What is BBT for Fertility?

BBT, or basal body temperature tracking, is something you may have come across when googling about fertility or determining ovulation. BBT is a step in the fertility tracking method that can give us a lot of information about your cycle and hormones.

By tracking your first morning temperature we can determine if and when you are ovulating. It can also help us determine if there are any fertility concerns with the second half of your cycle. However, BBT is not a great way to help you plan timed intercourse for getting pregnant. It will help us determine ovulation timing after 3-4 months of consistent tracking.

This means it is great to start tracking your BBT before you actually want to start trying.

Our body temperature responds to the change in hormones after ovulation. When the corpus luteum starts producing progesterone, our basal body temperature will increase 0.5-1 0C. It’s not a drastic jump. So it’s important to know these steps to make sure you’re getting good information.

Coupling this with cervical mucous tracking can give you all the information you may need to improve your chances of conceiving naturally. The best way to do this is to download a fertility tracking app. Here at HHA we really like to use Kindara or Fertility Friend. Both of these free apps give you the capability to tracking your periods, temperatures, cervical mucous, symptoms, intercourse and any LH or pregnancy tests you take. Literally all your fertility info will be in one spot. If you are working with a fertility naturopath or practitioner, it’ll be super easy to share how each cycle has been for you.

So how do you effectively do BBT?

1. You need a proper basal body temperature thermometer that has 2 decimal places. This is crucial to actually get accurate readings of your temperature shift.
2. Taking your temperature first thing in the morning, before getting out of bed. The easiest way to do this is to actually keep the thermometer within arms reach of where you sleep. That way when you first wake up, you just need to reach out, grab it, and put it in your mouth. If you get out of bed, or toss and turn, before taking your temp your charts won’t be accurate.
3. Make sure you’re taking your temp at the same time every morning. Meaning if you get up at 6:30 during the week, but sleep till 9:00 on the weekends, your weekend temperatures will not be accurate. Set the alarm on the weekends to take your temp and then feel free to roll over and go back to sleep.
4. If your thermometer doesn’t have a memory function, make sure you are writing it down or adding it into your fertility app right away. There’s nothing worse than forgetting to document your temp in a groggy morning fog leaving you with unintentional blanks in your chart.

Tip: Some things that might influence your temperature and throw off your chart are getting up in the night to pee, going out the night before and having some alcoholic bevvies, or not getting enough sleep. Life happens, so if this is you during your charting time just put a note on that day explaining that temp might not be totally accurate.

BBT can be a really effective method to help learn about your cycle.

If you’re ready to dive in and learn more about your fertility, click here to book a discovery call with one of HHA fertility practitioners.