OVULATION

BASAL BODY TEMPERATURE (BBT)

One of the accurate and inexpensive method of determining ovulation is to keep a daily basal body temperature chart. The basal body temperature is the temperature immediately upon waking up in the morning, before getting out of the bed or having any activity whatsoever. This temperature will always be one degree Fahrenheit lower before ovulation than after ovulation. The production of progesterone (which can only occur after ovulation) raises the body’s basal temperature one degree Fahrenheit and it is this event that we are measuring. You may use any thermometer, but it may be easier to read the temperature with a special Ovulation thermometer, if available.

The only pitfall with this otherwise is that if the temperatures are not taken first thing in the morning, before you even move to get out of bed, it may be a falsely elevated reading and difficult to interpret. Every evening before going to bed you must place the thermometer by your bedside, within easy reach. If you forget to do this, you will have to get out of bed in the morning to get to your thermometer. Even this slight degree of activity can raise your temperature above the basal level and make that day’s temperature reading worthless. On getting up in the morning you simply put the thermometer in your mouth under the tongue for three minutes, before doing anything else and lie still.

You then record this reading on a chart according to the date and the day of the cycle. The day on which menstrual bleeding begins, even if only slightly, is considered day one of the menstrual cycle. During menstruation mark your temperature with and X, and when menstruation is completed use a circle. On the top line of the chart record the day of the cycle (one through twenty-eight or higher), and on the bottom line put the date. At the end of the cycle, when the first day of the next menstruation begins, mark X instead of a circle; then go to the next section, and begin charting your temperature for another month. After you have recorded your temperature in the morning, you can go about your daily activities. In the evening make sure that before you go to sleep, you shake down your thermometer and put it within easy reach for the next morning.

Remember that the temperature can be affected by things as colds, flu, viruses, having late nights or having a poor night’s sleep. Make sure to note such events on the chart so that if there are a few typical readings that don’t go along with the rest of the temperature pattern, you will be able to discount them. Remember the basal body temperature refers to the body temperature after a night of normal levels, after all mental and muscular activity has ceased for several hours. That is why the best time to record this basal temperature is just upon awakening. Your temperature during rest of the day is affected by your daily activities and will not be an accurate reflection of whether you are making progesterone, and consequently whether or not you have ovulated.