Basal body temperature | |
---|---|
Background | |
Type | Fertility awareness |
First use | 1930s |
Failure rates (first year) | |
Perfect use | Unknown%[1] |
Typical use | Unknown%[1] |
Usage | |
Reversibility | Immediate |
User reminders | Dependent upon strict user adherence to methodology |
Clinic review | None |
Advantages and disadvantages | |
STI protection | No |
Period advantages | Prediction |
Weight gain | No |
Benefits | No side effects, can aid pregnancy achievement |
Basal body temperature (BBT or BTP) is the lowest body temperature attained during rest (usually during sleep). It is usually estimated by a temperature measurement immediately after awakening and before any physical activity has been undertaken. This will lead to a somewhat higher value than the true BBT.
In women, ovulation causes a sustained increase of at least 0.2 °C (0.4 °F) in BBT. Monitoring BBTs is one way of estimating the day of ovulation. The tendency of a woman to have lower temperatures before ovulation, and higher temperatures afterwards, is known as a biphasic temperature pattern. Charting this pattern may be used as a component of fertility awareness. The BBT of men is comparable to the BBT of women in their follicular phase.[2]
cochrane
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).