Just before the weekend I finally received my Ava Fertility Tracker. I say finally, the order came really fast with no damages, I was just so eager to use it, it was like waiting for Christmas. Immediately I opened the parcel. It arrived in a small box labelled with a picture on the front. I checked the back and sides and they have brief explanations of what Ava tracks. The box has a page, like opening the front cover of a book, this explains what the outside does, just in four other languages. This shows, the company are not only trying to help women in one country but are trying to help women all over the world with their product. So, I pulled the box out, inside it includes a manual, the Ava bracelet and a USB charger for your Ava, the charger is roughly 20 inches/51cm long.
The manual explains everything you need to know to set your Ava up ready for us. The instructions are simple to follow. Download the app, the app is available on Apple – App store and also Android – Google Play. Next you plug Ava in using your USB charger and sync to your phone. At this point most of the work is carried out on the App.
The App asks for your details, name, email and password. All information you provide on the App is confidential and is not shared with any 3rd parties. They will then send you an email to activate your account with them. Once you have authorised this, the App asks why you are wanting to use Ava. This option can be change at any time, you can choose from Track my cycle, Try to conceive or Follow my pregnancy. The reason I wanted the Ava bracelet is because my husband and I are trying to conceive so that’s the option I chose. It then asks for your height, weight and date of birth. Overall setting up the App was simple and easy to follow the instructions in the manual and on the App.
At this point I forgot about the manual and wanted to check the App out. You have the option to set an alarm and Ava will vibrate on your wrist to wake you up on a morning. I have this set up, but I like my sleep, so my normal alarm stays on too, just in case. You can also set up your bedtime. I did this, since I’ve had Ava the App now sends me notifications when it’s bedtime and time to put Ava on, like I need a reminder to go to sleep, I love sleep! But it’s a good reminder to put the bracelet on. The App itself, tells you on the dashboard when it predicts if you’re low or high in fertility. The menu has a heath section, once this collects data, it changes all the information into a graph. It measures your resting pulse rate, skin temperature, breathing rate, sleep and HRV ratio. You also have a calendar option in the menu, showing an estimate of when your cycle should be and when you should ovulate. This stays at an estimate until Ava collects your data. You can also make notes on the calendar about your period, sex, aches or pains on the body, your mood, any cervical fluid and if you took a pregnancy test. There are also options for cycle history and a cycle report, these can be accessed once you have a month or more of data logged.
The App provides additional support, if you have any questions you can access the Ava website for FAQ. There is also the option for chat. The chat is automated but answers questions very well. It also suggested a Facebook page, this is basically a community of other Ava users, people are more than happy to share information, ask questions and give any help. I found this quite useful.
Looking through the App was amazing, it’s brilliant to see just how much Ava tracks while you’re sleeping. For such a small bracelet it seems unreal. But technology is getting smaller, so it makes sense. I then went back to the manual as I wanted to know what I needed to do next. The manual advises you to charge Ava for 2 hours before first use. Personally, I charged mine for 4 hours, but I didn’t get any data on my first night, so I would recommend charging for as long as possible. The next page explains Ava will vibrate to confirm it is ready to record. I haven’t experienced this after 4 nights of wearing the bracelet. The rest of the manual explains safety warnings. The page I use most is the page which explains the different colours Ava’s LED light provides. There are 6 in options in total, Solid pink – Ava needs syncing, Flashing pink -Ava needs charging, Flashing white – charging in progress, Solid white – charging complete, Solid white & vibrating – Ava is ready to record and Flashing blue – data is transmitted. I’ve found that mine flashes blue and mainly flashes white. I leave Ava on charge all day while at work, but I never get the solid white colour.
The Ava bracelet is small. If you compare to a watch, the sensor is the watch face and the strap is the same. The strap is very comfortable, made from a rubber material. This has to be tight on your wrist, tight enough you can fit 1 finger in between your wrist and the strap but not 2. It’s very light so not really noticeable whist sleeping. Once I have mine on, I like to lift the sensor a little to check the green light it on as this means Ava is recording. I do find on a morning I have an imprint of the watch on my wrist due to wearing it tightly, this tends to have disappeared in the hour I’m awake before setting off to work. Once the morning comes, you open your App and press the sync button, this takes a minute or so for the data to transmit to the App and you can then check your results.
Overall, I really like the Ava bracelet and the App. As I only have 4 days data, I can’t comment if it’s accurate or not just yet. Also, I’m still learning how to read the graphs which are the main source of information for Ava to help me how I need. In this case I use the Facebook page quite often as a way to gain knowledge and information. But also, for other people’s stories. People on there have become pregnant with help from using Ava and tracking their data. I think Ava will be a great help getting to know myself better.
I think Ava would be a great gift for your partner if you know they need help just tracking their monthly cycle, regular or irregular, it’s useful and reminds you when this is going to happen. Or If your trying for a child, it helps as the body temp and cycle tracking all changes when your ovulating.