You asked, we listened!
Based on feedback directly from our users, we’ve updated the name of our Proov Ovulation Score to the Proov Progesterone Score. This new name makes it clearer what we’re measuring: your PdG (a urine metabolite of progesterone) levels during the implantation window.
Note: But don’t worry! Ovulation results aren’t going away. You will also see an “Ovulation Confirmed” screen in the Proov app as soon as Proov is able to confirm ovulation in your cycle, and on your final report as well.
What Is the Progesterone Score and Why Does It Matter?
Hi, I’m Amy, and I invented Proov after I had multiple miscarriages – 7 to be exact. I could get pregnant, I just couldn’t stay pregnant. This is when I learned that getting pregnant took more than just an egg and a sperm. After lots of personal research, I learned all about estrogen and progesterone and how the ovary makes these hormones (as well as the egg) to support implantation and pregnancy.
Think about it like this: When we think about getting a good night’s sleep, it’s not a question of “Did you sleep, or did you not sleep,” but rather the amount and quality of sleep that impacts how you will feel the next day. The same goes for ovulation. Ovulation is more than just the release of an egg – it’s dependent on whether your hormone levels are optimized for conception to give you the best chance of pregnancy each cycle.
So let’s talk more about hormones.
Progesterone is the hormone released after ovulation that makes the uterine lining sticky and ready for implantation. When this hormone is elevated for a long enough period of time after ovulation, this gives you the best chance of pregnancy that cycle. For me, my progesterone was fine 7 days after ovulation, but it would crash a day later. This crash caused my uterine lining to reject the embryo. So I wanted to create a way to track progesterone levels after ovulation to make sure they were remaining high after ovulation. This is where the Progesterone Score (formerly known as Ovulation Score) comes in.
How the Progesterone Score Works
Progesterone is metabolized into PdG, which we can measure in the urine. By tracking PdG over the implantation window (7-10 days past ovulation), we can understand if your levels are over a certain threshold and if they remain elevated over that full time period. Therefore, the Progesterone Score is a representation of your PdG levels after ovulation.
Tracking PdG During the Implantation Window
If PdG is low or drops too quickly, your score goes down. Conversely, when PdG levels are high and remain high, your score is high. So it is possible to ovulate (release an egg) but also have low progesterone levels after ovulation.
The Science Behind the Progesterone Score
In 2023, we conducted a study that showed that women with high PdG levels after ovulation had a 75% higher successful pregnancy rate than if their PdG levels were low after ovulation. So while you can get pregnant with a low score, higher scores increase your chances and decrease the time to conception. By monitoring your Progesterone Score from cycle to cycle, you can see if you have a consistently high score or if this might be something worth your attention to examine and improve.
Why We Changed the Name from Ovulation Score to Progesterone Score
We heard from many Proovers that “Ovulation Score” was confusing. We realized that it wasn’t clear to users how ovulation can be scored – there either is an egg or there isn’t an egg, right? We asked our Proover community what they thought we should call this, and Progesterone Score was the clear winner.
So to better represent what we’re measuring during the implantation window, we decided to separate the two things our amazing ovaries do for us each cycle. Starting today you will see:
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Ovulation confirmed (or not)
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Your personal Progesterone Score (assessed by your PdG levels after ovulation)
Empowering You with More Fertility Insights
At Proov, we know conception is more than just timing, more than just an egg, more than just a sperm. This is why we aim to give you as much information about your fertility as possible. We help measure your hormones, then help you understand the implications of these levels to your overall fertility and bring you personalized solutions to help get you pregnant fast!
I dropped $40k in IVF when all I needed was progesterone after ovulation to help support implantation. We want to empower couples with information that will help them find the right treatment for them, sooner. Knowledge is power.
