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Maternal (Expert Forum)
Re: Basal Body Temperature as a Means To Confirm Pregnancy?
Patient medical question and answer from The Maternal and Child Health Forum. Health topic area and articles about newborn care
Re: Basal Body Temperature as a Means To Confirm Pregnancy?
by Marie__0, Jan 01, 1995 12:00AM
Posted By Marie on March 29, 1999 at 17:45:41:
In Reply to: Basal Body Temperature as a Means To Confirm Pregnancy? posted by Ally on March 29, 1999 at 12:01:04:
: I have been concerned that I am approximately four weeks pregnant, however, my hpts have come out negative.
My OB-GYN told me take my temperature every morning immediately upon waking up with a basal body thermometer and if it was over 98 degrees for a coupel of days, I was most likely prengant.
Is that correct? Can you explain to me the basal body temp.?
Also, can your temperature tell you if you are pregnant or not?
Any info would be helpful. Thanks.
It is correct to take your BBT as soon as you wake up every morning, before
you even get out of bed. However, it's most effective if you've been
doing it for a while and know your own specific BBT patterns. You see, during
your pre-ovulatory stage (from the time your period ends untill you ovulate,
which could be the traditional 14 days, but could also be anywhere from 8
to 22 days) your BBT will be generally low. (for instance, mine is anywhere
from 97.3-97.5) After you ovulate, it goes up-usually around 4/10 of a degree
higher. Higher than what? You'd count back 6 temps before the high one,
take the highest of those and voila. Your temps would stay up till you get
your period, usually around 12-14 days later. If you are pregnant, they stay
up-18-20 days is usually a good confirmation. It stays up all during your preg
nancy. So, taking your temps and finding they are above 98.0 could be a
good sign, but you don't know how high your preovulatory temps were to
compare to. I hope I explained this ok. Post back if you're confused.
PS-you need to use a Basal bodythermometer. The digital ones with
memory are the most practical.
I bought a digital basal thermometer and the past coupel days my temp has been around 97.50 - 97.70 or so. How do I know if this means I am pregnant or not? Should I just take my temp everyday and if it doesn't go down, I am pregnant?
Does temperature stay high the entire pregnancy?
From the sounds of those temps, you're not going to be able to tell if
you're pregnant just from taking your BBT, because you don't have any
previous temps to compare them too. Perhaps 97.5-97.7 IS high for you,
but you don't know because you don't have a history of temps to look back
on. Now, if your temps WERE 98.0 or higher, you'd have a better idea (if you
were pregnant or not),because I think 98.0 is pretty high in anyone's book.
The high temps DO stay for the entire pregnancy.
I'm sorry this isn't helping you much right now. Tracking your BBT's
is something that's most beneficial when you've been doing it for a while
and can recognize your body's patterns. Maybe you should think about getting
a blood test done. They're more reliable than urine.
In Reply to: Basal Body Temperature as a Means To Confirm Pregnancy? posted by Ally on March 29, 1999 at 12:01:04:
: I have been concerned that I am approximately four weeks pregnant, however, my hpts have come out negative.
My OB-GYN told me take my temperature every morning immediately upon waking up with a basal body thermometer and if it was over 98 degrees for a coupel of days, I was most likely prengant.
Is that correct? Can you explain to me the basal body temp.?
Also, can your temperature tell you if you are pregnant or not?
Any info would be helpful. Thanks.
It is correct to take your BBT as soon as you wake up every morning, before
you even get out of bed. However, it's most effective if you've been
doing it for a while and know your own specific BBT patterns. You see, during
your pre-ovulatory stage (from the time your period ends untill you ovulate,
which could be the traditional 14 days, but could also be anywhere from 8
to 22 days) your BBT will be generally low. (for instance, mine is anywhere
from 97.3-97.5) After you ovulate, it goes up-usually around 4/10 of a degree
higher. Higher than what? You'd count back 6 temps before the high one,
take the highest of those and voila. Your temps would stay up till you get
your period, usually around 12-14 days later. If you are pregnant, they stay
up-18-20 days is usually a good confirmation. It stays up all during your preg
nancy. So, taking your temps and finding they are above 98.0 could be a
good sign, but you don't know how high your preovulatory temps were to
compare to. I hope I explained this ok. Post back if you're confused.
PS-you need to use a Basal bodythermometer. The digital ones with
memory are the most practical.
I bought a digital basal thermometer and the past coupel days my temp has been around 97.50 - 97.70 or so. How do I know if this means I am pregnant or not? Should I just take my temp everyday and if it doesn't go down, I am pregnant?
Does temperature stay high the entire pregnancy?
From the sounds of those temps, you're not going to be able to tell if
you're pregnant just from taking your BBT, because you don't have any
previous temps to compare them too. Perhaps 97.5-97.7 IS high for you,
but you don't know because you don't have a history of temps to look back
on. Now, if your temps WERE 98.0 or higher, you'd have a better idea (if you
were pregnant or not),because I think 98.0 is pretty high in anyone's book.
The high temps DO stay for the entire pregnancy.
I'm sorry this isn't helping you much right now. Tracking your BBT's
is something that's most beneficial when you've been doing it for a while
and can recognize your body's patterns. Maybe you should think about getting
a blood test done. They're more reliable than urine.
