Practices of self-tracking in infertility treatment: How bodily awareness is constituted

Abstract

Background: The femtech industry has grown extensively in recent years and in infertility treatment, the practice of digitally self-tracking menstrual cycles has become a popular way for patients to manage, monitor and deal with issues of fertility. Aim: The purpose of this study is to investigate how patients’ self-tracking practices affect bodily awareness. Methods: The study draws on 20 qualitative interviews with 12 patients, recruited through a private clinic in Copenhagen, Denmark. Interviewees were selected based on the criteria: age, treatment type and length, and engagement in self-tracking practices. All interview material was thematically coded. Findings: The analysis results in three main themes: 1) self-tracking as a tool for knowledge creation and planning purposes, 2) self-tracking as body-awareness maximizing process, and 3) self-tracking as a professional and emotional process. Discussion: Through self-tracking practices, the menstrual cycle becomes a multiple object, interpreted and acted upon in diverse ways – all of which, however, aim to optimize conditions for conception. Conclusions: Self-tracking in infertility treatment affects bodily awareness in three distinctive ways: 1) it creates emotional ambivalence, 2) it places patients in an ambivalent position towards health professionals, and 3) it creates ambivalence towards patients’ understanding of the menstrual cycle.