Temperature method

Determine fertility with the temperature method

Measure basal body temperature, draw a temperature curve and calculate ovulation.

The temperature method is part of Natural Family Planning (NFP) and helps you to calculate your fertility yourself. For a reliable determination of your ovulation, the temperature method is combined with other methods, such as the Billings method, to form the symptothermal method.

Content overview on the topic of the temperature method

The basics of the temperature method


Many fascinating changes happen in your body during your menstrual cycle that are controlled by different hormones. One of these changes is the rise in your basal body temperature shortly after ovulation. Basal body temperature is the relatively constant "body temperature at rest" that you can measure immediately after you wake up and before you get up for the first time. When the egg jumps from the ovary into the oviduct, there is an increase in the hormone progesterone. This increased progesterone level then affects your basal body temperature.

The progesterone raises your temperature by about 35,6° F to 41.°F about two days after ovulation and it remains at this elevated level until the onset of your next menstrual period. This temperature peak phase therefore lasts about 13 to 14 days. If the temperature does not rise, it is very likely that ovulation has not taken place. These cycles with constant temperature are also called monophase cycles. If, on the other hand, the temperature rise can be clearly detected, this is a very sure sign that ovulation has taken place.

Determining ovulation with the temperature method

How can ovulation be determined using the temperature method? To do this, you need to measure your basal body temperature every morning before you get up and then enter it into a special temperature curve. The "3 over 6 rule" is often used for evaluation. This means that if you have been able to measure a temperature above the average of the previous six days on three consecutive days, it is very likely that you have ovulated. From the third day after the temperature has risen, the egg is no longer capable of fertilisation and you are infertile until at least your next menstrual period.

Please note, however, that the manual temperature method is too inaccurate for comprehensive cycle control. For greater accuracy, it is therefore usually combined with other methods, such as cervical mucus analysis, palpation of the cervix or measuring hormone levels in the morning urine.

Or you can rely on the very high accuracy of our Lady-Comp and Pearly temperature computers!

The basal body temperature method at a glance:

  • Basal body temperature rises shortly after ovulation
  • Ovulation divides the cycle into low and high phases
  • High phase until shortly before the start of the next menstrual period
  • Correct temperature measurement is very important!
  • Temperature method can detect ovulation in retrospect
  • Ovulation can only be predicted after 6-12 measuring cycles
  • Only suitable for regular cycles and regular sleep

Temperature method: This is what you should pay attention to when measuring

If you still want to work with the manual temperature method, it is important that you do everything correctly when measuring your basal body temperature. To do this, you first need a thermometer that can measure and display the temperature to two decimal places. Conventional clinical thermometers are usually too inaccurate. Before taking your temperature in the morning, you should have had five to six hours of restful sleep. You must also always take your temperature at the same time. If you work in shifts and have very irregular sleeping times, the temperature method is unfortunately not suitable for you - Lady-Comp and Pearly would also be a better choice in this case,

When taking your temperature manually (without our temperature computers), you must make sure that you always take your temperature in the same place (rectally or vaginally) and that you do not move before taking your temperature. This also means not sitting down, not turning around and not shaking the thermometer! It is best to prepare everything in the evening so that you have the thermometer within reach. The measurement itself should take at least five minutes to make sure that the thermometer has really reached the final temperature. During the measurement, lie as still as possible and breathe calmly and evenly.

Please also note that travelling and changing locations, as well as high alcohol consumption or certain medications, can have an influence on your basal body temperature. The same applies to days with a cold or even fever. In such a case, the readings would not be meaningful and the measurements should be skipped. Self-monitoring and critical evaluation of disturbing factors is a very important part of the temperature method. Only if you are prepared to do this is this method of Natural Family Planning fundamentally suitable for you.

Everything you need to know about taking your temperature correctly:

  • Before getting up lying down for the very first time
  • Always use the same thermometer
  • Thermometer must measure and display very accurately
  • Measure vaginally or rectally (always the same)
  • The duration of the measurement should not be less than 5 minutes
  • Always measure at the same time
  • At least 5-6 hours of sleep before measurement
  • Do not measure if: Alcohol consumption, cold, medication

 Natural family planning using the temperature method

Natural family planning using the temperature method
How do you benefit from knowing when you ovulate? The temperature method is usually used in the context of natural family planning (NFP). So if you want to enjoy your love life in a self-determined way and still be in control, NFP could be the right solution for you. The manual temperature method gives you a first indication of the time of your ovulation and thus also of your fertile and infertile phases. Because of the high survivability of the sperm, you are fertile both on the day of your ovulation and up to five days before. On the other hand, due to the short survival time of the egg, you are no longer fertile from the third day after ovulation and this is guaranteed until the onset of your next menstruation.

So if you can now reliably recognise your ovulation, this will help you to specifically bring about a pregnancy through Natural Family Planning (NFP). Please note, however, that the temperature method, when used alone, has a relatively poor Pearl Index of 3. This means that despite correct use, 3 out of 100 women will become pregnant unintentionally with this method within one year. This value is quite high.

How reliable is the temperature method?

The accuracy of Natural Family Planning using the temperature method depends above all on how precisely and conscientiously it is carried out. The quality of the measurement and evaluation, as well as your behaviour on the days you recognise as fertile, are decisive for the reliability of the method. If all the rules are followed, the temperature method has a Pearl index of about 3. Since this is not a particularly good value for reliable cycle control, you should not rely solely on the temperature method.

Lady-Comp and Pearly offer a much higher accuracy (not to be confused with the Pearl index). Our temperature computers have the great advantage over the manual temperature method that they calculate your fertility with a highly complex, unique algorithm and can draw on a database of over 5 million female cycles.

Fulfilling your desire to have a child with the temperature method

Are you already in the middle of planning a baby and want to get pregnant as soon as possible? Then the temperature method could help you to get a better feeling for your menstrual cycle and your fertility. However, the disadvantage of the manual temperature method is that you can only recognise your ovulation when it has already passed. This means that the temperature method will only help you to have a baby if you have already logged your cycle for a few months and, if you have a very regular cycle, you can roughly narrow down and predict your fertile phases. If you are in a hurry or if your cycle is irregular, the temperature method alone cannot support you very well.

Baby planning is easier, faster and more convenient with Lady-Comp and Pearly, because our temperature computers can optimally support you in your desire to have a child with fertility forecasts and ovulation predictions.

The perfect timing to get pregnant

The most important thing to get pregnant quickly is the right timing. You are most fertile on the day you ovulate and you can also get pregnant a maximum of five days before that. On all other days of your cycle, pregnancy is not possible - no matter how often you have sex! If you miss the fertile phase, you will have to wait another whole cycle, until the start of the next awful phase, before you can try again. This can be very frustrating, especially for women with long menstrual cycles. What's more, even under the best of circumstances, the likelihood of pregnancy in healthy women between 20 and 30 is only about 30% per cycle. So even if you do everything right, it can take a few months before you get pregnant.

So if you're in a hurry, you should make the most of your chance of getting pregnant each cycle by timing it right. Lady-Comp and Pearly can help you with this!

Temperature method: basis for Lady-Comp and Pearly

Our temperature computers (cycle computers) Lady-Comp and Pearly also work on the basis of the temperature method. However, they have the decisive advantage that they can draw on a very large database of more than 5 million evaluated female cycles - an "empirical value" that can of course never be achieved by a single woman. In addition, Lady-Comp and Pearly have a unique algorithm which, in combination with a highly sensitive measuring tip, makes it possible to offer you a very high level of accuracy based only on the temperature method.

Lady-Comp and Pearly are particularly easy and time-saving to use: the morning measurement is taken comfortably under the tongue and takes only about 60 seconds. After the measurement, you only have to enter that you are having your period on the relevant days. No further entries are necessary so that our temperature computers can show you your current fertility.

Your fertility is displayed in an easy to recognise and clear traffic light system, so you have an immediate overview even in the early morning.

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As flexible as your life: Our temperature computers

Lady-Comp and Pearly offer you a comfortable time window of 6 (+3/-3) hours, which allows you to sleep in on weekends, for example, and still take your temperature safely.

But our cycle computers can do much more! After just a few cycles, they are able to give you a fertility prognosis and also an ovulation prognosis. This will make it much easier for you to adjust your love life to your natural female rhythm in the future. Lady-Comp and Pearly also offer you many additional individual options. For example, you can enter sexual intercourse or your weight and height so that Lady-Comp can calculate your BMI.

Advantages of Lady-Comp and Pearly at a glance:

  • Very high accuracy
  • Fast measurement in only about 60 seconds
  • Comfortable measurement under the tongue
  • Time window for measuring 6 (+3/-3) hours
  • Only 4 hours of sleep required
  • Can also be used for irregular menstrual cycles

Get to know your menstrual cycle!

In addition to the advantages that Lady-Comp and Pearly offer you for your Natural Family Planning (NFP), they can also help you learn a lot about yourself and your cycle. Our cycle computers not only show you your current fertility, the measured value and the day of your cycle based on the temperature method, but also give you a good feeling for the duration and course of your cycle. Discover how big the fluctuation range of your ovulation is in days or how long your temperature peak phase lasts on average.

If you suspect that you are no longer ovulating in every cycle, you can also analyse this with Lady-Comp. The temperature computer also records the cycles without ovulation for you and shows you the exact number of monophase cycles. If it happens very often that you do not ovulate, the data from our cycle computer are a good basis for your discussion with your gynaecologist. The display of your past fertility (max. 180 days) can also be helpful when talking to your doctor, especially if you have been trying to get pregnant for a while. But it can also be interesting for you personally to see, for example, whether a phase of high stress has affected your cycle.

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