There’s a new progesterone home test on the market and I was excited that they sent me samples to try!

If you need help figuring out how your menstrual cycle and why it’s important, check out my article here. But cycle tracking is important — even if you’re not trying to get pregnant.

But for those of you who are already tracking your cycles AND trying to get pregnant, I wanted to share my review of this new progesterone test you can take at home with you.

What Is It? 

MFB Fertility, Inc. has developed a new test that allows women to test their progesterone at home, called the Proov Test®. It works just like an ovulation prediction (OPK) or pregnancy test—by dipping it into your urine, waiting 5 minutes, and seeing how many lines appear.

The test measures the level of progesterone metabolites (PgD) in your urine. If it is more than 5 ng/mL, the test will read positive. If it is less than 5 ng/mL, the test will read negative.

Having a high enough level of progesterone after ovulation is necessary to support a healthy pregnancy. If your levels are too low, a fertilized egg may not implant (aka, “stick,” in TTC lingo). Additionally, if you are not ovulating at all, then your progesterone levels will not rise.

So the home progesterone test can be used to 1) make sure that you ARE ovulating, and 2) make sure that you have enough progesterone to support pregnancy.

How to Test and What the Results Mean

Because progesterone is released after ovulation, this test is best performed 4 to 5 days after the LH (luteinizing hormone) surge is detected by an ovulation prediction kit (OPK).

If you’re used to peeing on sticks, then the results of this test will seem counterintuitive to you: unlike with OPKs and pregnancy tests, 2 lines equals a negative result (not enough progesterone to support pregnancy) and 1 line equals a positive result (enough progesterone).

Results:

• 2 lines = NEGATIVE

• 1 line = POSITIVE

If you have irregular cycles, PCOS, or hypothalamic amenorrhea and you get a negative result, you may not be ovulating at all.

If you are tracking other signs and symptoms (LH, basal body temperature, cervical mucus), have regular cycles, and know that you ARE ovulating, but still get a negative result, then your progesterone level may be too low to support pregnancy. Talk to your healthcare practitioner about adding a post-ovulation progesterone supplement to your regimen.

Signs of Low Progesterone

• History of early miscarriage

• Long, heavy periods

• Short (less than 28 days) cycles

• Short luteal phase (less than 10 days between ovulation and your period)

• Spotting a few days before your period starts

• Acne, dry skin, brittle nails

• Low energy, low sex drive, mood swings

Who Should Use this Test?

Consider using these tests:

• If you have any of the signs of low progesterone above

• If you have irregular periods

• If you’re not sure if you ovulate (you don’t get a sustained rise in BBT)

• If you have PCOS

My Experience

I used the progesterone test on cycle day 11 to get a baseline, which was negative (2 lines), as to be expected. The test was super easy to use, especially if you’re used to the cheapie OPK and HCG strips.

I ovulated right on schedule on cycle day 14, predicted by OPK and confirmed by a rise in basal body temperature.

I tested again 6 days after the positive OPK, which turned out to be CD20 / 5 DPO. And it was negative again. (Boo!) So, I tested the next day, and it was still negative.

Since I know that I ovulate, this means that my post-ovulation progesterone levels are still too low. (Stay tuned on a post on natural ways to boost progesterone.)

But, all information is good information, right?

The Bottom Line

The Proov Test  is an easy and affordable ($40) option for progesterone testing at home.

In my opinion, the more information you have, the better able you are to make informed decisions about your health.

Using this test to find out whether or not you’re ovulating and whether or not you have enough progesterone to support a healthy pregnancy is a good start.

Follow up with your doctor to perform additional testing and/or add a progesterone supplement to your regimen as needed.

Buy the tests on the MBF website or on Amazon. 

Join my FREE Facebook support group for women TTC here. 

Disclosure: Prior to writing this review, the author was provided free sample progesterone test kits from MFB Fertility. 

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.