycle emerge on the screen. I also love knowing that there are actually educational benefits to these fancy phones after all!
Do you use an App to highlight your fertile days?
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