DETECTION OF OVULATION
Part of “CHAPTER 97 – OVULATION INDUCTION“
Ovulation can be detected by basal body temperature (BBT) charting, measurement of progesterone levels, or endometrial biopsy. Although BBT charting is not considered a sensitive test for ovulatory defects, it shows a biphasic pattern with a rise in temperature that lasts for 11 to 16 days in most ovulatory women.3 This rise in temperature is a progesterone-induced event. Basal body temperature charts are monophasic in 12% to 20% of patients who are ovulatory by serum testing; however, women who conceive typically have a biphasic pattern.4,5