How can women looking for fertility software evaluate what is on the market? Is there a way to determine what is effective and what is not? One way is to test and compare the various systems with standard charts.
The charts which I use to compare other companies' systems against the Fertility Monitor are charts published by The Couple to Couple League International, Inc. These 20 charts are in the "Practical Applications Workbook," third edition. The charts come with a detailed explanation of each chart and a practical judgment about where each phase of fertility occurs. Although anyone has a right to disagree with CCL, their chart interpretation is considered by many to be authoritative.
What I did was to compare different systems with each other and the CCL guidelines for each of the 20 charts. To make the test valid the systems must be made compatible before the test. For example, all systems must allow the "last dry day" rule or all not allow it; all must allow shaving of temperatures or all must not, and the past histories for each woman must be entered into the systems before the test with her latest chart.
For Life Cycle Software's "Fertility Predictor," version 2.0, the risk level is set to "normal" and shaving of temperatures and the "last day dry" rule are both allowed. This is comparable to the Fertility Monitor's most liberal setting in which the "last dry day" rule and shaving of temperatures are used when it is safe to do so. The Fertility Monitor uses a mucus patch length of seven when the past history of each chart is entered so that the test chart will be able to invoke the "last dry day" rule.
Since the Fertility Monitor requires temperatures for all days of phases one and two and Life Cycle's software does not, the temperature gaps which occur in the charts are entered into both systems in this manner: If temperatures are missing in the charts for the early days of the cycle, the temperature which is first entered into the chart is used as the temperature for the missing early days. For example, if a first temperature of 98.6 F is entered on the chart for day 6 and temperatures for days 1 through 5 are missing then days 1 through 5 are considered to be also 98.6 F. These are entered into both systems as disturbed temperatures. Temperature gaps occurring in the middle of charts are filled in by assuming they are the same temperature as the day before, and these too are entered into both systems as disturbed temperatures.
What follows are the results of the 20 tests and summary tables for the Fertility Monitor and Fertility Predictor. As time goes by I will test the products of other manufacturers of fertility software and add the results to these pages and tables. My purpose here is to educate consumers and provide a systematic way in which test results can be replicated by interested parties so that claims about the utility of fertility software products can be sustained or refuted by objective evidence.
Chart One Test
| Phase 2 Starts on | Phase 3 Starts on | Next Cycle Starts on | Total Days Difference in Cycle from CCL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fertility Monitor | Day 9 | Day 17 | Day 29 | Zero |
| CCL | Day 9 | Day 17 | Day 29 | Zero |
| Life Cycle's Fertility Predictor | Day 9 | Day 17 | Day 29 | Zero |
Life Cycle has the days correct for the beginning of each phase, but it does not call for alternate dry days of abstinence in phase one as does the Fertility Monitor. This latter practice is recommended by the CCL.
Chart Two | Home | Summary Tables
Chart One | Chart Two | Chart Three | Chart Four | Chart Five | Chart Six | Chart Seven | Chart Eight | Chart Nine | Chart Ten | Chart Eleven | Chart Twelve | Chart Thirteen | Chart Fourteen | Chart Fifteen | Chart Sixteen | Chart Seventeen | Chart Eighteen | Chart Nineteen | Chart Twenty |