Feb 22 2025 44 mins 2
What will you learn today on The Hormone Genius with Guest Dr. Stephanie Kafie?
What devices and technology are available for women to track their fertility? What are the advantages and disadvantages of these devices?
What are natural signs of fertility that women can track and what are the advantages/disadvantages of these?
How can femtech be incorporated into natural family planning for avoiding or achieving pregnancy?
Dr. Kafie was kind enough to give additional information about femtech (see below), what devices are available, what the research is behind these methods and how they can be incorporated into NFP methods formally (such as Sympto-thermal or Marquette Method) or informally.
Inito
Pattnaik S, Das D, Venkatesan VA. A quantitative home-use framework for assessing fertility and identifying novel hormone trends by recording urine hormones. Medrxiv 2022
Bottom Line: Inito can be used for urinary monitoring of LH, estrogen and progesterone to help identify ovulation.
Thakur R, Akram F, Rastogi V, Mitra A, Nawani R, Av V, et al. Development of Smartphone-Based Lateral Flow Device for the Quantification of LH and E3G Hormones 2020
Bottom Line: Using Inito for urinary hormone testing was comparable to the gold standard for urinary monitoring of LH, estrogen and progesterone.
Inito vs. Mira
Bouchard TP. Using Quantitative Hormonal Fertility Monitors to Evaluate the Luteal Phase: Medicina 2023
Bottom Line: There are few studies validating femtech devices: 2 studies for Inito, one study on Proov, and one comparing Mira and Clearblue. Further studies are needed to validate these devices.
Clearblue vs. Mira
Bouchard TP, Fehring RJ, Mu Q. Quantitative versus qualitative estrogen and luteinizing hormone testing for personal fertility monitoring. Expert Rev Mol Diagn 2021
Bottom Line: Both monitors had dates of ovulation that were highly correlated. Total satisfaction scores were higher for Clearblue than Mira.
Marquette Method using Clearblue Monitor - Non-breastfeeding
Fehring, R. J., & Schneider, M. (2017). Effectiveness of a Natural Family Planning , MCN, The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing
Bottom Line: This study showed 98% effectiveness of the Marquette Method in avoiding pregnancy with perfect use in non-breastfeeding women.
Marquette Method using Clearblue Monitor - Breastfeeding
Bouchard, T., Fehring, R. J., & Schneider, M. (2013). Efficacy of a New Postpartum Transition Protocol for Avoiding Pregnancy. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine
Bottom Line: With perfect use, this study showed 98% effectiveness of the Marquette Method for avoiding pregnancy during the transition to regular menstrual cycles postpartum.
Marquette Method using Clearblue Monitor - Achieving Pregnancy
Bouchard, T. P., Fehring, R. J. (2018). Achieving Pregnancy Using Primary Care Interventions to Identify the Fertile Window. Frontiers in Medicine
Bottom line: For women who wish to achieve a pregnancy, using a hormonal fertility monitor alone offers to best natural estimate of a woman’s fertile phase of her menstrual cycle. Focused intercourse during 24 menstrual cycles can assist couples with achieving pregnancy.
Wearable Devices that track fertility - A Review
Cromack SC, Walter JR. Consumer wearables and personal devices for tracking the fertile window. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2024
Bottom Line: More research is needed on these devices. Studies have many limitations with limited sample sizes and researchers who may have a stake in the company.
For a detailed summary read this review: https://www.factsaboutfertility.org/wearables-and-devices-to-track-the-fertile-window-a-review/?mc_cid=7e1bdddb2a&mc_eid=6315adbd87
Medical disclaimer: The information presented in The Hormone Genius Podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for actual medical or mental health advice from a doctor, psychologist, or any other medical or mental health professional.
What devices and technology are available for women to track their fertility? What are the advantages and disadvantages of these devices?
What are natural signs of fertility that women can track and what are the advantages/disadvantages of these?
How can femtech be incorporated into natural family planning for avoiding or achieving pregnancy?
Dr. Kafie was kind enough to give additional information about femtech (see below), what devices are available, what the research is behind these methods and how they can be incorporated into NFP methods formally (such as Sympto-thermal or Marquette Method) or informally.
Inito
Pattnaik S, Das D, Venkatesan VA. A quantitative home-use framework for assessing fertility and identifying novel hormone trends by recording urine hormones. Medrxiv 2022
Bottom Line: Inito can be used for urinary monitoring of LH, estrogen and progesterone to help identify ovulation.
Thakur R, Akram F, Rastogi V, Mitra A, Nawani R, Av V, et al. Development of Smartphone-Based Lateral Flow Device for the Quantification of LH and E3G Hormones 2020
Bottom Line: Using Inito for urinary hormone testing was comparable to the gold standard for urinary monitoring of LH, estrogen and progesterone.
Inito vs. Mira
Bouchard TP. Using Quantitative Hormonal Fertility Monitors to Evaluate the Luteal Phase: Medicina 2023
Bottom Line: There are few studies validating femtech devices: 2 studies for Inito, one study on Proov, and one comparing Mira and Clearblue. Further studies are needed to validate these devices.
Clearblue vs. Mira
Bouchard TP, Fehring RJ, Mu Q. Quantitative versus qualitative estrogen and luteinizing hormone testing for personal fertility monitoring. Expert Rev Mol Diagn 2021
Bottom Line: Both monitors had dates of ovulation that were highly correlated. Total satisfaction scores were higher for Clearblue than Mira.
Marquette Method using Clearblue Monitor - Non-breastfeeding
Fehring, R. J., & Schneider, M. (2017). Effectiveness of a Natural Family Planning , MCN, The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing
Bottom Line: This study showed 98% effectiveness of the Marquette Method in avoiding pregnancy with perfect use in non-breastfeeding women.
Marquette Method using Clearblue Monitor - Breastfeeding
Bouchard, T., Fehring, R. J., & Schneider, M. (2013). Efficacy of a New Postpartum Transition Protocol for Avoiding Pregnancy. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine
Bottom Line: With perfect use, this study showed 98% effectiveness of the Marquette Method for avoiding pregnancy during the transition to regular menstrual cycles postpartum.
Marquette Method using Clearblue Monitor - Achieving Pregnancy
Bouchard, T. P., Fehring, R. J. (2018). Achieving Pregnancy Using Primary Care Interventions to Identify the Fertile Window. Frontiers in Medicine
Bottom line: For women who wish to achieve a pregnancy, using a hormonal fertility monitor alone offers to best natural estimate of a woman’s fertile phase of her menstrual cycle. Focused intercourse during 24 menstrual cycles can assist couples with achieving pregnancy.
Wearable Devices that track fertility - A Review
Cromack SC, Walter JR. Consumer wearables and personal devices for tracking the fertile window. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2024
Bottom Line: More research is needed on these devices. Studies have many limitations with limited sample sizes and researchers who may have a stake in the company.
For a detailed summary read this review: https://www.factsaboutfertility.org/wearables-and-devices-to-track-the-fertile-window-a-review/?mc_cid=7e1bdddb2a&mc_eid=6315adbd87
Medical disclaimer: The information presented in The Hormone Genius Podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for actual medical or mental health advice from a doctor, psychologist, or any other medical or mental health professional.
