How to Tell If You Are Pregnant by Basal Body Temp
Charting your basal body temperature can reveal many things about your menstrual cycle. By observing your temperature, you can determine if and when ovulation has occurred. You may also be able to determine if you have become pregnant or detect hormone imbalances. A sustained rise in your basal body temperature may tell you that you are pregnant.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Begin charting your cycle. Your cycle begins on the first day of your menstrual period; this is cycle day one. Mark cycle day one on your chart.
-
2
Take your basal body temperature reading each morning. Use only a basal body temperature thermometer, as these are more sensitive than a fever thermometer. Temperatures should be taken after at least three hours of unbroken sleep and before rising. Do not eat, drink or smoke before taking your temperature as this will change the temperature in your mouth and cause an inaccurate reading.
-
-
3
Record your basal body temperature on your chart. A pattern should establish itself, with temperatures remaining consistent until ovulation, where they will rise and remain elevated until the end of the cycle.
-
4
Observe your ovulation temperature pattern. The day of ovulation, your temperature will fall. It will then rise again on the next day and remain high until the end of the cycle. This thermal shift should be at least 0.4 degrees. If the temperature rise is indistinct or low, you may have experienced an anovulatory cycle, where no ovulation took place, or you may have a hormone imbalance.
-
5
Continue to observe your temperatures after ovulation. In a normal cycle, temperatures will drop around 14 days past ovulation. If temperatures remain elevated and menstruation does not occur, you may be pregnant. This can be confirmed by a home pregnancy test or a blood test performed by your doctor.
-
1
