Trying for a baby can take longer than expected for some people. Sometimes the problem can just be that couples are missing the optimum days of the month where they are most fertile. This is where Clearblue come in. They have just released their Clearblue Advanced Fertility Monitor this clever device will pinpoint your fertile days or fertile window by reading your LH (Luteinising Hormone). So what is new with the Clearblue Advanced Fertility Monitor, well this monitor has had a huge facelift since the original Clearblue Fertility Monitor, now we have a full touch screen monitor which can now not only read ovulation test but also pregnancy tests too. Two AA batteries are provided with the monitor.
It is suitable for many women although do read the box before purchasing as it may not be suitable in certain cases.
It is really easy to use but do read the instructions before doing so.
I received my Clearblue Advanced Fertility Monitor on day 4 of my cycle which is also the last day you can set up your cycle for the month so it got here just in time. I set up the monitor by setting the language, calibrating the screen, selecting the correct date and time format and time.
I then pressed the home button the purple dotted circle symbol and then the dark purple dotted circle and entered the date my period started and also the time. I did find that because my period usually comes during the night and as I get warning in the form of cramps before it starts I wear protection so I had to guess the rough time that it came.
I was then asked on the screen to set a testing window time. The testing window is 6 hours in length and you can only test during that time. I found 6am-12pm worked well for me.
I pressed the home symbol to complete the set up and I was ready to go.
With the first cycle it is important to check the monitor every day during the test window to see if the monitor requires a test on that day. You must also use your first morning urine as this contains the highest concentration of hormones.
In a box of Clearblue Advanced Fertility Monitor Fertility tests are 20 fertility test sticks these are in a purple foil and you should use the same batch number throughout your cycle. There are also 4 pregnancy tests, these are in white foil packets.
You will know what days you are to use a fertility test as the front of the monitor will flash red and when turned on you will see a orange screen with large writing that says Test Day.
You then either pee on the stick for 3 seconds or you can pee in a container and dip the stick into the urine for 15 seconds. Pop the cap back on over the bit you just peed on and pop it into the monitor. Once the stick is in the monitor it will read the stick confirming it is a fertility stick and a countdown of 5 minutes will begin.
Once the 5 minutes are up it will beep and the red light will stop flashing, it will ask you to remove the stick and will state either Low, High or Peak with a smiley face. Low means that it is unlikely that you will get pregnant on this day if intercourse was to take place. High indicated that you have an increased chance to getting pregnant if intercourse was to happen today and Peak with a smiley face means you are at your most fertile time, it has detected a surge in LH levels and you will probably ovulation within 24-36 hours so get busy. You will see Peak on your monitor for two consecutive days.
I have been using the monitor for two cycles so far and it has detected my peak times on both times using just 10 sticks, those with longer cycles may need 20 sticks per cycle. It was easy enough to use. I did find it easier to remember to test on test days if I set the alarm to go off at the same time as my alarm clock did as I was worried I would forget to grab a stick if I hadn’t set the alarm. I didn’t need it the second cycle though.
I did do a pregnancy test on the first cycle as there is a countdown to when to expect your period and the countdown had gone from 3, 2,1 and was on the day my period was likely to come. As I went to bed with no cramps the night before I knew it was not going to come, although I has no pregnancy symptoms either so I decided that I would test if my period was not here by morning.
Testing for pregnancy is just the same as for ovulation but you use the pregnancy test instead. The process the monitor does is exactly the same but it confirms to itself that it is a pregnancy test rather than a fertility test.
After 5 minutes I got my result…
Not really what I wanted but at least I knew that I had ovulated and that my luteal phase had actually lengthened from 12 days which it was a few years ago to now 14-15 days.
My period came the day after and I set a new cycle.
The Clearblue Advanced Fertility Monitor also has a calendar which has lots of different symbols on it. The second cycle will show what you got a when you got it in the previous cycle so you can compare it too. A little heart marked on the calendar in the top right corner of a day means you had intercourse that day/night, a little smiley face on the top left corner means you got a peak reading in the last cycle.
I think this monitor is fantastic, you can track your whole cycle on this little gadget and it is so much easier because it takes a few seconds to record your period flow, when you had intercourse the rest is added automatically by the monitor when it reads the test sticks.
There is also an cycle summary that you can compare your most recent 6 cycles against each other.
I have not fallen pregnant yet, I have however learnt that I do not ovulate on the same cycle day every month although it is only a day or two’s difference it could mean that we were totally missing it before. We now know exactly when my fertile window is so we can make the best possible use out of it.
Clearblue Advanced Fertility Monitor is proven to increase the chances of getting pregnant by 89%
It tracks two key fertility hormones – designed to detect all of your fertile days
It’s validated by ultrasound
It’s 99% accurate at detecting the LH surge and over 995 accurate at detecting pregnancy from the day your period is due.
The Clearblue Advanced Fertility Monitor costs around £142.99 and the sticks cost around £42.59 for 24 (20 fertility and 4 pregnancy tests).
I am a member of the Mumsnet Bloggers Network Research Panel, a group of parent bloggers who have volunteered to review products, services, events and brands for Mumsnet. I have not paid for the product or to attend an event. I have editorial control and retain full editorial integrity.
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