The basal temperature method
Knowing the changes in basal temperature will help you get pregnant.
If you are looking for a pregnancy, you must know the basal temperature method. When ovulation occurs, a woman’s basal temperature increases due to the secretion of the hormone progesterone. If the woman learns to control when this increase in temperature occurs, she will know when ovulation has occurred. For this, the cycles are studied for approximately three months using a graph.
How to take a basal temperature
The basal temperature method
- Take it from the 5th day of the cycle (of bleeding).
- Before getting out of bed and eating any food or drink. It is recommended to have the thermometer on the bedside table so that you do not have to get up for it.
- Always by the same route: vaginal, rectal, or oral. Vaginal or rectal for 3 minutes, if oral for 5 minutes with the thermometer under the tongue and lips closed. The intake location should not be changed in the same cycle.
- Always with the same thermometer.
- Must have slept at least 3 hours in a row. If the rest has been interrupted, wait for one h resting in bed before taking.
- Always at the same time. A margin of one hour later or earlier is allowed but must be reflected.
- The temperature will be recorded each day in a table made for this purpose.
Recording the basal temperature on the graph
A graph will be made by the menstrual cycle.
Each column corresponds to a day of the cycle (remember that the cycle begins with the first day of bleeding and ends with the day before the next cycle). Each row corresponds to one-tenth of a degree of temperature on the Celsius scale.
Every day the temperature will be noted and special situations that may alter the subsequent reading (illness, vomiting, diarrhea, travel). If the temperature is not taken one day, it is left blank and continues with the next day.
If menstruation appears during the day, that day’s temperature becomes the temperature of the first day of the graph of the next cycle.
How the basal temperature graph is interpreted
The graph will be interpreted at the end of the cycle. There are two methods to interpret it:
Primary line method (Coverline): this is the method chosen by the WHO. A median line is drawn above all temperatures from the 5th day of the cycle. In a moment, and after at least six days of stable temperatures, temperatures will appear that will exceed this line (at least three). The day the temperature rises for no reason is the day of ovulation. The infertile period begins on the third day after the temperature has risen.
Arbeitsgruppe NFP method: according to this method, ovulation occurs when three high temperatures occur after six low temperatures in a row with no apparent cause. It does not care about temperatures before those six days. A line is drawn for the highest temperature of those six days (baseline). The infertile period appears after the third high temperature as long as it is at least 0.2ºC above the baseline. If not, it will be considered to start on the day of the highest fourth. Each woman’s temperature pattern rises and falls in the menstrual cycle if no cause alters it. Therefore, each woman must learn to recognize hers.
Test overview
Body temperature is a measure of the body’s ability to generate and remove heat. The body is very efficient at keeping its temperature within safe limits, even when the outside temperature changes significantly.
When you are boiling, the blood vessels in the skin dilate to carry excess heat to the skin's surface. You may start to sweat. As sweat evaporates, this helps cool your body.
When you are too cold, your blood vessels constrict. This reduces blood flow to the skin to conserve body heat. You may start to shiver. When muscles tremble in this way, it helps generate more heat.Body temperature can be measured in many places on the body. The most common are the mouth, ear, armpit, and rectum. Temperature can also be measured on the forehead.
Thermometers indicate body temperature in degrees Fahrenheit (° F) or degrees Celsius (° C). In the United States, the temperature is usually measured in degrees Fahrenheit. The standard in most other countries is degrees Celsius.
Normal body temperature
Most people think of an average body temperature as an oral temperature (measured by mouth) of 98.6 ° F (37 ° C). This is an average of standard body temperature measurements. Your normal temperature may be 1 ° F (0.6 ° C) or more above or below jo about this. Also, your average temperature can vary by up to 1 ° F (0.6 ° C) during the day, depending on your activity level and the time of day. Body temperature is susceptible to hormone levels. Therefore, a woman’s temperature may be higher or lower when ovulating or having her menstrual period.
A rectal or tympanic (ear) temperature measurement will be slightly higher than the oral measurement. If the temperature is taken in the armpit, it will be a little lower than measured orally. The most accurate way to measure temperature is rectal.
Fever
In most adults, an oral temperature greater than 100.4 ° F (38 ° C) or a temperature in the rectum or ear greater than 101 ° F (38.3 ° C) is considered a fever. A child has a fever when her rectal temperature is 100.4 ° F (38 ° C) or higher.
The fever could be a reaction to:
An infection. This is the most common cause of fever. Infections can affect the whole body or part of the body.
Medicines. These include antibiotics, opioids, antihistamines, and many others. This is called "drug fever." Medications such as antibiotics raise body temperature directly. Other medications prevent the body from resetting its temperature when other things cause the temperature to rise.
Severe trauma or injury. This can include heart attack, stroke, heatstroke, or burns.
Other medical conditions. These include arthritis, hyperthyroidism, and even some cancers, such as leukemia and lung cancer.
