Early onset of pregnancy could be detected using wearable fitness and health tracking devices, according to a May 16 study published in PLOS Digital Health.
The study completed by researchers from UC San Diego used the Oura wearable fitness and health tracking ring to analyze the distal body temperature of 30 women. They tracked the body temperature changes for 180 days surrounding self-reported conceptive sex and also collected data from the individuals about confirmed pregnancy tests.
Using the data they collected, the researchers created a retrospective alert up to nine days before pregnancy was confirmed by a traditional pregnancy test, either over the counter or in a physician's office. This indicates that wearable devices that monitor body temperature may be able to provide an early, passive indication of pregnancy.
"The development of pregnancy detection using distal body temperature may reduce the delay from conception to awareness and increase the agency of pregnant individuals," read the study.