Whenever a woman comes to acupuncture looking to increase her fertility, in most cases I ask for BBT charts (or recommend she start charting). If you’re asking what a BBT is, click here for an explanation. BBT charts are clinically useful to me as an acupuncturist for many reasons. First, if there is a clear temperature shift midcycle, I know the woman is ovulating, and on which day ovulation is taking place. If the length of the follicular (pre-ovulatory) phase is consistently between 12-20 days, and if the luteal (post-ovulatory) phase is consistently between 11-16 days, I’m fairly confident that things are normal and any fertility issue is not with ovulation. In addition, the basal body temperatures should be within a certain range. If they are significantly lower or higher than I typically see, it could indicate a thyroid dysfunction which should be checked out by a physician. Read more