Get a basal body thermometer at a pharmacy, grocery store or Web site. They're more sensitive than the garden-variety ones you use when you're sick.
Step2
Keep a pad of paper, a pencil and the thermometer next to your bed.
Step3
Take your temperature every morning as soon as you wake up and before you get out of bed. You're looking for subtle changes, and even going to the bathroom can skew your results.
Step4
Record your temperature on your chart each morning. You won't feel the shift, but your body temperature rises by 0.5 to 1.6 degrees after you ovulate.
Step5
Keep your record for several months. Because body temperature rises after ovulation, you need to accumulate data before your results can be helpful.
Step6
Use your data: Have sex during your most fertile days - that's the two or three days before your temperature normally rises each cycle - if you want to get pregnant.
Tips & Warnings
Taking your temperature at the same time each morning (even on weekends) will improve your record.
Conception takes time. A normal, healthy couple only has a 25 percent chance of conceiving each month, even when they have sex right around the time of ovulation. After a year of trying, 75 to 85 percent of couples will have conceived.
Many things can affect a women's cycle. If you have any concerns or questions, talk to your doctor.
on 11/22/2005
As a former nurse, I recommend that a woman take her morning temperature by rectum and not by mouth. It IS more accurate and the basal thermometer can be used rectally. I now have three children.
Comments
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 As a former nurse, I recommend that a woman take her morning temperature by rectum and not by mouth. It IS more accurate and the basal thermometer can be used rectally. I now have three children.