Maybe Baby, the fertility test will be true.

Robyn Coleman had trouble falling pregnant until she took part in a trial of a new lipstick-sized fertility test that helped her to predict the exact time of ovulation.

The Sydney hairdresser in now 5-1/2 months pregnant with her first child and attributes her success to the $70 product, Maybe Baby, which will be available in Australia on Monday.

"You take ovulation for granted until you try to get pregnant. Ms Coleman, 34, said, "When my husband and I decided to have a baby, Maybe Baby helped us know when I was fertile."

The product grew out of a discovery by scientists in Turin in 1957 that the level of oestrogen in saliva rose around the time of fertility.

The fertility of the woman is tested when she wipes a layer of saliva over a glass viewfinder in the tiny device. A small microscope and a light built into Maybe Baby help detect the pattern that forms from the saliva. The fertility is indicated in a matter of minutes. A ferny pattern indicates a woman is fertile in her cycle, a pebble effect indicates she is not.

Ms Coleman said there was no difficulty in distinguishing the two patterns.

"There is no fiddling around. It is very easy. You can do the test every day and the difference in the patterns is as easy as squares and circles." She said.

Nathan Miller, the marketing director for Maybe Baby's suppliers, Optix Health Care, said the test did not involve chemicals, was not intrusive and was better than examining complicated monthly charts. It could also be used daily to monitor fertility levels.

Daily monitoring is essential for some women who have only a few days of fertility due to low oestrogen levels.

Maybe Baby, which has been successful in Europe for the past three years, is now available in Australia after being listed with the Therapeutic Goods Agency.

Manufacturers say the product, which is not recommended as a contraceptive aid, has not been opposed by the Catholic Family Planning Association.

Mr Miller said Maybe Baby gave women the ability to understand their own bodies.

"Maybe Baby give women the ability to take control of their lives and learn more about their fertility." said Mr Miller.

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