Basal body thermometers are specifically meant for women who are likely to get pregnant. This is probably the best method to track the day of ovulation and that too in low expense. The typical basal body temperature for average women basically lies between 96 and 99 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature may drop on the first day of ovulation and then significantly show an increase of about half a degree.

Predicting Ovulation with BBT Charting

Record your BBT temperature from the first day of your menstrual cycle on your fertility chart or fertility calendar. Remember, you have to record your temperature every morning at the same time, before any activity, i.e. drinking or eating. The pattern in your temperature rise may not be the same from cycle to cycle. It may either be sudden or in steps. 96 to 98 degrees is considered a normal basal temperature for most of the women preceding ovulation, which should apparently rise to 97 to 99 degrees directly following ovulation. There is a typical rise of 0.4 to 0.6 degrees at ovulation. However, the consistency of rise in temperature may vary among women.

Guidelines to Follow When Taking Your BBT

Given below are a few guidelines that will make your temperature data more accurate and reliable. However, these are ideal guidelines and at times, it may become difficult for you to meet these guidelines. But the closer you stay to these ideal guidelines, the more accurate the results will be.

• Temperature can be taken in any way-orally or vaginally, Just stay consistent.
• Keep the setting of the electric blanket or the heating pad at the same setting, in case you use it.
• Take your temperature early in the morning before rising and indulging in any activity.
• Take your temperature after 2 to 3 consecutive hours of sleep.
• Take your temperature at a particular time every morning.
• If possible, try using the same thermometer throughout your cycle and in case it damages, note the recordings on the chart.
• You must record your temperature as and when you take it, so as to avoid forgetting it.

Basal Body Thermometer: 7 Everything You Need To Know

Given below are a few things that you should consider before buying a basal body thermometer. These are as follows:

Temperature Reading

The BBT helps in determining the optimum body temperature after a period of rest. You should make sure that you have got at least 4 to 5 hours of sleep the pervious night, in case you aim to chart your body temperature every morning. In case you do not have minimum hours of sleep, this may also show up as fluctuation in your body temperature. Apart from this, you can also predict the day of your ovulation after keeping a close check on the pattern of your menstrual cycle.

Digital vs. Mercury

There are two types of thermometers- digital and mercury which are also called as the traditional and regular respectively. Digital basal thermometer is considered better as compared to the mercury thermometers.

A digital basal thermometer takes comparatively less time and provides a more accurate result, whereas mercury thermometers are less user-friendly and are complex to use and understand. More importantly, a digital thermometer also provides with a feature of storing previous readings

Budget

This is one of the most vital things before you decide to buy anything but budget is not a big deal in case of basal thermometers. They are not a lot expensive, you just have to spend $30 when you want to buy a digital thermometer and can also afford to buy the best quality by spending $20-$30 more on top of it.

Notification Alert System

There are a number of basal thermometers available in the market that offers you with notification alert system when the body temperature has been measured. There will no longer be a need for you to keep holding the thermometer for minutes long to read the temperature.

Accuracy

A BBT thermometer is more sensitive and thus provides you with more accurate results as compared to a regular thermometer. A regular thermometer can be accurate up to 0.1 of a degree, whereas a basal thermometer can be accurate up to 0.01 degree.

Apart from that, one of the other things is the body temperature that constantly fluctuates at the time of menstrual. During this time, you need a thermometer that is more accurate in providing you the readings.

Speed

Digital basal thermometer can provide a reading in approximately 30 to 60 seconds which are comparatively a lot faster than glass basal thermometers that usually take up to 4-5 minutes to provide the reading.

Durability

Taking digital thermometers into consideration, they are more durable and thus, difficult to damage. On the other side, glass basal thermometers are more prone to damage and are thus, less durable.

When it comes to pregnancy, no one wants to take any sort of risk and thus it becomes important for us to consider a few things when making any choice related to pregnancy. BBT is one of those things that helps in determining the ovulation date and recording the body temperature, so the results have to be accurate and reliable. So, do consider the above listed things when you make a choice to buy a basal thermometer.

Hope this article was of help to you! Please share your comments/queries/tips with us and help us create a world full of Happy, Healthy and Empowered Women!!