{"id":2500,"date":"2016-07-08T05:36:00","date_gmt":"2016-07-08T12:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.avawomen.com\/avaworld\/?p=1113"},"modified":"2019-08-19T16:25:19","modified_gmt":"2019-08-19T23:25:19","slug":"how-to-use-basal-body-temperature-to-determine-ovulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.avawomen.com\/avaworld\/how-to-use-basal-body-temperature-to-determine-ovulation\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use Basal Body Temperature to Determine Ovulation"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Temperature Method: A Good Starting Point<\/h2>\n

If you want to determine when in your cycle you ovulate, tracking your basal body temperature (BBT) is a good starting point. BBT is the lowest temperature your body reaches in a 24-hour period. In women, BBT follows a biphasic pattern throughout the menstrual cycle\u2014that is, it’s lower in the first half of the cycle. After ovulation, BBT rises by about one half to one degree Fahrenheit and stays elevated until your next period.<\/p>\n

By taking your BBT every day and keeping track of the results, you can estimate when ovulation might have occurred.<\/p>\n

Why\u00a0the Temperature Method Works<\/h2>\n

After ovulation, your ovaries secrete the hormone progesterone, which stimulates the production of your\u00a0uterine lining (in preparation for the possible implantation of an embryo).\u00a0In addition to stimulating the growth of the uterine lining, progesterone also causes your BBT to rise.[1.Your BBT hits a nadir a few days before you ovulate, but many women are unable to detect this in their charts.] Your BBT rises after ovulation and\u00a0stays elevated until just before your next period. (If\u00a0you get pregnant, it will stay elevated all the way until the end of the first trimester.)<\/p>\n

How Accurate is the Temperature Method?<\/h2>\n

While the vast majority of women experience a BBT nadir before ovulation and a BBT rise after ovulation, these changes don’t always happen on the day of ovulation itself. Only eleven percent of women experience a BBT rise within a day of ovulation, and only 40 percent of women experience a BBT nadir within a day of ovulation.<\/p>\n

Is the Temperature Method Right for You?<\/h2>\n

Many women believe that BBT charting can help you time intercourse around conception. But for many women, this simply isn’t true.<\/p>\n

Your fertile window is the five days before ovulation and the day of ovulation itself. But your BBT changes 12 \u2013 24 hours\u00a0after<\/em> ovulation. Since the egg survives for no more than a day after it is released, by the time your BBT indicates ovulation, there is little fertile time left to conceive.<\/p>\n

Because of this, BBT charting is best for women with very regular cycles, who can use the previous month’s BBT chart to predict the fertile window for the following month.<\/p>\n

How to Get an Accurate BBT Reading<\/h2>\n