My fitness tracker knew I was pregnant before I did
Women are increasingly reporting that their wearable fitness trackers, such as Oura rings, detected physiological changes associated with early pregnancy before they received a positive clinical test. While these devices can track heart rate and temperature, experts warn that relying on them for medical diagnosis can lead to anxiety.
Why it matters
The rise of consumer health wearables is changing how individuals monitor their reproductive health, creating a new intersection between personal data tracking and medical diagnostics.
By Ashitha Nagesh Published 20 July 2026, 00:09 BST Ravika was celebrating her birthday on holiday with her husband when she got an unusual alert from her fitness tracker.
Her Oura ring flagged that her health score was poor. Her heart rate had gone up, her body temperature was elevated and her heart rate variability (HRV) had dropped. Yet Ravika felt completely fine.
When the stats hadn't improved a week later, the 34-year-old solicitor from the West Midlands did some research online and found a community of women who all said their fitness trackers had been giving them signs they were pregnant, based on the data the trackers had collected.
A week later she had a positive pregnancy test.
Image source, Ravika Image caption, Ravika says her Oura ring flagged that her health score was poor - yet she felt completely fine
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