When finding it difficult to conceive many couples have relied on the use of an ovulation chart. Charting your BBT, or basal body temperature, is an extremely easy way to help pinpoint fertile days during your cycle. During a woman’s cycle many things happen to let her know she is about to ovulate, the rise and fall of your BBT is just another of these signs. Right before you ovulate your body temperature will drop slightly and then jump again after ovulation, this jump can be anywhere between a tenth of a degree to a full degree Fahrenheit. To notice changes this minute in nature you need a special thermometer call a “basal body thermometer”, the use of this special thermometer will make your ovulation chart more accurate.

The best way to measure basal body temperature (BBT), is to be consistent. The first day of your period is the best day to start. You must have slept for at least four hours, and then must take the reading as soon as you wake up. You have to take the reading for at least five minutes while you are still lying in bed, and record the results on the chart that is usually included in the package, or alternatively, you can download blank charts from the internet for no charge.

There are a few things to remember about taking and recording BBT. Do not eat, drink or exercise before taking a reading. If you are taking the reading vaginally or orally, keep using the same site for each reading every time. Keep the thermometer in place for as long as is directed on the package (digital models generally work faster and make a noise to indicate that the reading is complete). Use a digital oral thermometer and record the results on a graph to better visualize what trends are occurring. Free computer graphing and printable sheets are available on a website I’ll share with you in a moment.

According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, a rise in progesterone creates a minimum rise in temperature of 0.5 degrees Fahrenheit. If this increase lasts for a few days, this indicates that ovulation has already occurred. Remember that the BBT measurements are best for predicting your own body patterns in your monthly cycle. Through careful taking and recording of your BBT you can predict when you are likely to ovulate in your cycle to allow you to plan intercourse around this time in your next cycle.

There are a few things you should know that can alter the results of your BBT. Shift workers may have some problems using this method of ovulation charting because, it is best to take your BBT at the same time everyday and sometimes this may not be possible for shift workers. Also women with insomnia and other sleep disorders may have a problem charting and tracking this appropriately. Other things that may alter the results or give you inaccurate results are: sickness, jetlag, stress, anxiety, smoking, and using an electric blanket. So try to avoid all these things while charting your BBT.

As mentioned earlier there can be many factors that influence the accuracy of your readings. Consistency is the key, but we all know how unpredictable our lives can be at times. If you have troubles one month, keep going. Record BBT as faithfully as you can, and remember that the charting you are recording is going to give you an indication for when to try to conceive in the future cycles. The longer and more consistent you maintain your ovulation chart, the better you will be able to predict your ovulation times within your cycle. Recording your basal body temperature with an ovulation chart is an effective way to start planning to conceive.

It’s vital to know the signs of ovulation if you’re trying to get pregnant in the shortest time possible. This is because there is a very short window of time in your menstrual cycle for you to conceive. In some women, this window of time can be as little as 12 hours! The timing of your love-making is vital, as it’s so easy to miss your most fertile time of the month. In fact, many couples struggle for years, trying to conceive, and waste a lot of time because they simply don’t know when the woman is conceiving.

During a regular menstrual cycle, there are hormonal changes which are reflected in your body. Every month these hormones cause one egg to mature and be released. Three hormones stimulate this process, gonadotropic hormones (GH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). For example, following the initial rising estrogen levels, luteinizing hormone (LH) levels peak between 12 to 36 hours prior to ovulation.

Lutenizing hormone levels can be monitored with a home ovulation kit. They are pretty easy to use: you simply pee on a stick, which then gives you a visual reading of whether or not you’re ovulating soon. I’ve heard very good reports about the Clearblue Easy Fertility Monitor. Although it’s a little expensive, it can save you thousands of dollars, as you can get pregnant naturally without having to resort to drugs or surgery.

Urine-based ovulation tests are very commonplace, and work very well for some women. There are also saliva-based tests, which do not cost as much as the urine-based fertility test kits, but can provide reliable results. If you want to increase the reliability of your prediction, you can use the two around the same time, and shorten the amount of time it takes you to conceive.

Examining the variations in your cervical mucus also gives you an indication of when you ovulate. In your most fertile time of the month, your secretions will transform from a dense, creamy liquid to something clear and almost liquid-like. Some women experience pain during ovulation, which can help to increase the accuracy of your prediction.

Predicting your most fertile time of month, by checking your cervical mucus and looking at fluctuations in your hormone levels is more suitable if you do not have irregular periods. If there is a problem with your menstrual cycle - and this can include irregularities, excessively heavy periods, light periods, or no periods at all, then you need to take action to regulate your cycle. One recommendation I make that has proven very successful is to balance the hormones with herbal cleansing and herbs that increase the fertility such as Fertil Plus.

Experts recommend using a combination of methods to determine when you are ovulating. First, carefully monitor your cycles. Measuring basal body temperature helps determine when you typically ovulate in your cycle. Once you have an idea of when you tend to ovulate, some of the other methods mentioned earlier can help you pinpoint the best time to have intercourse to increase your chances of becoming pregnant. Knowing the signs of ovulation help you not only have a better understanding of your body and its cycles, but also will help you to conceive.

The good thing about ovulation is it rarely goes by un-noticed. If you know what to look for the symptoms of ovulation are very easy to spot. Ovulation usually occurs 12-16 days after the first day of your last period. During ovulation your body will make some slight changes such as a change in vaginal secretions, slight cramping, elevated body temp, and sometimes it may be accompanied by some very light spotting. You have most likely seen or felt these changes before but paid no attention to them, as they are very subtle in nature. Noticing these changes are not difficult you just need to pay close attention to your body.

The first step to noticing changes in your body is to know your body very well; this is usually extremely simple for women as we are very intuitive by nature Just another plus of being a woman. The first symptom of ovulation is your vaginal secretions will increase and become almost the consistency of raw egg whites, this occurs because of a change in hormones.

Two or three days before you ovulate, you’ll have an increase of clear and slippery cervical discharge. You are fertile during these days, but are most fertile on the last day, as this is when ovulation actually occurs. Because sperm can live for up to five days in the reproductive system, having intercourse on any one of these days is very beneficial and will increase your chances of conception.

Another thing you may notice is that you might cramp ever so slightly. You’ll usually feel this pain on one side or the other around your ovaries. The pain can feel a little sharp, and can be experience over several hours, or can occur quickly and intermittently. It signifies that the egg has been released from one of your ovaries, and is ready to move down the fallopian tube.

You may notice that you get this type of ovulation pain every month, but more frequently, it occurs every third month. For most women, this pain disappears within 68 hours. However, it can last for as long as 24 to 48 hours. Less commonly, you may also experience pain during intercourse, frequent urination, bloating, or nausea. Again, this is all completely normal.

It is at this time you may also notice a slight pink tint in the vaginal secretions, dont worry this is completely normal. These signs and symptoms may vary from woman to woman but, one way to surely tell is to check your basal body temperature. After ovulation a womans basal body temperature will rise 0.4-1 degrees.

In addition to the above listed symptoms, you may also find that you actually feel more sexual and want to have sex more often. This is just your body’s way to make sure that you increase your chances of conception. After all, it takes two to make a baby!

Even though this may seem like a lot of information, simply becoming more familiar with your body and how it works will help you both identify the symptoms of ovulation and have the healthy and happy baby of your dreams.