Best Hormone Tracker for Irregular Cycles

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I was on birth control pills for around 14 years. When I finally tossed my last pack, I was surprised to learn just how irregular my cycles are. At first, I thought it was the effects of being on hormonal birth control for so long, but after being prescription-free for two years, I still deal with the frustrations of an irregular cycle. 

Since going off birth control, I have become completely obsessed with wellness tech for women’s health to help me better understand my cycle. This includes the coveted Oura Ring, which I wear (and sleep with) daily. I love the Oura Ring because it makes tracking my cycle based on my basal body temperature a total breeze — all I have to do is sync it with the Natural Cycles app, and it tells me where I am in my cycle and can predict my fertility window and period.

Then I had the opportunity to test the Mira Hormone Monitor and realized that, as much as the Oura Ring and Natural Cycles combination is effective at predicting my period (it was almost always pretty accurate), my irregular cycle throws off the technology, making it harder to predict which day I actually ovulate. 

Mira Fertility Tracker Review

The Mira Hormone Monitor is a small, egg-shaped device that is essentially like having a lab in the palm of your hand. It connects to the Mira app, where you can load data and share additional insights (including basal body temperature, which I still pull from my Oura Ring and Natural Cycles app) and get a good idea of what is going on internally throughout your cycle — no matter how long or short they might be — to know precisely when you’re ovulating.

“It doesn’t just give you a yes/no answer about ovulation — it quantitatively tracks key reproductive hormones, luteinizing hormone (LH), E3G (the main metabolite of estrogen), PdG (the main metabolite progesterone), and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), using urine samples, offering a much more nuanced and accurate view of your cycle,” says Rosemary MacKenzie, a clinical manager and research lead at Mira. 

How Does Mira Work?

To test your hormones, you pee into a small silicone cup that is included with the device, then dip a test wand into the urine for 20 seconds (the app conveniently counts down for you), then you insert the wand into the device, and it works its magic to analyze the hormone levels and give you an accurate view of where everything is at. Once the wand is analyzed, the app doesn’t just store the insights — it uses AI to interpret the details in context, taking cycle history, hormone trends, and irregularities into account to generate personalized insights and predictions, says MacKenzie. The app also tells you when to test based on the data, so you don’t have to track and set reminders for yourself. 

All of this sounds like a hassle — and a lot more work than just sleeping with a wellness tracker and syncing its data to a birth control app — but it’s actually not as annoying as it seems. I have taken my device with me on multiple trips, including on a tour with my musician husband, where I was literally operating a lab from the teeny tiny tour bus bathroom (while the bus was moving, no less). Its small design and simple process made it so easy to keep up with my cycle insights even as I bopped from city to city. 

Verdict

Having a clear idea of my fertility window and ovulation window has been a total game-changer for me, since having an irregular cycle can make getting pregnant more difficult. “An irregular cycle often indicates that ovulation is not occurring regularly or at all, which makes it harder to predict the fertile window,” says Anate A. Brauer, M.D., FACOG, of RMA of New York, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist with extensive experience in treating all medical and surgical aspects of infertility.

She notes that most people with irregular cycles are still able to conceive, but without consistent ovulation, the chances of conception in a given cycle are lower. By understanding my cycle on a lab level, trying to get pregnant has felt less and less like a shot in the dark and given me the confidence boost I have needed in my fertility journey.  

Pros: 
More precise cycle tracking 
Compact size that you can easily travel with 
Comes with everything you need to get started 
User-friendly app 
FSA and HSA eligible 

Cons: 
High price tag (and the refill wands are also pricey)