Basel Body Temperature (BBT) can provide us with a lot of useful information about our hormone levels as well as when we are ovulating. It can even tell us how our body is processing hormones and if we are stressed.

They are very helpful in determining the state of our fertility and reproductive health. In a nutshell, BBT is the basic body temperature in which your body is operating at.  This is our temperature when you wake up in the morning before you start to do any type of activities.  From there our normal temperature will typically start to go up.  Essentially it is our baseline temp.

BBT is taken with a basic digital thermometer.  Fair Haven Health has a good BBT thermometer and typically costs about $7 on Amazon.

Instructions:

a).  When you wake up first thing in the morning you take your temperature orally. You do this before you setup, roll over, go to the bathroom, talk to anyone, etc.

1. b) Then, record your temperature either on paper or use an App.  One of the popular Apps is Fertility Friend. These Apps will help you keep track of your temperature as well as different signs and symptoms you may be having during your cycle.

c).  Next, you gather what this information can tell you. The main information that you gather is how your liver and hormones are functioning. This means that during the different phases of our cycle your temperature should be at a certain range.

1. Cycle day 1-14: Tends to be in the 90s.  When your cycle is ending that temperature should be between 97.2 and 97.4.
2. During the ovulation period, the temperature should drop about a half of a degree. When the temperature drop occurs, it means ovulation will happen between 12-36 hours. An ovulation predictor kit is a good idea to use in conjunction with BBT.
3. After ovulation, the temperatures should begin to climb upwards and should be around a 98.2 temperature.

What if you take your temperature and it does not meet the recommended temperatures:

a).  If your temperatures are all over the place and continuously up and down, it generally means stress is high and your liver is having a hard time metabolizing hormones. It is recommended if you experience this type of temperature range that you include exercises in your routine like yoga, cardio, or be more mindful with meditation and breathing practices.  The more you lower your stress levels the more your temperatures will begin to even out.

b).  Another common thing that we see with temperatures is with women who have Hashimoto’s, which is a thyroid disorder.  Usually women with this disorder have colder temperatures, typically a half of a degree but sometimes a full degree. Temperatures are normally in the 96s but after ovulation, they rise to the 97s, instead of above 98 degrees, which is the goal. If you have low temperatures it does not automatically mean you have a disorder, but you should go see your medical practitioner if you have not seen him/her in the last 6-12 months.

c). Once we get BBTs where we want, which is low 97s before ovulation and above 98 after ovulation, there is a higher correlation with pregnancy and staying pregnant and a decreased likelihood of a miscarriage.

d).  This is because as a woman we are born with all of our eggs and our bodies start to wake up those eggs about 10 to 12 months before we are going to use them in a cycle.  The most changes happen to those eggs in the 3 months before ovulation. Those eggs are woken up partly with our hormones.

As you start to regulate your hormones and we see BBTs going into positive temperature ranges, that correlates with estrogen levels being adequate and that has an impact on our A Quality.  Several months of seeing BBTs that look healthy can have a positive impact, a few months later on a healthy pregnancy, and eventually a live birth.

Written By Misty Reed – http://www.austinacupuncturestudio.com/.