Basal temperature
From ChildWiki.com
One of the most accessible ovulation symptoms is the change in basal temperature. It is very important to measure only the basal temperature because throughout a day the temperature of the body changes according to the metabolism and the activity of each individual. The variations are not big, but to validate the test, each tenths of a degree counts.
Basal temperature means the temperature of the body in the morning, right after waking up, before getting out of bed or eating and drinking something.
The modification of the basal temperature usually occurs in women during the menstrual cycle. Ovulation plays a major role in changes that occur with this temperature.
Each organism has different characteristics, so the values of the basal temperature are not constant from case to case, this is why science does not give exact values. The important thing with this temperature is it's graphic throughout a month.
Registering basal temperature to discover ovulation has been used for the first time in the 1930's and it is almost 97% accurate.
Each morning, right before waking up, a fast thermometer should be used to measure the temperature of the body. This has to be done at the same hour every day. Also, the same thermometer should be used correctly, according to instructions. After measuring the temperature, the woman notes it down.
The method is based on basal temperature variations. Used alone, it can not predict when the ovulation will occur but it can confirm that it did occur. When used in combination with the calendar method, it can successfully help the woman estimate when the ovulation is going to occur.
Nevertheless, because of the inexactness of the calendar method, these two should not be used as contraceptive methods, but rather as a help in getting pregnant by identifying the fertile periods. The fact that one can determine the maximum fertility period does not mean that the rest of the menstrual cycle is infertile.
[edit] Basal Temperature During Ovulation
Organisms that have a menstrual cycle have in the initial or follicular phase lower temperatures. Right after ovulation, basal temperature increases with 0.4-0.5 degrees Celsius, and if it is registered on a graph, against menstrual days, and the woman will clearly see when ovulation has occurred.
The high estrogen levels from the ante-ovulation phase determines lower temperatures, and the progesterone that is secreted after ovulation raises basal temperature. When the egg dies, before the next menstrual cycle begins, the progesterone secretion stops and the temperature decreases. If the egg has been fertilized, after conception, the basal temperature will remain high until the beginning of the second pregnancy trimester, when the placenta will take on the secretion function.
In some cases, the egg forms a cyst, that maintains the basal temperature high and prevents menstruation until it is destroyed. This can take weeks or even months.
The best place to measure basal temperature is the vagina. There are special thermometers that are used for measuring basal temperature, that have units as low as 0.05 Celsius degrees and not 0.1 as usual medical thermometers have.
