Temperature method

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The menstrual cycle with hormone levels and the course of the basal temperature curve between 36 and 37 ° C

The temperature method is a method of natural contraception , in which one determines the time of ovulation of a woman by measuring the cyclical fluctuations in the basal temperature . The Pearl index of the temperature method is 0.8 to 3. Today it is mostly used together with the Billings method , since the combination of these two methods (together the so-called symptothermal method ) has a lower Pearl index.

If you want to have children, the temperature method can be used to predict the fertile days and thus increase the likelihood of fertilization through sexual intercourse on the fertile days .

Basics

The basal temperature is subject to periodic fluctuations depending on the menstrual cycle and rises by a few tenths of a degree shortly after ovulation (see graphic). The temperature method is based on retrospectively recognizing the time of ovulation by ascertaining a temperature increase of at least three days and thus inferring the infertile days that follow.

Infections , fever , alcohol consumption , jet lag , lack of sleep , shift work , interrupted night sleep and similar triggers can also lead to fluctuations in the basal temperature, so that ovulation cannot be determined completely reliably by measuring the temperature alone, depending on the circumstances, as the measured values ​​for the corresponding days may under certain circumstances falsify the result.

method

Schematic representation of the temperature method

The beginning of the sterile phase is determined by at least three consecutive days of increased basal temperature, with the last measuring point at least 0.2 ° C above the highest point of the previous six days. The probable ovulation day shown in the graphic can only be assigned retrospectively after the temperature increase has been recognized.

The end of the sterile phase is at least eight days before the first day of increased temperature in the past twelve cycles (diagram: day 14-8 = day 6 in the next cycle). If the temperature method is used more strictly and therefore safely, the entire first half of the cycle is considered to be unsafe for cycles of different lengths, in order to also take unusually early ovulations into account. During this time, additional contraceptive methods might have to be used. The recording of the temperature curve of the respective cycle has been possible for some time now, in addition to a data sheet, electronically (as an Excel table or on the Internet) or fully automatically using a temperature measuring plaster.

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  1. Guideline contraception of the German Society for Gynecology and Obstetrics (DGGG), 2004, online at AWMF .
  2. Family planning - from cycle tracker to the desire to have children , GYNIAL. 

See also

Web links

  • Temperature method : The information portal of the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA), Familienplanung.de