When trying to conceive turns into a mystery and a labor of love, charting basal body temperature (BBT) is a proactive and inexpensive way to find some answers.
What you’ll need:
- A digital basal thermometer
- A paper or digital way to record cycle day on the x axis and waking temperature on the y axis (There are lots of apps for that!)
- A scientist’s mind: Replicate the way you take your temperature every morning as soon as you wake - before kissing your partner, before petting your cat or dog, before moving around or doing anything else.
A well-known reason to chart BBT is to determine if, when and how smoothly ovulation is occurring.
The lens of Chinese medicine gives us another reason
Maintaining a BBT chart can illuminate these temperature irregularities or imbalances that can impact fertility:
- Excess heat (temperatures are too high during the follicular phase before ovulation).
- Deficiency (temperatures are too low in the luteal phase after ovulation).
- Stagnant Qi and Blood (temperatures are erratic).
I encourage my clients to chart BBT