The Pros and Cons of Fertility Apps

Technology has advanced to help us in many aspects in life. Nowadays, there seems to be an app for everything, including fertility. What are fertility apps used for exactly? Are they legitimate? Can they help people become pregnant or avoid pregnancy? There are a number of such apps available today and they each have unique features. However, across most apps there are some common pros and cons:

3 Pros of Fertility Apps

If you’re assessing which of the apps you should use, here are the main features (and benefits) to look for across all the ones that are available. If the app helps you accomplish these three things, then you’re on your way to choosing a good one.

1. These Apps Help You Keep Everything Organized

Regardless of why you may want to use a fertility app, you can’t argue that it helps a girl keep everything straight. From period start and end dates, your physical temperature (however your medical practitioner suggests you measure it), to your weight and more, these apps are super helpful when it comes to organization.

Tracking these all manually on paper runs the risk of leaving things out, which will in turn negatively impact accuracy. The strongest benefit of such apps is that you have it nearly 24/7 and can add anything that is valuable.

2. Helpful Data in Real Time

Your phone is almost always with you; with an app, that means that your fertility information is, too. Whether you plan on using a fertility app to increase your chance of pregnancy or to help avoid one, having real-time information available to you is ideal. This isn’t at all possible with the traditional pen-and-paper method, making an app invaluable.

3. Many Fertility Apps Provide Useful Reporting

In addition to keeping things in one place and offering real-time alerts and insights, more advanced fertility apps offer long-term, statistical reporting. These apps go beyond just looking at current data and start to combine longer stretches of data to search for patterns and trends. These reports can be shared with your doctor, making the identification and tracking of trends more efficient and, ideally, more effective.

2 Cons of Fertility Apps:

While it’s great having technology that can be helpful, fertility apps are not 100% fail-safe. There are some questions that arise as to how well the data is collected and represented to users, and how well such apps work in different cases.

1. There Are Questions Surrounding the Accuracy of Such Apps

While some apps do a significantly better job than others, there is a general question of overall accuracy when it comes to fertility-tracking apps. Each app is built on its own algorithm and depends nearly entirely on the data being entered by the end user. There are many intricate pieces when it comes to tracking fertility and the end results depend on a frightening amount of control factors that are determined by outside forces. As a whole, these factors call the apps into question and highlight the risk of using user-dependent technology.

2. Fertility Apps Need Something Else

If you’re hoping that an app will solve all of your problems and give you the desired outcome, this just isn’t the case. While technology has advanced and provided you with an excellent tool, it won’t work just by itself.

For example, if you’re using an app to avoid becoming pregnant, you’re still best off using contraceptives. On the flip side, if you are trying to learn the best window for getting pregnant, an app won’t give you all the insight and you should still consult with your medical professional for guidance.

Conclusion

Fertility apps are excellent tools that you can use as part of your approach to either promoting or avoiding the chance of becoming pregnant. In addition to keeping all the information in one place, such apps help provide real-time insight and long-term reporting that will help you and your doctor develop a better plan for you and your body. You’ll need to keep in mind, however, that these apps are not foolproof. There is room for error, and you won’t be able to use fertility apps by themselves to get a good end result. Use it in conjunction with your other tools and you will be quite happy with the end results.