Basal body temperature (BBT) is the lowest temperature a person’s body has during the day and is typically taken in the morning before becoming active. Women can use BBT changes to determine the best time to attempt pregnancy. Consistency is key for an accurate reading, and tracking BBT can help recognize patterns for ovulation. BBT can also indicate pregnancy or a luteal phase defect, which can cause infertility.
Basal body temperature, or BBT, is the lowest temperature a person’s body will have during the day. Typically, BBT is taken first thing in the morning, before a woman becomes active and her temperature rises. Women wishing to become pregnant can determine when the best time to attempt a pregnancy is by changes in their body temperature.
The best way to get an accurate basal body temperature reading is to take your temperature before you get out of bed in the morning. Ideally, a woman should take her temperature at the same time every morning after she has had a fair amount of sleep. It doesn’t matter if you take your temperature orally or rectally, as long as you are consistent in your method. You shouldn’t take your temperature orally one week and rectally another, for example. Since an accurate temperature reading is only possible if a woman hasn’t been active yet, she should plan ahead and keep a BBT chart and thermometer by her bed so she doesn’t have to get up looking for it in the morning.
Typically, a woman’s basal body temperature is around 97.2 degrees Fahrenheit (36 degrees Celsius). At the beginning of ovulation, it will increase by 0.4 degrees. Usually, a woman’s basal body temperature rises by up to 1 degree Fahrenheit a few days after ovulation. Some women may notice a drop in temperature just before ovulation begins, but this doesn’t happen to all women. If she tracks her BBT for a few months before trying to get pregnant, she may begin to recognize a pattern in her temperature and use the pattern to determine when she will ovulate.
In most cases, BBT remains high for up to 12 days after a woman ovulates. If her temperature remains high, it may be a sign that a woman is pregnant, especially if her temperature remains high for more than 18 days. Some women will notice a further increase in temperature. However, this increase does not necessarily indicate pregnancy. In some cases, a woman’s basal body temperature can go through three phases instead of the usual two.
If a woman’s BBT does not remain elevated for 12 days after ovulation, it is usually a sign that a woman has a luteal phase defect, which can cause infertility. The luteal phase is the time between ovulation and the start of a new cycle. A luteal phase defect usually indicates that a woman is not making enough progesterone, which can interfere with the production of the lining of the endometrium, potentially making it difficult to conceive.
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