Just over a year ago I took the plunge and I stopped taking birth control pills. For someone who feels that her family is complete and is trying to not get pregnant, that was a scary thing. But because birth control made me feel so awful, I knew that there had to be a healthier alternative to pregnancy prevention.
In the past, I have used a
BBT thermometer to track my temperature to keep up with my cycle when I wasn’t
on birth control, but that was always such a pain. Most mornings I wouldn’t remember to take my
temperature before I was already out of the bed and as always with any manual
method I also had to worry about human error.
You may have seen the Ava Bracelet advertised on Instagram and Facebook by many of the Bachelor
contestants… they all rave about how the bracelet helped them get pregnant
faster because of its sophisticated software that can recognize your fertile
window in real-time. Well, I figured, if
people can use the Ava bracelet to get pregnant faster, then it would be a
really useful tool for me to use for the opposite purpose – to prevent
pregnancy.
I have been using mine for
over a year now and here are a few of the things that I love about it…
It is convenient.
The Ava Bracelet is quite
possibly the easiest thing to use ever. All
I have to do is put my bracelet on each night before bed, and the built-in
sensors gather all kinds of data while I sleep.
When I wake up, I just take it off, plug it in to the charger, click “sync”
in my Ava app, and then the watch sends all of the data to the app on my phone
via Bluetooth. It only takes a few
seconds so it’s ready for me to view by the time I get my contacts in to read
it. No more BBT thermometers, no more
taking my temperature every morning upon waking, and no more plugging numbers
in to an app. SO. EASY.
It gives me so much insight about my overall health.
Not only does it measure my
basal body temperature, it also measures many other parameters which gives me
insight about my cycle as well as my overall health. Here are a few of the things that it
measures:
Skin Temperature – this is
one of the parameters that is used to confirm ovulation. There are only five days per cycle that you
can get pregnant. Five. And knowing when you are ovulating can help
you get pregnant faster and it can also help prevent pregnancy from
occurring.
Heart Rate Variability Ratio
– this shows how stressed you are. The
lower it is, the less stressed you are.
Sleep Quantity – this shows
how many hours and minutes of sleep you are getting per night, and Ava is so
sophisticated that it can distinguish the difference between lying quietly and
sleeping. This is actually the first
number that I look at every morning because I love to see how long I sleep each
night.
Sleep Quality – Ava also
detects the percentage of light sleep and the percentage of combined deep and
REM sleep that you get each night. Sleep
can affect your menstrual cycle and vice versa, so this data is also important
in helping detect your fertile window.
Plus it’s nice to know if you’re getting enough or not.
Resting Pulse Rate – this
shows how often your heart beats per minute while you are resting. Resting pulse rate is also one of the
indicators to help detect the very beginning of the fertile window, when your
body is gearing up to ovulate.
Breathing Rate – this
measures the rate of respiration per minute.
All of these parameters
allow Ava to detect your fertile window in real-time which is something that
none of the other fertility tracking products can do. Since Ava is clinically proven to track your
cycle in real-time, I know that I am always informed at the very beginning of my fertile window as
opposed to being informed after my fertile window has already passed like with
the BBT thermometer. Knowing the
beginning of your fertile window gives a better chance of conceiving faster, which
also means that it lets me know when
to be cautious!
It is very user-friendly and the data is easy to read.
There is a home screen that
shows your daily information as well as a cycle overview where you can see all
of your parameters for the entire cycle.
You can slide your finger over to any day to see all of the data for
that day.
There is log where you can make manual notes.
If you want to keep really detailed
notes about your day, there is a section in the app where you can log notes
about your period, if you had “fun time” with your hubs, how your body feels, how
your mood is, the quality of your cervical fluid, and pregnancy test
results. There is also a custom log
available if you want to design your own.
It provides little reminders throughout the month.
Throughout the month, my Ava
app tells me when I become fertile, when my peak fertility occurs, when I’m no
longer fertile, and when I’m going to start my period. I’m a busy, busy lady so it’s nice to have these
little reminders. ;o)
Because I use it, I no longer have to take birth
control pills!
You may not know this, but
birth control pills are awful for your body.
They can cause nausea, headaches and migraines, weight gain, mood
changes, decreased libido, changes to eyesight for people who use contacts, and
many other scary things. I experienced
so many of these when I was on the pill and it made me feel awful a lot of the
time.
In addition to those side
effects, they can also have some SUPER scary long-term effects such as putting
you at a higher risk for heart attack, stroke, and blood clots and they also put
you at a higher risk for breast, cervical, and liver cancer.
NO THANK YOU!
I can’t even tell you how
much better I feel now that I’m not on those wretched “death” pills as I call
them. Haha.
IT WORKS!
As I said before, my cycle
varies from month to month and this bracelet does a good job of tracking that
and keeping up with that. It is so nice
to have peace of mind without taking medication to have it.
* * *
We have been using natural
family planning for over a year now and we have had total success preventing
pregnancy because of this one little tool.
I feel like I know more about my body than I ever have in my entire
life, and my Ava helps me predict when I am most likely to be moody, be in pain
(cramps, back pain, headaches), or feel GREAT.
I would honestly be lost without it!
Whether you’re trying to get
pregnant, trying to prevent pregnancy, or just want insight on your overall
health, I highly recommend the Ava bracelet!
I think every woman should have one.
YOU CAN GET YOURS HERE.
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Oh wow. I never looked at the bracelet to prevent pregnancy. It would be great to have for overall health.
ReplyDeleteI've seen so many people use these. I'm glad it's working for you!
ReplyDeleteSarah at MeetTheShaneyfelts
This is such a cool way of using this bracelet. I did the BBT when I was trying to get pregnant and it was such a pain. My cycles tend to be wonky too, so it always feels like a guessing game (well it did, right now it doesn't really matter ;) ).
ReplyDeleteI've never thought to use it preventatively but let me just say I do not want Irish Twins LOL! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston
ReplyDeleteThis is so fascinating and the fact that it can tell you when your period is coming is so nice. Then, I won't wonder why I feel like a crazy person those days leading up to it :)!
ReplyDeleteThis bracelet seems so awesome. It's amazing what technology can do these days. I should just take the plunge and buy one!
ReplyDeleteNever thought about it for not wanting to get pregnant. And all that info... Man I wish I had this when i was trying, but I think this would be perfect for me and help me get off BC. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteThis is so neat - I can remember when you first posted! I'll have to share this bc I have a friend that is really interested in this!
ReplyDeleteI've never seen this before. Very interesting, and happy that you only have to wear it at night.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to lie girl....last year when you first showed this off I was certain we'd be celebrating a new baby! hahaha Impressed you have made this work well for your family.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you've had this year. Time really does fly! I remember when you shared this and I did get excited for a second but I can completely understand the importance of knowing your cycle for the other side of it. Glad that it's worked for you. Sierra Beautifully Candid
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing product! Technology is just advancing so fast these days!
ReplyDeleteI want this for the same reason you have it...to prevent and get off my bc. I know it is sooo bad for you and I need to get off of it.
ReplyDeleteI got off birth control pills two years ago for the same reason but was scared I'd get pregnant so I got an IUD. It was the worst pan I have ever experienced and even though it has been great (no periods!). I am scared to get anther one because of the pain. This sounds like a great way to prevent naturally without the nervousness! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI have recently just heard of this. We are ttc #3. I want to try a few months on our own but have been thinking of purchasing an Ava, I dont want to get back on birth control after we are done either.
ReplyDeleteI don't blame you... it's so rough on your body! Good luck TTC! I hope it happens quickly for you!
DeleteVery interesting. Thanks for the knowledge. Thanks for hosting and I hope that you have a wonderful weekend.
ReplyDeleteYou have a wonderful weekend, too!
DeleteI was thinking HARD on getting one of these last fall! I may have to look into it come spring! I'd totally use it the same way you do! Technology is awesome!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like such a good option! The pill made me so sick too. It's great there is a non chemical but reliable way to track your own cycles!
ReplyDeleteUmmmm LOVE this! I've been wanting to go off the pill too, but we honestly feel like our little family is complete too so this would be perfect for me too <3Green Fashionista
ReplyDelete