Charting your Basal Body Temperature (BBT) is a simple way to help you discover if you are ovulating. You can use this information to help you plan when to have intercourse if you are actively trying to conceive.
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Once you start charting your basal body temperature you will begin to notice that the temperatures during the first part of your cycle, the proliferative or follicular phase are much lower than those during the second, secretory or luteal phase of your cycle.
As your period starts you begin the follicular phase of your cycle. Estradiol, a pregnancy hormoneA complex chemical substance created in a part or organ of the body. When released it initiates or regulates activity in an organ or group of cells in another part of the body.
Hormones secreted by endocrine glands are transported through the bloodstream to their target organ. The amount of hormone secreted is regulated either by other hormones, by neurotransmitters, or simply when an excess of the organ's activity indicates a need to reduce the amount of the hormone produced.
Other hormones are produced locally by the organs themselves and are common in the digestive tract.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions., is high and the egg is maturing. You will then notice a spike in your body temperature (days 15 & 16 in the chart below) when you begin to enter the luteal phase of your cycle. Levels of the hormone progesteroneOne of the two naturally occuring female hormones (the other is estrogen) used to regulate and maintain the pregnancy. Produced first by the corpus luteum in the ovary, production is subsequently taken over by the placenta as it develops. During pregnancy a mother's production of progesterone ten times the level it was prior to conception. Progesterone and estrogen are responsible for giving many mothers a sense of tranquility, shiny hair and glowing skin.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions. are now high, you have ovulated and the environment is now ideal for the establishment of pregnancy.
Using a basal body temperature chart can give you a clear picture of your monthly cycle and allow you to choose intercourse during the times you are most likely to conceive. By also charting your cervical mucus and your cervical position you can increase your knowledge about your cycle.
During the course of your cycle the consistency of your cervical mucus will change from dry to sticky to an egg-white texture before ovulation. By noting the consistency of your mucus and comparing the results with your basal body temperature you will begin to get a good understanding of your cycle.
Some women also like to chart the position of their cervixThe part of the uterus that protrudes into the vaginal cavity. It is separated from the bladder by the parametrium. The vaginal end of the cervix contains the cervical canal.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions. during the course of their cycle as well. While you are ovulating the cervix will move up, soften and open. The difference between firm and soft is subtle and will be similar to the difference between touching your nose or your lips. It will also move back down during the luteal phase of your cycle.
Learning how to create a Basal Body Temperature chart is very simple. Get into the habit of leaving a basal body temperature thermometer by your bed each night.
Each morning before you do anything else take your temperature. Ideally you should take it after at least five hours of sleep, and for best results you should take your temperature at about the same time each morning. Your thermometer can be oral, rectal or vaginal (as long as you use the same method for the entire cycle).
Make a note of the temperature and record it on the chart. You are looking for a temperature shift of about 0.4 degrees over a 48-hour period. This will indicate ovulation.
Take a look at the chart above. Ovulation most likely occured at the end of the second week (day 14) when the temperature was 97.3. A dip in temperature on the day of ovulation is common because of the increase in the production of estradiol.
The next day the temperature jumped 0.5 degrees and the following day 0.4 degrees. The rise in temperature is not a sign of ongoing fertility. Instead it marks the release of the egg and the moment of fertility has passed. The rise in temperature is not due to the increase in progesteroneOne of the two naturally occuring female hormones (the other is estrogen) used to regulate and maintain the pregnancy. Produced first by the corpus luteum in the ovary, production is subsequently taken over by the placenta as it develops. During pregnancy a mother's production of progesterone ten times the level it was prior to conception. Progesterone and estrogen are responsible for giving many mothers a sense of tranquility, shiny hair and glowing skin.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions. production released by the corpus luteumA structure about 1 to 2 centimeters in diameter on the surface of the ovary that grows within the ovarian follicle following ovulation.
During a woman's reproductive lifetime, a corpus luteum forms after each ovulation and secretes progesterone, which helps to maintain the mucus lining of the uterus in the necessary state for implantation and pregnancy.
If fertilization fails to occur, the corpus luteum atrophies 2 weeks prior to menstruation turning into a pale spot called the corpus albicans.
Should conception take place, it will secrete increasing quantities of progesterone fulfilling its maximum function (and helping to create the placenta) at about 11 weeks of gestation. Thereafter it will diminish in size until about 6 months after gestation.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions.. The temperature will now remain elevated (a fact that will confirm ovulation) for about fourteen days: it needs to last longer than ten days to support an implanted pregnancy. A short luteal phase or luteal phase defect indicates that implantation did not occur.
The coverline is drawn to indicate a clear shift between the follicular phase and luteal phase of your cycle. When drawing the coverline you must draw it above the previous six low temperature days. The line will remain below the high temperatures recorded with the post-ovulatory infertile part of the luteal phase beginning after the third undisturbed high temperature recorded.
You may find that your chart is monophasic (it does not have distinct follicular and luteal phases). These are called anovulatory cycles and tend to be common at the extremes of fertile life. You may also experience a monophasic cycle after childbirth or after stopping contraceptive medication.
If you so choose, you can also chart your cervical mucus and cervical position each day after taking your temperature. There are a number of different ways you can chart your mucus: you must choose the method that you find most effective.
There are a number of positions you can try that may be comfortable. While sitting on the toilet may be the simplest, you may consider putting one foot on the edge of the bathtub or squatting. Some women simply examine their toilet paper after wiping. Others use two fingers to touch the mucus on the cervix. You could ask your partner to assist you if you are comfortable doing that.
The consistency of the cervical mucus will vary throughout your cycle. When it is dry there is very little to feel, but mucus is present when you sense a sticky or creamy feeling as you rub your fingers together. While this mucus may be fertile, it usually is not, and you should wait until it reaches the consistency of raw egg-whites. It can be clear or streaked and may be stretchy.
After you have ovulated your mucus will be either dry or sticky (mucus). You may find that again you have a little egg-white consistency before your period starts.
Each month your cervix will follow a pattern being low, closed and firm. As you begin to ovulate the cervix will rise upwards, becoming softer and more open (although the changes are subtle). A couple of days later it will return lower, where it will remain for the remainder of the luteal phase. It will usually soften just before the beginning of your period.
Download chart in Microsoft Excel format
Download chart in Adobe PDF format (requires Acrobat Reader)
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