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Basal temperature during pregnancy in the early stages
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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When the human body is maximally relaxed and in absolute rest, its temperature regime is maintained solely by the energy released by the continuously functioning system of internal organs. The musculature of the body in this case rests and does not participate in the process. The body temperature, measured after a long rest, is called basal. The ideal time for measuring it comes immediately, as soon as you opened your eyes and did not get out of bed, in short - did not do any unnecessary actions, did not even talk. Measurements are made in the oral cavity, the vagina, the anus in the same place that is convenient for a woman.
Women planning maternity in the near future, regular observation of changes in this indicator and fixation of its values will help to trace the onset of ovulation and the moment of conception, which will no longer be a secret for them in seven seals. A monitored basal temperature during pregnancy in the early stages will help control your condition, catch its changes and even prevent spontaneous abortion.
This activity is a good way to calm down and make sure that everything goes according to plan. However, there is no need to worry about the decline in indicators, there are enough modern methods to confirm or dispel the doubts of the future mother in time.
The basal temperature chart for early pregnancy
Once measured temperature values are absolutely not informative. Observations can be used for diagnosis only when they are done correctly, daily, record the testimony and note the factors that affect the change in indicators. This can be any event that happened the day before - a ski trip, a feast, stress, a viral infection, a sexual act and others.
The temperature should ideally be measured during pregnancy planning, especially for women who have already experienced a miscarriage. Daily measurements are carried out from the very beginning of the monthly cycle waking up in the morning, using for this purpose all the time one thermometer. The testimony is recorded in a notebook in the form of a plate. It is very convenient and visually to use the temperature graph.
In the afternoon or in the evening it is not advisable to measure the temperature, since a full rest of at least four to six hours should precede the research. Really get adequate indicators can only after an overnight rest.
For women who began to monitor their basal temperature during the planning of maternity, the indicator at 37.2 ℃ will mean the onset of ovulation, that is, one can begin to conceive.
In case the pregnancy has already occurred, it is recommended to start plotting a basal temperature chart in the early stages of pregnancy. Especially do not neglect this advice to those who already have a history of spontaneous abortions. The efforts will be rewarded. Changes in the temperature schedule in the first months of gestation will be able to warn of the emergence of a dangerous situation (the threat of interruption, the onset of the inflammatory process), even before the onset of significant symptoms and take the necessary actions in time to contact the doctor for help. Especially valuable are such observations in the diagnosis of phase failure of the corpus luteum.
What is the basal temperature in the early stages of pregnancy?
It does not really make sense to take measurements during the day, these data are absolutely not indicative. Depending on various factors - physical, mental and nervous activity, even from hot tea with a sandwich and a phone call with an emotional color, the basal temperature changes day and night in the early stages of pregnancy, and it is unrealistic to ensure complete rest for several hours during the day.
The norm of the basal temperature at the early gestation period is from 37.1 ℃ to 37.3 ℃. It should reach some value from this interval by the time the ovum leaves the ovary and if fertilization has occurred, the temperature in the beginning of pregnancy will not decrease any more.
This phenomenon is explained by the increase in the body's content of the hormone pregnancy of progesterone, the most basic, without which the development of the embryo is basically impossible. The method of plotting the basal temperature chart is used in the early stages of bearing a child, since it is possible to be guided by the temperature indices with sufficient probability to have the necessary amount of progesterone.
In every woman, the basal temperature is individual, it can go beyond normal limits, but the deviation of 0.8 ℃ should already be alarming.
In the future mother, the basal temperature at the early stages of 37.0 ℃ is considered the lower limit of the norm. If such indicators persist for three to five measurements, and you can not recall any factors provoking such a situation, for example, severe excitement, unusual physical tension, regular lack of sleep, then it is an occasion to consult a doctor. There are still no reasons for much anxiety, such an indicator may well be your individual norm, however, there is a high probability of beginning hormonal changes that carry danger.
Low basal temperature is considered in the early stages of 36.9 ℃ and less. It is highly likely to indicate a problem, and the most normal temperature for a healthy person is 36.6 ℃, an opportunity to run to the doctor at once, because the risk of fetal death is high. Low basal temperature in the early stages of pregnancy indicates the emergence of the danger of its interruption. A decrease in temperature can be a symptom of the preclinical form of a threatening spontaneous abortion, even if there are no more signs of trouble in a pregnant woman. The timely treatment of hormonal imbalance can prevent this event. Data for monitoring the effectiveness of hormonal treatment of the threat of embryonic death and spontaneous abortion can also be obtained by analyzing the basal temperature.
However, it is likely that low temperature in the first trimester (36.6 ℃ or 36.7 ℃) may be the norm option, especially if the woman had a normal temperature before her pregnancy. A basal temperature chart constructed during pregnancy planning can resolve this issue.
You can resolve your doubts by contacting your doctor and making a blood test for HCG, which will determine whether it corresponds to the gestation period. Informative will also be ultrasonic diagnostics. The presence of palpitation in the embryo is an undeniable symptom of the progress of pregnancy and at a low basal temperature.
When the temperature is higher than normal, this condition can be caused by gynecological inflammatory pathologies, sometimes such a symptom accompanies a tubal or ovarian pregnancy. Small deviations may be a variant of the norm, however, check up, visit a district gynecologist, if the basal temperature at the early stages of 37.4 ℃ and above does not interfere.
Do I need to build a temperature chart and for how long?
In this regard, the opinions of doctors differ. Very many people do not advise it, because women, noticing temperature fluctuations beyond the norm, are very upset and worried, and the reliability of the results of such studies is considered low. Modern medicine has methods that are sufficiently effective and uncomplicated to confirm the fact of pregnancy progression.
Nevertheless, everyone knows that the early gestation period is the period when spontaneous abortion occurs most often. And I really want to find a way to prevent this and to recognize pathology in time, especially if it was already in the past. A well-known fact is that the basal temperature during miscarriage at early stages, or rather, when it is threatened, decreases. So monitoring the changes in temperature indicators still allows you to check the process of pregnancy at an early date and in time to see a doctor. To build a temperature chart is meaningful only in the first trimester, then the temperature of 36.9 ℃ and below becomes absolutely normal and no longer has clinical significance.
In addition, do not rely only on the temperature chart. First, even the "right" basal temperature does not guarantee a successful course of pregnancy, and secondly, the trouble is usually still somehow manifested. To cause anxiety should, for example, a sharp cessation of early toxicosis, pain over the pubis or in the perineum, discharge with blood, both bright and curled, brown.
Therefore, it is necessary to combine the construction of the basal temperature schedule with other diagnostic measures included in the pregnancy management plan.