Record Your Basal Body Temperature (BBT) (Episode 4)
In this episode you will learn the following:
If you are trying to get pregnant, it's important to know if you're ovulating and when you normally ovulate. Learn how to accurately use this fertility tracking method to help you maximize the chances of conceiving. What is BBT? Why do I need to know about it? How does tracking and charting it help me get pregnant? You will learn:- What BBT is and why you should be tracking it.
- How to accurately check your BBT.
- The type of thermometer you should be using.
- How to use the thermometer to get a reliable result.
- When to check your BBT.
- The temperature shift in the luteal phase.
- How long it should stay risen.
- When ovulation occurs.
- How it helps you predict when to have sex to maximize your chances of pregnancy.
About this Series
Dr Tash, leading fertility & pregnancy expert explains how to get pregnant. 1 in 6 couples struggle with getting pregnant after 12 months, this series digs deep in to how you can get pregnant naturally. Sperm and egg must meet within a small 12-24 hour window within the menstrual cycle. You will learn how you can maximize your chances of conceiving and increase your chances of getting pregnant faster.
Ovulation Calculator has produced this video series with leading fertility expert, Dr Natasha Andreadis (Dr Tash).
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Video Transcript
I'm Dr. Tash. In this video I'm going to show you how you can check your basal body temperature and use it to maximize your chances of falling pregnant.
Basal body temperature is your body's lowest core temperature, usually measured in the morning after you've woken up from sleep. Basal body temperature is a way of figuring out when you've ovulated, and that's going to help you figure out when to have sex and fall pregnant.
When you measure your body temperature you should notice a rise. That rise should be maybe 0.3 to 0.5 of a degree. It should stay up for at least 10 days. It's staying up means that you have an adequate luteal phase. This is a really important phase in your menstrual cycle. Moving forwards over time, when you keep a record of your BBT you'll be able to see when ovulation has happened, because ovulation occurs two days before that rise occurs.
The best way to measure your basal body temperature is to buy an accurate digital thermometer. Here's one I prepared earlier. When you wake up in the morning, it's really important that you do nothing first but measure your body temperature. It's literally turning to the side of your bed, picking up your thermometer, and putting it in your mouth.
It's really important you know how to use this properly. It doesn't mean doing this. Now, forgive me if you can't understand what I'm saying because I'm going to put this in my mouth to demonstrate, but it's not doing this. That doesn't cut it, doesn't work. It needs to go deep into the mouth like that, in between the bottom of the mouth and the tongue, and it needs to stay there until you get a recording.
Your basal body temperature is really quite sensitive. That's why it's really important that as soon as you wake up in the morning and you've opened your eyes, even before getting up, moving out of bed, that you've checked it. Don't go to the toilet. Don't make yourself a cup of tea. Check your body temperature first.
Measuring your basal body temperature is really important, because you'll be able to see a shift in your body temperature. Over time you'll see a pattern. You'll be able to see when you've ovulated, because ovulation occurs two days before that rise. That's great in moving forwards. It'll help you predict when to have sex to maximize your chances of pregnancy.
