When I first started working in fertility care, I became aware of how important it is to chart your menstrual cycle to really know what’s going on each month. So, in order to learn the most I could about charting, I hopped down to the chemist and bought myself a BBT thermometer.
My first chart looked like a bit of a disaster. The temperatures were all over the place, some of them even off the chart! But even though I was a bit of a charting failure, I saw it as a good thing… room to improve.
After diagnosing my chart, I realised my low and erratic temperatures were because of poor sleep, which leads to stress. So my first step was to get into a good sleep pattern. As soon as I did this, my chart became fantastic. The main thing I learnt from this is the importance of good sleep and stress reduction when it comes to normalising your hormones. Had I been trying to conceive back when I was first charting, I don’t think I would have had much luck. But with a few small tweaks, my new chart looked like fertility gold.
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How to Chart:
Upon waking, reach over to your bedside table and grab your thermometer. Don’t get up or out of bed! Stay horizontal and take your temperature. This is your Basal body temperature. Chart it on the graph (get your copy by signing up to my mailing list). Day 1 of the graph is the first day of your menstrual bleeding. Keep charting each morning until your next period starts. Ideally your chart should be biphasic, which means it has two distinct halves. You can see an example of this in my free eBook. If the second half of your cycle (the luteal phase) goes longer than 14 days, you may like to check if you’re pregnant (yay!).
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Whether you’re trying to conceive or just want to see how your hormones are plodding along, it’s a great idea to do a few months of Basal Body Temperature charting (BBT charting). My free eBook, Fertility Charting, is an easy to follow guide on how to chart and how to interpret the results. It also comes with two free printable charts in Celsius and Fahrenheit!
All you have to do to get your hands on the free eBook is enter your email address in the box below this article.
If you know someone who you think would benefit from BBT charting, send them the link to this article, or share it around on Facebook, Twitter etc. Happy charting!
