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At the start of every conception journey, women hear the term BBT. Just what is this all-important diagnostic tool?
BBT simply refers to a baseline reading of your body's temp, that is, the temp your body typically runs before any physical activity occurs (other than the activity of your organs doing their thing). Keeping track of your BBT, commonly referred to as "tracking" or "charting," over a period of several cycles can help detect a pattern of fertility.
It is often recommended (or required) by fertility professionals (and insurance companies) that a woman chart her BBT for at least three months before moving forward with any other treatment decisions.
Here, a quick rundown of how the BBT charting process works:
When your reproductive hormones are in working, fertile order, your body will experience rather predictable temperature fluctuations during a cycle. The actual degree of temp is not as important as the fluctuations themselves, the degree of fluctuation, and the continuing pattern (if any) over several cycles.
A typically average, fertile cycle will indicate a dip in temp just before a sustained rise indicating ovulation has occurred (biphasic chart).
In some cases of subfertility or infertility, temp patterns may be difficult or even impossible to detect.
Rather than simply being used to predict ovulation, BBT charts are helpful in diagnosing luteal phase defect, and the existence in general of ovulation regularity.
© Tracy Morris
