Basal body temperature chart

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Tracking your cycle with your Basal Body Temperature Charting

Basal body temperature charting is a great way to track your cycles and ovulation patterns. It can also help your doctor detect possible ovulatory infertility. When it comes to detecting pregnancy, BBT charts can only offer small hints. You can’t confirm pregnancy with a fertility calendar but there are so many advantages of charting.

What is Basal Body Temperature?

Your basal body temperature is a temperature when you’re at complete rest. This temperature changes based on a number of factors, including your hormones. During ovulation, the hormone progesterone causes your temperature to rise. It remains higher throughout the two-week wait. Then, just before your period starts, the hormone progesterone drops. This means your basal body temperature will drop too unless you’re pregnant.

How often should I take my temperature?

To know what your basal temperature is, you must take your temperature in the morning before you get out of bed or move around.
It’s essential that you take your temperature correctly. Otherwise, your temperature will not be accurate, and you may not be able to detect ovulation.

Why should I Chart?

It is important to track your cycles and ovulation patterns. This will help you; 

  • Figure out when you tend to ovulate every month
  • Know the right time to have sex and get pregnant
  • Detect possible fertility problems, including problems with ovulation or your luteal phase (that’s the time between ovulation and your expected period)


Choosing a BBT Chart

The first step to charting your basal body temperature is getting a chart to record your temperature or using any fertility awareness software, also known as fertility calendars. 

How to Measure BBT?

Now that you have a BBT chart picked out, you need to get a thermometer, a regular one can work or even one made especially for tracking your body basal temperature. 

You need to take your temperature all at the same time (plus or minus no more than 30 minutes) every morning. 

When should I Start Charting?

It is ideal you start charting on the first day of your period and continue to take your BBT temperature every morning throughout the entire cycle.

How do I Identify Ovulation?

Your temperature may rise and fall as your cycle progresses, but you should notice a biphasic pattern after ovulation. This means that before ovulation, the temperatures are on average lower than they are after ovulation.

You may notice a sharp dip in temperature on the day of ovulation. Not every woman gets this nice heads up. If you do notice a consistent dip in temperature before the rise from month to month, you should be sure to have sexual intercourse on that day.

References

  1. Baby Center. Ovulation chart. Accessed on 5th October 2018
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