"You've got mail, and your period"
My latest story for Wired News is out today. It's about all the nifty techy ways women have to track their fertility signs. I first learned about these sites more than four years ago, when I was trying to avoid having a "red wedding." I've been using CyclesPage.com ever since to keep track of the basics -- menstruation and estimated ovulation. It's a great example of technology that truly empowers women. From the piece:
[LINK]Women hoping to become pregnant are transforming themselves into busy data machines, tracking everything from waking temperature to moods and various bodily fluids. A cottage industry of websites feeds the obsession by offering online charts and e-mail services to alert women on their fertile days.
Many of the tools for tracking the female reproductive cycle are based on a 50-year-old technique, the Fertility Awareness Method, or FAM, that is natural, scientifically accurate and decidedly low-tech.
Now, FAM-inspired websites let women record, chart and analyze everything from their menstrual cycles to the color and texture of cervical discharges. Likewise, several free downloads turn PDAs into fertility-tracking devices.
