How is the temperature method used?

What is the temperature method for observing fertility?
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Fertility Observation Methods
What is the temperature method?
What is the cervical mucus method?

What is the rhythm method?
What is the typical day's method?
Are fertility monitoring methods right for me?

The temperature method (also known as the basal temperature method) is one of the methods of observation of fertility. It helps you predict when you will ovulate by tracking changes in your body temperature during your menstrual cycle.
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How is the temperature method used?

Your body temperature changes slightly during the menstrual cycle. It is lower in the early part of the cycle and then increases when you ovulate. For most people, the typical temperature before ovulation is 96 to 98 ° F (35.5 to 36.6 ° C). After you ovulate, it rises to between 97 ° F and 99 ° F (36.1 ° C and 37.2 ° C), plus or minus four-tenths higher than your average temperature.

To use the basal temperature method, you need to take your temperature the same way every day and record it on a fertility watch chart. You can obtain fertility monitoring charts from a nurse or doctor at the Planned Parenthood health centers closest to you or a family planning clinic.

In the beginning, you can ask your doctor or nurse to help you read your fertility observation method chart. Very soon, you will be able to read it and understand it for yourself. Wait until you have logged at least three (3) months before relying on the temperature method (also called basal temperature) for birth control.

The temperature method is most effective when combined with the other fertility monitoring methods (such as the cervical mucus method). When you combine these methods, it is called the symptothermal method.
How do I take my temperature?

To accurately track your temperature, you should take it as soon as you wake up and before you get out of bed. Take your temperature before you talk, eat, drink, have sex, check your phone: instead, take your temperature before doing ANYTHING. Keep the thermometer in place (without moving it) for about five minutes.

The changes in your temperature will be tiny – fractions of a degree – so you should get a special large-scale basal thermometer. Some basal thermometers are used in the mouth and others in the rectum (anus). Rectal thermometers are generally more accurate and reliable. You can get a basal thermometer online or at most drug stores for about $ 10.

After taking your temperature, could you write it down on the chart? As you track your temperature, you will begin to see a pattern. Changes in your temperature can happen quickly or slowly, and the pattern can vary from cycle to cycle.

Your temperature can change when you’re in a bad mood or didn’t get enough sleep. Smoking, drinking alcohol, jetlag, being sick or stressed, and using an electric blanket can also affect your average temperature. Write these data in your table to know when the temperature changes are not due to your natural menstrual cycle but because of other things.
When we look for pregnancy, it is essential to recognize when the woman’s fertile days are. There are different methods to approach those dates, and one of these methods is the basal temperature, but how do I take the basal temperature correctly to know my fertile days?

By controlling the basal temperature, which is the lowest temperature that the body reaches rest, we will be able to detect ovulation, and we will be able to know which are the most promising days to achieve pregnancy. Remember that basal temperature is the body temperature when we wake up.

However, it is a process that requires perseverance and specific guidelines. These are the tips to properly take the temperature and keep the correct control of the cycle.

The basal temperature must be recorded every day of the cycle. Only in this way will we become aware of the oscillations that may indicate that we are in our fertile days.
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When to take your basal temperature

It is convenient to start taking your temperature from the first menstruation and write it down each day.

You have to take your temperature every morning just waking up, in or at the bedside. This method is not reliable if the temperature is taken at different times of the day. In this way, variations that could be produced by physical activity and other factors are avoided.
How to take your basal temperature

We prepare the thermometer the night before, placing it on the table, handy and ready to take the temperature immediately the following day. If we have to get up, move around and look for the thermometer, the measurement will not be valid.

It is essential to take note of the fluctuations in temperature over several months to detect possible irregularities in the cycle and establish our calendar. Only if we observe regularity in those months that we write down can we predict the ovulation days.

If the woman has a fever or is ill, the data for those days are useless, and this fact must be noted.

You should always try to use the same thermometer without changing it during the cycle (unless it breaks) since there could be differences between one and the other, and since we are talking about such narrow and precise margins, the measurement would not be helpful.

We must take the temperature in the same part of the body to allow that there are always similar conditions that do not alter the result of the measurement.

We can always choose the oral or buccal temperature, placing the thermometer's tip under the tongue and with the lips closed.

We can always choose the rectal temperature, inserting the thermometer's tip into the rectum while lying on one side with the knees bent.

We can always choose the vaginal temperature, choosing a comfortable position, and inserting the tip of the thermometer into the vagina, always remaining in the same position.