BBT Fertility Chart
Understand What It Means

First thing first, where can you get a BBT fertility chart?

You can download one from this link, simply click on "Download: FREE fertility chart.

When you measure your daily temperature, simply mark a corresponding cross or a dot on the graph. For example, if your temperature is 97 degree Fahrenheit on Day 1 of yourmenstrual cycle, just mark a cross on the spot Day 1, 97F. Continue to do so for Day 2, 3, 4 and so forth.

Connect all the crosses or dots after a month and you will see a pattern of temperature changes, how they rise and drop during that month.

Expect lower temperatures in the first half of your cycle than its second half.

To identify ovulation, look for at least a .4 (point four)degree rise over your average basal body temperature over the course of a few days. When you notice a temperature shift that stays high for about 3 consecutive days, you can presume that you are ovulating. You have gone from the Follicular phase into the Luteal phase.

Also look out for a drop in temperature right before ovulation occurs. You may only learn to recognize this ovulation pattern after one to two complete cycles.

If you become pregnant, your basal body temperatures tend to stay higher and above the average temperatures you had earlier in the cycle.

If you fail to conceive, your basal body temperatures will shift back to the averages of your Follicular phase and your menstrual cycle will resume.

When a woman has regular menstrual cycles, she is thought to be ovulating normally. Conversely, if she has irregular cycles, it is taken as proof that she's not ovulating. However, many women with irregular cycles are able to ovulate whereas some with regular cycles are not ovulating because they have other infertility problems. The obvious benefit of your BBT charts will be its usefulness in determining if you're ovulating at all.

If your BBT charts consistently reveal that you are not ovulating, that is, you frequently experience Anovulatory cycles (cycles where you do not ovulate), you will certainly need medical intervention for there is no way you can get pregnant without producing an egg.

BBT charts also reveal other important information.

For example, they can help you identify potential problems with your cycle if you notice sudden abnormal temperature shifts. Or, they may reveal that you have a short Luteal phase that could affect your ability to carry a pregnancy. Last but not least, they can potentially predict your pregnancy if you are successful at getting pregnant.

Your BBT charts therefore is a rich source of valuable information that you should share with your doctor to aid your efforts in conceiving.

BBT tracking is meticulous and tedious. It demands a great deal of commitment and consistency to ensure accurate monitoring. It can really wear you out in the course of time. Having to take your body temperature first thing in the morning before getting out of bed and doing anything else can be a real challenge to normal daily living.

This form of fertility charting is retrospective in nature and can be frustrating. By the time you recognize that ovulation has taken place, you have missed yet another chance to conceive. Even if you cycles are regular, it will take at least 2 full months to be able to see a certain pattern of ovulation. If you have irregular cycles, you would have to take a few more cycles to identify your pattern.

You will feel the pressure to conceive. Repetitive temperature taking will remind you that something's not quite right in your life. To prevent being burnt-out in your attempt to conceive, don't chart more than three to four months. If a pattern does show up, it would have shown up by three to four months, if not, this method simply doesn't work for you.

Enhance the accuracy of your BBT fertility charts by combining other signs of ovulation into them so as to develop a more comprehensive profile of your ovulation cycle.

For example, you can incorporate data from monitoring your cervical mucus, position and cervix consistency into the same chart to help determine your fertile window as accurately as possible.

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