If you’ve started looking into trying to conceive or downloaded a fertility app, you’ve probably seen the term “basal body temperature” and its abbreviation, BBT. It refers to your body’s lowest temperature when at rest. When you ovulate, your BBT rises slightly – about half of a degree Fahrenheit. Your most fertile window of time is the two days before that temperature rise. So tracking BBT to predict ovulation as a method for pinpointing your most fertile time has long been used in natural family planning. You can get started tracking by choosing an oral digital thermometer that is precise… Read More
Humanity did a great job of reproducing before the invention of the fertility tracking app —but apps have drastically simplified the process of pinpointing your fertile days. Search for “fertility tracker” in the App Store, and you’ll come up with too many choices to count. And at the time of this writing, around 30 of those choices were highly rated by users (4.5-5 stars). These applications generally allow you to track your menstrual period as well as your basal body temperature, discharge, and other factors related to your cycle, and they spotlight your fertile days. Often they… Read More
First, let’s talk about how not to get pregnant, because you need to have a basic understanding of fertility. My husband and I have always used Natural Family Planning (also known as the rhythm method) because birth control pills make me ill. Although the rhythm method has been gaining popularity, it’s definitely not the right choice for everyone; the Department of Health and Human Services advises that up to 25% of women can become pregnant using this method alone. Read More
Deciding to start a family is an exciting time -- and timing is everything. Each cycle, a healthy couple has approximately a 20 percent chance of conceiving. Conception can only occur during ovulation, when the egg is viable and able to be fertilized. It's a short window, typically only 12 to 24 hours, which makes it important to know when you ovulate -- although sperm are able to fertilize an egg anywhere from 3 to 6 days, so even if you have intercourse a day or two before you ovulate, conception is still possible. Read More