A woman needs to understand her body as regards to ovulation, since this factor helps her to conceive or avoid pregnancy. Charting the basal body temperature will help you know your ovulation day and your fertile phase. Keep reading to know more on this aspect.
Having unprotected sex during your peak day of the fertile phase will increase your chances to conceive. As a couple, if you plan to be parents, a basal body temperature chart will help you track your ovulation day and your fertile phase. Ovulation occurs when your ovary releases a matured egg, through the fallopian tube, and is ready to be fertilized. If this egg is fertilized by a sperm, implantation would take place in 8 – 12 days, and you conceive. But how do you know what constitutes your fertile phase and your best peak ovulation day? This is exactly where the basal body temperature chart comes into picture. This chart helps you analyze the changes in the body, and know your peak fertile day.
What is Basal Body Temperature (BBT)?
It is the lowest temperature of the body recorded, generally taken immediately after waking up in the morning, before involving yourself into any kind of physical activity. A basal thermometer is put in the mouth to record the temperature. A slight difference in the temperature taken everyday is very evident and prominent, which on the other hand is not true with a normal thermometer. Basal body temperature normally ranges from 97 to 98.5°F. Now, during the ovulation phase, your body goes through a series of hormonal changes, which causes the temperature to increase, 0.1 to 0.4°. In this way, keeping a track of your BBT, will help you know your most fertile days, and you will be able to predict your ovulation, and hence increase your chance of conceiving.
How to Use the Basal Body Temperature Chart While Trying to Conceive?
Charting your BBT is up to you. It may seem like a very stressful and tedious job to make note of the temperatures every morning. But it is fun to know your cycles, your fertility phase, or being able to pinpoint your peak fertile day. So, if you are the keen one, wanting to identify your fertile and peak days, record your basal body temperature. For this, you will need a special BBT thermometer and a BBT chart. You can download this blank chart given below by just clicking on it.
Using the chart chalked out for measuring the basal body temperature is very easy. All you have to do is take your body temperature, it should be the first thing in the morning, even before you brush your teeth. If you are sick or fail to take it, you would not reach accurate conclusions then. Try to take the temperature everyday at almost the same time. Record the temperature each day in the chart, but do not try to compare or go into its details unless you complete filling the chart. You will also have a column to record your monthly periods. Now, to predict your ovulation, tracking your monthly periods is important. Normally, a woman ovulates anywhere between the 11th and the 21st day of her cycle. This cycle is calculated from the first day of her menstrual cycle to the first day of the next menstrual cycle, which usually accounts for 25 – 30 days.
Changes in cervical mucus is also a determining factor that will help you predict your fertile phase. You do have a column to track the changes in the cervical mucus. You know that women have various vaginal discharges, and cervical mucus is one of them. After your periods are over, your vaginal area is supposed to be dry for some days, after which you will experience a cloudy-white colored mucus of thick consistency. During this phase, you are not very likely to conceive. As you draw close to the fertile phase, the mucus gets whitish and creamy to touch, although this marks the beginning of the fertile phase or baby making time, but not your peak fertile day. Then you will come across the cervical mucus that is transparent and slippery, which looks more or less like the egg white. During this time, your BBT is also supposed to rise. When the above two conditions coincide, that exactly marks your most fertile day or ovulation day. A continuous rise in temperature for 18 consecutive days implies implantation has taken place, and a pregnancy test will confirm the good news.
Charting your BBT will help you know your cycle and enable you to predict your ovulation day. But you might need to keep a track of temperatures for a few months for accurate results and conclusions. This a great way to control your own fertility, and many women use it to avoid pregnancy, while others to get pregnant.
