Fitbit do bit to help you keep track of periods
MANY of us use health trackers, whether it’s to keep tabs on the calories we eat or the daily steps we take.
But now Fitbit have launched a fertility tracker, so you can log your periods and keep an eye on your reproductive health.
You’ll be able to keep track of the length of your cycle and when you usually ovulate via the Fitbit app or one of the newer Fitbit smartwatches.
Melanie Chase, VP of product marketing for Fitbit, said: “Most technology products aren’t designed with women in mind first, so we really wanted to be the first to give women a complete picture of their health.”
Tracking periods was one of the most consistently requested features from Fitbit users. Many people already used separate apps to track their periods but wanted to put all their information in one place, according to the company.
Dr Katharine White, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Boston University’s School of Medicine, teamed up with Fitbit to help design a portion of the app and create some of the medical content. She said: “The app not only lets you record the days that you bleed but how heavy the flow is. If your period is heavier for longer than it should be, it could be a fibroid.
“Female health tracking will empower women with a greater understanding of their menstrual cycles in conjunction with their physical and mental health, as they start to recognise what are normal trends over time versus what could be an issue to share with their doctor.”
According to a recent Fitbit survey, 80 per cent of women did not know how many phases are in a menstrual cycle and more than 70 per cent were unable to correctly identify the average length of a cycle.
We wanted to give women a complete picture of their health