Evidence Based App to help with FAM?

July 17, 2017 9:03 AM

I'm new to the FAM (fertility awareness method) and I'm looking for an app to help track my chart to help conceive. I've read "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" and while they have an app (OvaGraph), it's pretty dated and is not really user friendly.* I read a study on fertility apps and it looks like the one I downloaded (Ovia) isn't high on their list. I'm not even sure if this is a sound study, but I want the best app I can get. Is Ovia a good choice? If not, what would you recommend?

*Apparently I have an account with TCoYF's app, but there's no way that I can see to update my password, and I lost it.

A bit more on what I'm looking for. An app that:
- Is based on the FAM
- Is evidence based
- Analyzes the data I put in so it helps me recognize patterns
- Can predict ovulation based on the data I put in
- Tracks health/wellness (cervical mucus, basal body temperature, sleep, mood, exercise, etc.)

posted by onecircleaday to Health & Fitness (13 answers total)

Best answer: I've used Ovuview for this for the past five years, and I think it's excellent, though I should confess that I'm a very lazy FAM user and it's a miracle that I haven't gotten knocked up fifteen times yet.

But this is perfect--way better, in fact--for serious users. You can set the specific method you're using (and there are dozens), then it will interpret your data using that particular method. It lets you track so many things--cervical fluid, cervical position, temperature, sex (and procreative or not), etc. You can also sort of track health and wellness stuff, but it's informal: Ovuview won't actually interpret the data, and I don't think it syncs the data with fitness trackers (though it may for all I know!). I've been using the paid version of the app for years, so I'm not sure what the free one's limitations are, but I think one benefit of the paid version (which was a one-time $5 when I bought it) is that you can download everything in .csv format if you ever get tired of Ovuview and want to export the data. Also I think it offers cloud backups for when you switch phones or otherwise have data troubles.
posted by tapir-whorf at 9:12 AM on July 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I used the online tracker Fertility Friend, as I've got a wonky cycle. Between temperature charting and mucus tracking, I hit the dates pretty well as planned.
posted by tilde at 9:12 AM on July 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The gold-standard app among the trying-to-conceive online community is Fertility Friend. They have a lot of powerful prediction tools that are available by subscription (called VIP Membership), but they are free to try for the first month. At the free level the app is still fully-featured for FAM - it just doesn't offer the extra analysis tools. Fertility Friend also has a TON of informational articles that explain FAM in complementary ways to TCOYF.
posted by muddgirl at 9:13 AM on July 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Check out Ovuview; it's really easy to use. Another option: there's a subreddit basically devoted to the use of Fertility Friend.
posted by slidell at 9:13 AM on July 17, 2017

Best answer: I also use FAM (but, in my case, I'm avoiding pregnancy), and I use the Fertility Friend app. I don't know how research-based it is, but it tracks the things you've mentioned. It also predicts fertile days, but I think that's mostly based on past cycle length, not on anything you put in for your current cycle.
posted by christinetheslp at 9:13 AM on July 17, 2017

Best answer: nothing Fertility Friend. The interface isn't shiny, but it has the best analysis of charts, and you can track a variety of things even without the paid membership, and even more with. It has different options for interpretation settings, depending on whether you want it to go strictly by temperatures or incorporate other signs.
posted by songs about trains at 9:19 AM on July 17, 2017

Best answer: I used Ovia and really liked it. I appreciated that they had the option to include a ton of detail, but also to do the bare minimum (which is more like what I did...). It was good at adjusting to my cycle as it changed and I found it's estimations on ovulation day / expected period arrival / length to all be remarkably accurate even when my cycle varied a bit month to month. I used Ovia alone for ~6 months and then started using OPKs to time ovulation alongside, and actually found that Ovia's estimates were spot on to when my OPKs were indicating I had ovulated.
posted by CharlieSue at 9:45 AM on July 17, 2017

Yes, Fertility Friend is great for learning how to chart. Others you might look at are Kindara or Lily Pro.
posted by Kriesa at 10:17 AM on July 17, 2017

Best answer: Nthing Fertility Friend. I used it along with OPKs and got pregnant the first month we tried.
posted by tatiana wishbone at 10:21 AM on July 17, 2017

Response by poster: Thanks so much, everyone! Really helpful. I'm thinking I'll give Fertility Friend a shot. I downloaded it, but it looks pretty complex. I'll check out that subreddit and the user forums.

If I can't figure it out, I'll try Ovia and see. I have irregular cycles, which is another concern. Hopefully I'll find more info on the forums regarding working around that.
posted by onecircleaday at 10:45 AM on July 17, 2017

Best answer: If you have the app, then you should look for the "Getting Started" page for a set of visual tutorials on using the app to chart. If it doesn't pop up automatically for a new user, click on the hamburger menu in the top right corner, then "Education, Docs & Fun", then Questions and Answers. Then click on "Getting Started."
posted by muddgirl at 11:38 AM on July 17, 2017

My doctor recommended Kindara. It's simple to use, aesthetically pleasing to look at without a lot of frills. FF was okay, but I actually disliked looking at the charts there. Kindara's are easier on my eyes.
posted by BlueBear at 1:24 PM on July 17, 2017

I'm sorry, I should add: Kindara does not analyze data, but it did adjust my projected period and ovulation dates as I got more data in. While it doesn't call attention to any patterns, it's easy to see them the way it stores the data. If that makes any sense.
posted by BlueBear at 1:36 PM on July 17, 2017