Fertility devices: Part I

Nowadays we can find diverse devices that help us in family planning by detecting ovulation. They enable us to keep a record of the changes that are happening in our body and therefore predict the fertile and infertile stages of the menstrual period. Among them we can mention:

a) Devices designed to achieve pregnancy (likewise they help to put off pregnancy, since by telling us the fertile stage of the period, they are telling us the infertile stage as well):

1. Rabbit: it is a personal computer (not very sophisticated) for women: on the screen displays the graphic of the month that shows temperature and its course of evolution.

- Displays a basal temperature graphic
- Clock, calendar, alarm, thermometer, etc.
- Memory to store information for a year.
- It’s an aid for both achieving and postponing pregnancy.
- It’s for regular women.

2. Clear Plan: This is a fertility monitor of a palm size that clearly identifies the days of maximum fertility.

- Identifies the low, high and maximum levels of fertility based on levels of estrogen and corpus luteum in the urine.
- While monitoring the hormonal cycle is keeping the records of the menstrual period, counting the days, telling which days to get tested, the fertility levels of each day and informing when is going to start the next period.
- For women whose periods oscillate between 21 and 42 days.
- It lasts for many years for future pregnancies.

b) Devices to achieve pregnancy and avoid it as well.

1. Bioself: It is an electronic thermometer combined with a micro-computer that daily records the morning temperature of a woman.

Bioself 2000 in an electronic fertility indicator that allows a women, her doctor and her couple to determine if she ovulates, when and which is the bets moment to conceive. On the contrary, when a woman wants to avoid pregnancy, the bioself will enable her to find out the period of her cycle when she is fertile and the moment when having sex will not derive in pregnancy.

- Bioself uses the basal temperature method and the calendar method as well.
- Uses the basal temperature and the menstruation dates to identify the different phases of the cycle.- It has a digital thermometer, fertility light signals, pregnancy indication, cycle length, etc.
- The information that Bioself is recording can be printed by taking the device to your distributor or by calling a Bioself Center.
- It can be used only by women with cycles between 19 to 39 days who are not breastfeeding, under hormonal treatment, with no menopause symptoms and not taking medication that affect body temperature.
- Bioself is effective in 94-98% in detecting noon fertile days after ovulation. For these days, a green light turns on to indicate the non fertile phase.
- Clinic tests have proven that of all unprotected sexual relations have taken place just during the green light days, only 9% of women using the device may get pregnant.
- Costs $115 approximately.

2. Lady com: It is a sophisticated microcomputer of memory pregnancy control developed in Germany, equipped with a thermic sensor that helps the user take her temperature.
It takes basal temperature in 30 seconds with a 1/100th °C precision. A sophisticated program of more than 200 pages of stored sources determines the fertility of the day.

- Lady com presents color lights, fertility indicators; alarm; time, data, measure windows, etc.
- Effectiveness of 99%
- Lasts from 30 to 40 years.

- Advantages:
- Takes the temperature in record time of 30 seconds.
- Easy to use
- Tells you when you are fertile and when not.
- You can print the graphic information of the last 120 days.
- Can be turn into Baby com.

- Disadvantage: It is very expensive.