What should basal temp be

We know how tempting it can be to look for early signs of pregnancy, and how stressful it can be waiting to take a pregnancy test. However, since there are no reliable ways to detect conception without "peeing on a stick," the best way to use your time and energy during the two-week-wait is to focus on self-care and to distract yourself with your life beyond trying to conceive.

Get diet and wellness tips to help your kids stay healthy and happy. Detection of ovulation, a review of currently available methods. Bioeng Transl Med. Sharpe RM. Sperm counts and fertility in men: a rocky road ahead.

EMBO Rep. Evaluation and treatment of anovulatory and unexplained infertility. Obstet Gynecol Clin North Am. Prospective evaluation of luteal phase length and natural fertility. Fertil Steril.

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Table of Contents. What Is BBT? Choosing a BBT Chart. How to Measure BBT. When to Start Charting. Identifying Ovulation. Getting Pregnant. Other Things to Track. Pregnant BBT Chart. Next in Understanding Ovulation Guide.

Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up. What are your concerns? Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Fertility Awareness: Natural Family Planning. American Pregnancy Association. Triphasic Pattern and Pregnancy: a Statistical Analysis.

Mayo Clinic. Basal body temperature for natural family planning. Patient Fact Sheet: Ovulation Detection. American Society of Reproductive Medicine. Related Articles. The 8 Best Ovulation Tests of The 7 Best Fertility Apps of When Does Implantation Occur in Pregnancy?

Next, record the results on a chart. If you have a somewhat regular cycle, the chart will help you predict when you will ovulate next. The change in your body temperature is very slight, so you need to use a special thermometer.

You can use a regular digital thermometer or buy a basal thermometer. A basal thermometer shows you the temperature in tenths of a degree. This allows you to note tiny changes in body heat.

This thermometer is faster and more exact than a regular thermometer. Use a simple Fahrenheit temperature chart or Celsius temperature chart to track your temperature for several months. You can find a basal thermometer or digital thermometer in a pharmacy or in the pharmacy section in many grocery stores. You can also find kits that include materials for measuring and charting BBT. These items are low in cost. Author: Healthwise Staff. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor.

Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Using a wearable fertility tracker like Tempdrop will make identifying your most accurate BBT seamless!

You will need to make a note of your daily temperature on your chart. You can use a printable paper-pencil chart or you can use Tempdrop's integrated charting app or another charting app of your choice.

Once you have a few months worth of data to review you will begin to notice patterns and trends. This information will ultimately help you understand your ovulation time and help you detect pregnancy.

In the book, The Fifth Vital Sign , Fertility Awareness Educator Lisa Hendrickson-Jack affirms that "your menstrual cycle is a vital sign, just like your pulse, temperature, respiration rate, and blood pressure. One of the unbiased fertility signs you can track is your basal body temperature BBT. By taking note of your BBT and observing trends throughout the menstrual cycle you can:. Now that we understand the basics and why its important we can begin exploring how to detect ovulation when using your BBT chart.

Unfortunately, BBT alone doesn't predict ovulation but you can confirm that it has happened! If you decide to also track cervical mucus you can identify when your fertile window opens. Once you have 2 or more months of charts to review, predicting ovulation for your next cycle will become easier because you'll begin to notice which day of your cycle is your ovulation day based on your thermal shift.

When glancing at your BBT chart you will see a spike in temperature days after ovulation. This is an indicator of your bodies thermal shift from the time before ovulation happens to the post-ovulation phase.

The most common pattern is the standard thermal shift.