Knowing your body is key to speedier conception. There’s an average of five days per cycle where pregnancy can occur – knowing when these are occurring increases your chances of pregnancy.
The ovulation tracking bracelet Ava provides precise and informed data on your menstrual cycle. It not only helps you conceive faster, but its technology provides thorough insight helping you become in sync with your body. Dreaming of Baby discusses the benefits of monitoring your cycle with Lea von Bidder, CEO of Ava Science, Inc.
Daniela: Good afternoon Lea, and welcome to Dreaming of Baby. We’re looking forward to getting to know more about the Ovulation Tracking Bracelet Ava and how this assists individuals in their journey to baby. As CEO of Ava Science, how would you best describe Ava?
Lea von Bidder, CEO Ava Science, Inc.: Ava is a sensor bracelet, worn only during the night, which tracks a woman’s menstrual cycle. It detects the fertile window of a woman in real-time, doubling her chances to conceive each month. Ava doesn’t only detect more fertile days per cycle than other methods (urine tests, basal body temperature) but is also much easier (actually, fun) to use!
Why track fertility?
Daniela: In consideration of this, how important is understanding your cycle when trying for pregnancy?
Lea von Bidder, CEO Ava Science, Inc.: 70% of pregnancies happen in the two days before ovulation and the day of Ovulation itself. The other 30% fall on the three days before that. Most couples find that they want to optimize their chances of getting pregnant by tracking the menstrual cycle.
Daniela: You mentioned above that it is more accurate than other methods, what makes it so accurate and what tests have been carried out to confirm this accuracy?
Lea von Bidder, CEO Ava Science, Inc.: Ava has been clinically tested at the University Hospital of Zurich and it was shown that Ava can detect 5.3 fertile days in a menstrual cycle. Ava measures 9 physiological parameters (breathing rate, pulse rate, hrv and others) which help Ava understand the earliest hormonal changes when you enter your fertile window.
Daniela: Wow that is quite interesting, you said it is worn at night? Is it better if you wear it all day or is it specifically designed to be worn as you sleep?
Lea von Bidder, CEO Ava Science, Inc.: It is specifically designed to be worn during the night. Ava needs “base values” -those are only available during the night at a resting state.
Daniela: How long has Ava been available on the market?
Lea von Bidder, CEO Ava Science, Inc.: Ava has been available for a year now in the United States.
‘70% of pregnancies happen in the two days before ovulation and the day of Ovulation itself. The other 30% fall on the three days before that.’
The Benefits of Fertility Tracking Tools
Daniela: If I understand correctly it ties into a nifty app with a lot of insight into the fertility cycle and also other insights. Can you walk me through a few of the key types of information?
Lea von Bidder, CEO Ava Science, Inc.: Sure. A user syncs Ava in the morning and gets all their important Information at one glance: Where are you in your cycle? When is your expected fertile window (or, if you are in it, is it confirmed?) and you get to access your pulse rate, sleep, HRV (Stress) and skin temperature graph. All in all, it’s a great tool for women who want to conceive, but also for women who want to learn more about hormonal changes during their cycle.
Daniela: Does AVA aid in the diagnosis of irregular menstrual cycles, or offer recommendations for such things as a short follicular phase or a short luteal phase?
Lea von Bidder, CEO Ava Science, Inc.: Ava offers data and insights you can use to understand your cycle better. That includes information about your luteal phase or cycle regularity. However, Ava does not diagnose.
Daniela: Do medical professionals make use of the data from Ava to aid in their own diagnostics or is the tool strictly for personal use?
Lea von Bidder, CEO Ava Science, Inc.: We have many users who share their information with their OB/GYN. We are releasing a report functionality soon, with which users can print out an entire report for their doctor.
Daniela: Wow that is exciting, I think it would be extremely useful considering all the data it collects. Does Ava make any recommendations within the APP such as telling you when it is the optimal time or does one simply learn to interpret the data?
Lea von Bidder, CEO Ava Science, iNc.: Absolutely! Ava indicates a user’s fertile window and confirms that in real-time. There’s no need to interpret that data yourself.
Daniela: I am of course assuming you would recommend the Ava bracelet to anyone seeking to get to know their body better, what is the most prominent feature you eagerly point out when you talk about it? To be more precise what is the biggest problem it solves?
Lea von Bidder, CEO Ava Science, Inc.: There are so many reasons why women want to track their cycle (getting pregnant, understanding those migraines & moods, understand shifts in cycle length). But there were so far, no easy and precise methods for doing that. The existing options were difficult, imprecise and have been around for 50 years +. Ava brings tracking your cycle to the 21st century and offers you a precise, easy-to-use companion along your way!
‘Far too many women ignore or try to hide their menstrual cycle instead of taking it as a unique insight into their body. The menstrual cycle is today even called the 5th vital sign.’
Daniela: At Dreaming of Baby we are of course very much focused on the journey from dreaming of having a baby to the moment our mothers and fathers-to-be actually hold their bundle of joy in their arms. Nonetheless, I do feel inclined to ask if this would be a product that could also serve as a gift/tool for young women as they begin their first menstrual cycle; offering as you put it a 21st-century solution for a better understanding of how the body works.
Lea von Bidder, CEO Ava Science, Inc.: Absolutely. We feel far too many women ignore or try to hide their menstrual cycle instead of taking it as a unique insight into their body. The menstrual cycle is today even called the 5th vital sign.
Daniela: Back to the journey to parenthood, armed with the data provided by Ava is there any way that chances of fertility can be improved, apart from of course knowing the right window? Are there lifestyle choices and other factors that may improve chances of getting pregnant that the data from Ava can help encourage?
Lea von Bidder, CEO Ava Science, Inc.: Knowing the right time is definitely the most important contribution of Ava. By knowing the right time, couples can double their chances each month. Besides that. Ava does track your sleep and stress, helping you understand and manage your general well-being.
Daniela: Excellent, if I understand correctly AVA is also a great tool during the pregnancy itself. How does AVA help during pregnancy?
Lea von Bidder, CEO Ava Science, Inc.: Ava has recently launched an app to accompany women during pregnancies. At this point, it tracks your stress, sleep, and heart rate during pregnancy and gives you information about your baby’s development.
Daniela: It seems that you have many new developments and ongoing improvements with the bracelet. Two questions: 1. Do the improvements come at an extra cost or are they added as the app is updated? 2. Are there any other major additions that are expected?
Lea von Bidder, CEO Ava Science, Inc.: 1. All software and app improvements are available to all our customers free of cost! 2. Absolutely. We are especially looking deeper into pregnancy monitoring at the moment and into making the algorithm work for women with PCOS.
Daniela: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is a very common and under diagnosed condition, it will be interesting to see Ava helping with this important condition. I would also assume that the same technology may at some point be useful for male fertility, is there any such product in the works that you know of?
Lea von Bidder, CEO Ava Science, Inc.: We clearly focus on women’s reproductive medicine. We have heard of similar approaches for sperm testing, for example, Sandstone Diagnostics with their product Trak.
Daniela: Thank you; it has been great having you! As a final question, is there anything you think our readers need to know that will help them on their journey to parenthood?
Lea von Bidder, CEO Ava Science, Inc.: I think they need to know that they are doing the right thing, no matter what. In trying to conceive there are so many discussions about what’s right and what’s wrong to do and feel. Getting pregnant is your individual journey.
Read more about tracking your fertile days, here:
Read more about tracking male fertility, here: