A regular thermometer that you might use to check a fever won’t give you exact enough measurements to be helpful. A basal body thermometer measures your temperature’s changes in small increments.
Most basal body thermometers give you the option of taking your temperature in your mouth or your vagina. Usually, taking your vaginal temperature will give you the most accurate reading from day to day. Whichever way you choose, do it the same way every day to ensure your readings are as consistent as possible. Follow the instructions that came with your thermometer. Generally, you’ll turn on the thermometer and insert it in your vagina or mouth. When you hear it beep, after about 30-60 seconds, remove the thermometer and check the temperature reading. Make sure to sanitize your thermometer after each use. Either wash it with soap and water or wipe it down with a disinfectant.
Period Tracker, Flo, Eve, Cycles, Ovia, and other apps help you track your period and give you space to write down other daily details, like your temperature, mood, and other symptoms.
It can take a while to get a good understanding of your basal body temperature, but stick with it! Especially when used along with other tracking methods, it can be a very accurate indicator of fertility so you know when to abstain from sex.
If your cycle tends to be irregular, you may need to take your temperature for 6 months or more before you can rely on the patterns that emerge. Illness, stress, alcohol, lack of sleep, and other factors can also affect your body temperature. That’s why it’s a good idea to use this method with other tracking methods to back yourself up in case your temperature pattern is thrown off for some reason. Accurate data is super important to this method. Be consistent with taking your temperature every single day and keeping track of your findings. If you miss a few days each month, it could really throw off your understanding of your body and make it less likely to effectively prevent pregnancy.
Look at your chart and find the day when your regular spike in temperature happens each month. On a calendar, mark the 2 or 3 days before this temperature spike as the days when you’re likely to ovulate. Remember, your temperature doesn’t increase until 2-3 days after ovulation. Avoid having unprotected sex for at least 5 days before ovulation is supposed to begin, up through ovulation day.
Though the exact days can differ for each woman, you will tend to ovulate between day 11-21 of your monthly cycle, each cycle starting at day 1 when your period begins. [7] X Research source
After your period, you’ll most likely notice that you don’t have any discharge and your vagina may be drier than usual. If you’re using this method in conjunction with your basal body temperature, try to do them at the same time in the morning so it’s easier to keep track of things.
When you’re most fertile, the discharge may even stretch between your fingers without breaking. Ovulation occurs on or after the last day this mucus is produced. Keep in mind that you can still get pregnant during the 5 or so days before you ovulate, so even if your discharge doesn’t quite have an egg-white texture yet, you are still somewhat fertile.
4/22: Mucus is tacky and white. 4/26: Mucus is whitish and runny, like egg whites. 4/31: Period started; heavy flow.
If you’re tracking your basal body temperature, compare the data. Your mucus will probably turn stretchy and wet several days before your body temperature spikes. Ovulation typically happens between the change in mucus and your temperature spike.
Your cycle may vary a little from month to month. Stress, illness, weight loss or gain, and other factors could impact your cycle.
Because each cycle can vary a little bit, it will take a little longer to gather enough data to predict your fertility window. If your period is unpredictable or skips some months, consider seeing your doctor to determine if anything else is going on.
If your shortest cycle was 26 days, 26-18=8. If your longest cycle was 30 days, 30-11=19. This means your fertility window is between the 8th and 19th of each monthly cycle. The 5 days preceding ovulation and the 24 hours of ovulation are your most fertile.
There are too many factors that can affect the length of your cycle for this method to be completely reliable on its own. If you experience irregular periods, this method may not provide useful information.
Don’t let anyone pressure you into doing something you don’t want to do. It’s your body, and you get to control how you practice birth control, whether that’s with a pill, a shot, contraceptives, natural planning, or some other method.
It’s possible that your doctor will recommend a different birth control method if your cycles are very irregular.
Missed period Nausea Vomiting Tender or swollen breasts Increased urination Fatigue Moodiness
