Fertility Expert Dr. Amy Beckley Explains How Hormone Testing Can Help You Conceive - Exclusive

Starting the process of trying to get pregnant can be overwhelming and stressful. So many details go into trying to conceive, especially the first time. You have to know when you're ovulating to determine your "fertile window" — the days when having sex is most likely to lead to conception. Then, you have to make sure you have sex on those days, ideally every one of those days. You then have to wait at least two weeks to take a pregnancy test to see if all your efforts paid off, and you might have to go through this process every month for several months before you get that positive pregnancy test.

One of the best ways to navigate the complicated process of trying to conceive is to get all the information you can about your hormonal cycles. That's why Dr. Amy Beckley developed the Proov at-home hormone testing kits. In an exclusive interview with Health Digest, Beckley explained how understanding your hormonal cycles can help you get pregnant and how the Proov tests can help.

Many people who are trying to get pregnant use ovulation tests to determine when they're ovulating and pinpoint the days on which an egg is most likely to meet up with a sperm and get fertilized. However, these tests only give one piece of information: when a person is ovulating. They don't give any insight into how hormones are fluctuating throughout the month and they cannot detect any issues caused by hormonal imbalances, but Proov's tests can.

"Proov tests work by monitoring the whole cycle to not only find the fertile window but also to know her ovarian reserve and most importantly to identify any issue with ovulation that could be leading to an inability to conceive," Dr. Beckley explained. "Hormones can tell women when they are most fertile and help them to time intercourse appropriately. Hormones can also tell women that their uterus is prepared for implantation and pregnancy. Hormones can also tell women if they have enough eggs left or are nearing menopause and their fertile years are coming to an end."

By tracking the hormone levels through an entire cycle, Proov's tests can help people create a more detailed plan for their fertility journeys and catch any hormonal issues that might prevent pregnancy before people spend months failing to conceive.

Like ovulation tests and pregnancy tests, the Proov hormone test kits work by testing the hormone levels in urine, and they're just as easy to use. Once you're done doing the test, you wait about ten minutes for results. Dr. Beckley suggests taking that time to download the Proov app.

Once the test results are ready, you can plug all that information into the Proov app, and it will automatically show you the recommended next steps for your conception journey. The Proov test also tracks your results over time, so if you do the hormone testing for multiple cycles in a row, you and your doctor can compare the results to previous months. This can help your doctor decide if further tests need to be done and make recommendations about what might help you conceive. Most importantly, getting a picture of your hormonal cycle over time can help identify hormonal issues that can prevent you from getting pregnant. 

To learn more about Amy Beckley and the work she is doing at Proov, please follow the company on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and be sure to check out their blog for more insights into their innovative efforts for women's testing at home.