Day: August 2, 2016

It’s funny, thinking back to a time in my teens when I thought any act of unprotected sex equated to a big belly followed by a baby. I had no idea 10 years later I’d find myself struggling to conceive. No idea that even with perfectly timed intercourse, it still takes on average 6 months for a healthy couple to conceive. No idea just how hard pinpointing when the perfect time to conceive—ovulation—was. Luckily though, I learned. The first step to learning how to pinpoint ovulation is to confirm it happens for you and roughly when each month. One of the easiest ways to do that is basal body temperature tracking.

What is basal body temperature?

Your basal body temperature is your temperature when you are fully at rest, meaning you have slept at least 3 hours—not a nap. This is why basal body temperature is taken in the morning, the moment you wake up before any activity.

Why would you want to know your basal body temperature?

Your basal body temperature will rise after ovulation as a result of the release of progesterone, a hormone that maintains the uterine lining. If you track your basal body temperature all cycle, you can use this temperature shift to determine when ovulation occurred. Notice, “occurred,” as in past tense. Basal body temperature tracking (sometimes abbreviated BBT) cannot be used to predict ovulation, at least not exactly. So why do it?

First, it allows you to confirm ovulation is happening at all. Second, it allows you to build an average day of ovulation. The majority of women maintain a fairly consistent cycle length from month to month, and in those that do, ovulation is usually around the same cycle day as well. This is why I said, “not exactly.” By finding your average day of ovulation you can better predict its occurrence when incorporating other methods, such as ovulation predictor kits or monitoring cervical mucus changes.

How do you take your basal body temperature?

As mentioned, you need to take your temperature every morning immediately upon waking without getting up. You can use a regular thermometer, but in most cases your temperature shift will be far less clear that way, if visible at all, as the shift is often as slight as half a degree. As a result, it’s recommend you use what’s called a basal body thermometer. These thermometers are more sensitive and provide more accurate temperatures. For example, a regular thermometer might read 98.6, but a basal body thermometer doesn’t round up, so it could offer a more precise 98.57. Basal body temperature can be taken orally or vaginally, but you do need to stick with one method per cycle. For obvious reasons, most women opt for oral temperatures, although vaginal temperatures can sometimes offer clarity if oral temperatures are giving unclear patterns.

How do you chart basal body temperature?

You can record your temperatures on paper, but in my experience using a tracking program is easier. My favorite is FertilityFreind. They have an app, but you can also use the site from a computer. It is free to use, though there is a premium paid version available. This program, and others like it, will create a basal body temperature chart for you based on your input each morning. Most will also estimate ovulation for you based on your chart with a fair deal of accuracy. So, how do they do that…

How do you track ovulation with a basal body chart? What should a BBT chart look like?

When you look at a BBT chart, it isn’t going to be a straight line followed by a rise and another straight line. You’re looking for a general pattern of low temperatures followed by slightly higher temperatures. Below is an example of a fairly basic chart. You can see daily the temperature sort of fluctuates, but looking at all the data together you can see a clear shift. Ovulation occurs within 24 hours proceeding that shift (where the cross hairs are on this chart).

Now look at this chart. See how there’s a dip just before the rise? That’s called an ovulation dip. Not every women gets a dip at ovulation, and if you do get one you might not get one every cycle. These are caused by temporary hormonal upset as an egg is released.

This chart has a dip after ovulation. This is called an implantation dip, and again, it isn’t present in all charts, and is caused by a hormonal shift that can happen when an egg implants.

Now this chart is all over. It has dips, rises, and flat lines. A few things could be going on with this chart. The tester might be inconsistent with taking her temperature. She may be getting up before taking her temperature or sleeping erratic hours for example. Her thermometer might also be bad or she may have some hormonal imbalance. Many things can create one-day dips or rises, even things like keeping your room hotter or colder or illness. None the less, there is still a shift, and ovulation occurred.

Finally, in this chart there was no ovulation. There is no shift. The chart can’t explain why ovulation didn’t happen, but multiple annovulatory cycles warrant a visit to your care provider.

Can basal body temperature predict pregnancy?

Ah, see that’s a good question. A sustained basal body temperature beyond 16 days is generally considered an early sign of pregnancy. BBT tracking can also help you know when to take a pregnancy test, as in general, a test won’t be accurate until at minimum about 10 days past ovulation with 14+ days being most accurate.

Some women will also see what’s called a triphasic chart when pregnant. This is where about 6 to 12 days after ovulation when implantation occurs there is a second temperature shift. During pregnancy higher levels of progesterone are released to prevent your period. This increase can cause an additional temperature rise. You can be pregnant without a triphasic chart, and you can have a second rise without being pregnant, unfortunately.

Can basal body temperature predict my period?

After you chart for a while, you probably will see a pattern as far as when your BBT temperatures drop. Some women get a drop just before their period. Others have a more gradual decline or a drop after bleeding has begun. If you are one of those that get a drop prior to bleeding, yes, it could be a way of judging whether or not your period is about to start. Remember though, sometimes one-day dips happen.

Your cycle is also divided into phases. The first phase, or follicular phase where an egg develops, is followed by ovulation. The luteal phase, where implantation is possible, follows ovulation. Variation in the follicular phase is far more common than in the luteal phase (unless imbalance is present). This means that you will likely have a steady average number of days between ovulation and your period that will vary less than the average number of days in your cycle as a whole. So, if you ovulate, say three days later than your average, you shouldn’t expect your period until three days later than projected. While not helpful to conception, this can help explain late periods that often cause women trying to conceive so much grief.

I hope this general guide on how to track ovulation with your basal body temperature has been of use. If you have any additional questions or just would like see something added to this page, please feel free to drop us a comment.

You may also enjoy:
Period While Pregnant: Is it Possible?
When Will a Pregnancy Test be Accurate?
When Do Pregnancy Symptoms Start?

TTC, DPO, BD, O, CD—as if trying to conceive isn’t hard enough, conception forums and how-to’s can be like Greek if you don’t know the lingo. Luckily, if you’re as lost as I was, you can find easy-to-digest definitions for common conception jargon below.

Conception abbreviations and acronyms:

TTC: Trying to conceive. There isn’t much to explain here, someone who is TTC is simply trying to get pregnant (probably like you.)

CD: Cycle day. Day one of your period is counted from the first day of bleeding or cycle day one. CD is commonly used before ovulation as well as to describe the day of ovulation. Example: I had bleeding at CD 16. This means that there was some sort of bleed 16 days after the first day of a period.

O: Ovulation. The time in which an egg is released, and pregnancy becomes possible for roughly 24 to 48 hours.

CM: Cervical mucus. Cervical mucus can be used to predict ovulation to some degree, leading to its inclusion as a common conception conversation point. You can read more about cervical mucus here.

EWCM: Egg-white cervical mucus. At ovulation, cervical mucus usually becomes snot-like, stretchy, and sort of resembles egg-white. Cervical mucus may also be described as “sticky” as in not fertile or watery, a stage just before EWCM.

CP: Cervical position. Cervical position can also sometimes be used to predict ovulation varying from high and closed (not fertile) to low and open (fertile). You can read about how to check your cervix here.

DPO: Days past ovulation. DPO is a common abbreviation on TTC forums because, for instance, implantation commonly occurs at 10 to 12 days DPO and pregnancy tests become accurate just after this. You might see something like, “My temp rose at 8 DPO.” This means 8 days after ovulation there was a temperature rise on a BBT chart.

BBT: Basal body temperature. This is your temperature while at rest (sleeping for 3+ hours). BBT is low before ovulation, then rises just after. Tracking and charting your BBT can confirm ovulation. You can read a full guide on BBT tracking here.

2WW: Two week wait. While not always a two-week wait, 2WW is used to describe the period between ovulation and your period or a positive test. Two weeks comes from the average cycle of 28 days, putting ovulation at CD 14, and a period (or not) two weeks later.

AF: Aunt flow. Aunt flow is a cutesy nickname referring to a period.

LMP: Last menstrual period. This date is the first day of bleeding in your last period (CD1). LMP is often used to calculate due dates.

EDD: Estimate due date. An estimate as to when your baby is due. This may be based off your LMP, ovulation, or an ultrasound. All three can also be used to create an average.

BFP/BFN: Big fat positive/negative. These terms are used in reference to pregnancy test results.

HPT: Home pregnancy test. A standard urine home test.

POAS: Pee on a stick. Short hand for take a home pregnancy test.

OPK: Ovulation prediction kit. Similar to a HPT, an OPK is a home test that uses urine to detect a hormone that spikes just before ovulation.

BD: Baby dance. Baby dance, occasionally thought to be bed dance, is an act of intercourse aimed at conception. BD is also sometimes referred to as an “attempt,” as in an attempt to conceive.

DH, DS, DD: Dear husband/son/daughter. You may also see something like DS2, the number indicates child number, so DS2 would mean a second son, DD4 a fourth daughter, and so on.

Sway: Gender swaying. A conception plan that attempts to “sway” the chances of a girl (pink sway/team pink) or boy baby (blue sway/team blue). As a side note, “team green” comes mostly from swayers and refers to someone who doesn’t plan to find the sex of their baby until he/she is born. You can read the facts on swaying here.

MC or M/C: Miscarriage. Sadly, this is common enough to have its own abbreviation. Other terms you might hear in regards to miscarriage include:
-D&C (dilation and curettage) which is where an incomplete or missed miscarriage is medically completed.
-A missed miscarriage is one where the baby has died, but the pregnancy has continued.
-An incomplete miscarriage is one where tissue was retained from the pregnancy.

Rainbow baby (rarely abbreviated): A baby conceived after a loss.

Ectopic: An ectopic pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy is where the egg implanted outside of the uterus and is not viable.

FP/LP: Follicular phase, luteal phase. These are two phases of your menstrual cycle. Follicular, where an egg is developed, and luteal where implantation is possible. LP is talked about more than FP, as luteal phase defects (LPD) are a common fertility issue.

FSH/LH: Follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone. These are hormones tied to ovulation. In cases of infertility they are sometimes tested. LH is the hormone that OPKs detect.

This, surprisingly, is actually not an all-inclusive list. Certain realms of the TTC world come with even more acronyms and abbreviations, but the above should provide you with the basic terms you’ll see most commonly. If you find yourself stuck, and unsure what something means, feel free to drop us a comment.