Conception apps - do you use any? what would you like to see?

[RebeccaMumsnet]

Hi all,

We at MNHQ are always looking to better our content and come up with new and useful ways to help parents and those who are currently TTC. We are researching current products in the conception app sector and wanted to pick your brains on what you look for in an app in relation to TTC, if at all.

If you don't mind , we'd be thrilled if you could post below with the answers to the following q's:

Are you currently using any apps while you TTC?
If so, which ones?
Obvious questions but how are they useful for you?
What do you like/dislike about them?
What do you think's missing, waiting to be invented in this area?
What would you find useful?

Many thanks for taking the time to do this

Best wishes
MNHQ

I use Fertility Friend on my iPad.
I like best:

Recording my temps and a graph produced
Telling me when ovulations happened
Seeing other charts to compare
Recording OPK tests and cervical mucus
Recording symptoms
Having a calendar that shows cycle days, then, when applicable, how many dpo

I use Ovia, very useable and nice to look at.

I use My Days
It makes a graph of your cycle
It records your cycle history which can get emailed to you
You can see ovulation to manual or automatic based on orevious cycles. You can do this with period also.
It records cm, when you were intimate.
You can add notes
Record weight and temps
It was also free at time of purchasing.
It does look at bit dull- like a traditional block calendar but the advantage is, that it is clear.
Hth

I use ovia
Only just started so can't comment too much
But I like that it clear and easy to use, gives charts and covers all aspects including mood etc
Also has easy access to articles on ttc

I use Ovia and Glow, although I think for them to be effective, you need about 3 cycles worth of data inputted beforehand, so maybe not the best thing if you've got irregular cycles, or like me, just coming off the pill, because entering every single symptom might propagate incorrect predictions. Interface-wise, I really like Glow, but from a data-rich perspective, Ovia just pips it. I have tried FF, and although data-wise there's plenty going on, the UX is just horrid, like a glorified spreadsheet. That said, I know a lot of people find it really useful, so horses for courses I guess!

I use Period tracker.

Are you currently using any apps while you TTC? yes

If so, which ones? I use period tracker light

Obvious questions but how are they useful for you? I used it last time I was TTC and i was able to customise the lengths of my cycle, input days that i was on my period and it had a lot of other options which I didn't really use last time, but probably will this time. Last time I used it it took 3 months for me to conceive.

What do you like/dislike about them? It's not available on iPad, it would be useful to have it on both my iPad and my iPhone, with synchronisation between both, as I mostly use the pad at home and the phone out and about. It's a bit clunky, but you can change the colours fairly easily.

What do you think's missing, waiting to be invented in this area? not really sure.

What would you find useful? Advice (possibly from other users who were successful, or data mining what worked for previous users?) on what to try as you try for longer, like for instance "Have you tried using Vitamin / supplement x for days x to y of your cycle?" So obviously for that you'd need to be able to custom add supplements to your list of things for each day.

I am using Ovia and Fertility Friend both on ipad.
I find both useful and interesting as a way to track my cycles.
Both have good andbad points.
Ovia looks very nice, it is easy to input data and the UI is easy to use. However it doesn't add much data to the graph, doesn't allow you to add custom data except in the notes field. Trying to add notes often crashes the app.
FF looks awful in comparison, and the UI is not easy to use or straightforward. The chart has more info at the moment as I have a trial of the full thing, but it looks like it will lose a lot of that, as well as the analysis sections which I like. I may stop using it at the end of the trial.
Both allow you to pick your temp measure, which is good.
Ovia with extra data fields and the ability to add custom data, more info on chart would be ideal. I like the advice and explanations it gives, though it is from US so some is irrelevant.

I use pink pad that's really good :)

I use 'menstrual calendar'. I love it because it seems to cover everything. You can put in when your period is, how heavy it is, other symptoms. If you put in your cycle length it will calculate when you will ovulate. You can mark the days you dtd, take a test (pregnancy or ovulation), it colour codes everything. Very useful app when ttc!

I use Ovia too - i think it's really good. As others have said - nice to look at - haven't tried any others. My partner gets very excited when it's a 'green' day - and i like silly things like putting hearts on the days you've been knocking boots. However, currently finding it quite disheartening as every time i look at it it says DO A PREGNANCY TEST! and according to it I'm late - but not pregnant. So sometimes I wonder if it's really helping my mental wellbeing.

I use period tracker light for iPhone - have been using it for around 7 months just to plot periods as quite irregular cycle, but just started TTC and it's been very helpful in pinpointing fertile window (which has matched up to ovulation test). It's very simple to use and I've found the process quite satisfying. It would be good to have options in it for recording ovulation as there isn't really one, and it would be good if it were slightly more geared to TTC, and it's not the most visually appealing. I'd consider using a new one but I've been using it since December so all my data is in it!

Are you currently using any apps while you TTC?
If so, which ones?
I used My Days period tracker rather than one designed for ttc but can't currently use it as pregnant!

Obvious questions but how are they useful for you?
My periods were quite irregular but I discovered using this app that they did follow a rough pattern which meant for the first time ever I knew when I was due on!
It also meant that we managed to conceive the first month we tried, pretty impressive really!

What do you like/dislike about them?
Like - easy to use, discreet picture and name
Dislike - can't turn on a pregnancy mode.

What do you think's missing, waiting to be invented in this area?
An app that can be used for ttc and just period tracking rather than one or the other. I would like to use the same app through out especially after giving birth.

What would you find useful?
The above.

I have used fertility friend for 11 years, I use the full paid membership when ttc, and the free setting when just tracking my cycles.

The course and information they give through the app and online versions is accurate and extremely useful.

It used to focus totally on BBT taking but over time the data has improved. I find it is excellent at confirming ovulation. And the more data you enter the better it is at predicting ovulation.

I like the forums with the paid subscription, a large amount of useful help and opinions there.

It has helped me learn about my cycle and get to understand it well.

I have briefly used ovia, but do not like how it is cluttered with health things (I know they are linked to fertility , but not necessary for ttc tracking cycles continually) I felt I had to enter so much data for little help on seeing my cycle.

I did not need the pretty pictures for each of the elements, but then I like science and perhaps having read the comments here, it is why I love fertility friend more. I feel I can use it for both ttc and period tracking as necessary.

I also liked the link to the pregnancy tracker, although this was more like a pregnancy diary for me rather than giving much helpful information.