Product Reviews / 10 September, 2021 / Ellie Thompson
Research proves that tracking your menstrual cycle can double your chances of getting pregnant. There are a variety of apps and gadgets out there to help you do that, but the breathe ilo is the world’s first breathing device. The breathe ilo is a handheld device that works to accurately predict your fertile days via an app that shows you everything you need to know about your fertility status. All you have to do each day is take one minute to breathe into it. Sounds groundbreaking, but is it?
The first obvious upside to the breathe ilo device is that it cuts out daily temperature gauging and better still, the endless hassle of peeing on a stick (the environment just breathed a sigh of relief!). So far so good.
Believe it or not, it’s been known since 1951 that CO2 changes occur a few days before ovulation, so it makes me wonder why it’s taken so long for a device like this to hit the market. It seems so simple: tracking the levels of CO2 in your breath to predict fertile days to give you a better chance to conceive.
The breathe ilo tracks the levels of CO2 in your breath to gauge your individual cycle pattern. The changes in the concentration of CO2 can predict ovulation, as the value of pCO2 is higher in the 1st phase of the cycle (follicular phase) than in the 2nd phase of the cycle (luteal phase).
Its self-learning algorithm works to flag up your fertile days, so you know when you’re most likely to conceive. All information relating to your current cycle is stored and can be accessed by the device’s accompanying smartphone app, which is super easy to use.
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What sets this device head and shoulders above other fertility trackers is that it has the ability to display your full fertile window. It is the only fertility tracker able to detect your fertile days in real-time and in advance. A few days before you ovulate, the CO2 levels in your breath drop due to hormonal fluctuations. When this measurement is tracked daily, breathe ilo is able to accurately detect this drop to predict when you’ll ovulate. As with most of these gadgets, the self-learning algorithm gets to know you better with each cycle.
breathe ilo will transmit the data to the app so you can access your fertility status immediately after your daily measurement, so you know exactly where you are in your cycle.
As you’d expect from a fertility app, breathe ilo allows you to record your symptoms and moods and also make notes. By storing monthly information, you can start to identify patterns and gain a better understanding of your cycle. You can also compare each of your cycles to see at a glance where you are in each phase. Having this diary of information is also brilliant if you need to share details of your menstrual cycle with your doctor.
The breathe ilo can be used any time of day, so there’s no need to worry about the inaccuracies that peeing on a stick or taking an early morning temperature can bring. As fertility trackers go, this one is perfect for busy lifestyles, women working shifts or for those of us who just enjoy a lie-in on the weekend. All you have to do is take a minute to breathe, at whatever time of day you fancy.
Whether you’re trying to get pregnant or you’ve already conceived, breathe ilo fertility tracker offers free access to an extensive library on female health. RRP: £284 – currently on offer at £264. Stockist: www.breatheilo.com/
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