Temperature charting can provide a surprising amount of fertility relevant information.
Basal temperature charting is often used to help women identify if and when they are ovulating. However these charts can provide a lot more fertility relevant information than ovulation alone.
In my own clinic, temperature charting daily, is a useful tool that can be used as part of the evaluation and treatment planning process. It’s not something I use in isolation, but as a window into how your body behaves. For example, a ‘saw-tooth’ jagged pattern may suggest we need to investigate more deeply the impact of stress, gut, lifestyle or hormone imbalance/fluctuations on a woman’s body.
Likewise, temperature charting showing a tendency to a short or long follicular phase may indicate where the body needs to be supported more with a particular nutritional or herbal medicine focus. A short or unstable luteal phase may similarly point us to an area requiring further investigation. Temperatures that sit higher during the period may indicate stagnation in reproductive organ function, such as with endometriosis.
Temperatures trending lower than an optimal range, may suggest we need to investigate thyroid function more. This may or may not show up in a blood test as clinically significant, but sub-clinical thyroid patterns are associated with poor fertility, including ovulation issues and miscarriages. In my own clinic I ask my patients to complete a specific thyroid evaluation questionnaire and then look at the results of that alongside their blood test results, temperature charts and fertility history. This is what functional medicine is – looking at all the parts of you and how everything works together as a whole.
Another great thing about temperature charting, is that a woman can observe the pattern of her charts change as her body becomes more in balance, manifesting as improved menstrual and reproductive health and a greater sense of well-being.
You can find out more about this in tip 4 of my ebook. Click this link to check it out.
