I wanted to give my husband and I the best opportunity to fall pregnant and one of the ways to do that was to sync ‘playtime’ with my ovulation cycle. So I explored various methods to track when I would most likely conceive.

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Note: Given I live in Singapore, the following suggestions are based on my geography.

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APP’S

Flo App.

You can track things like menstrual cycle, basal body temperature (temperature of your body when you're at rest), your mood, whether or not you’ve had sex, whether or not you took an ovulation/pregnancy test and it helps to build a picture of when is the best time to conceive.

PROS:
  • I only used it for a month and received a month’s free trial so it didn’t cost me anything. I found it to be a convenient and easy to use tracking device which I could then switch over into ‘pregnant’ mode to continue using if I wanted (I didn’t).
  • The team at Flo also provide a great review on how they measure our cycles here https://flo.health/faq/accuracy
CONS:
  • There is a monthly fee after the trial period. It works best if you input a lot of information so you need to be willing to do that.
  • Although easy to use, you have to invest a lot of time entering information about yourself to obtain an accurate reading.

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OVULATION TESTS

Clearblue digital ovulation sticks:

PROS:
  • Easy to use (i.e. idiot proof, if there’s a smiley face that means ovulating or about to, if there isn’t then you aren’t)
  • Easy to access in the pharmacy.
  • Trusted brand and more information can be found here https://sg.clearblue.com/ovulation-tests/digital
CONS:
  • Expensive

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Homebrand Ovulation Sticks Purchased Online:

PROS:
  • Much cheaper than branded alternatives.
CONS:
  • Instructions not written in English
  • Some rely on the use of lines and depth of colour to determine if you are ovulating which I found confusing at times.
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TEMPERATURE TRACKING

I took my basal body temperature each morning and recorded it in order to assist with knowing when I was likely to ovulate. Typically, the reading increases slightly right after you ovulate.

Although I was recording on a daily basis, I was fortunate to fall pregnant before I could notice any patterns in my monthly fluctuations.

The team at Babycentre provide easy to understand explanations of basal body temperature here: https://www.babycenter.com/chart-basal-body-temperature-and-cervical-mucus