Author: Namratha Gopal | Illustrator: Parvathi Nayanar
Cervical mucus is secreted by the glands that are found in and around the cervix. Hormonal changes in the women’s reproductive cycle are responsible for changing the cervical mucus amount and its consistency. Cervical mucus is also called as cervical fluids. And it is also been said that checking the cervical mucus is the best and easiest ways in predicting the ovulation. Knowing how your body works plays an important role and it helps you to be cautious in knowing where you are in your cycle and when you are about to ovulate which helps you the best especially when you are preparing for your pregnancy. Having said that, let’s understand how to check cervical mucus for fertility –
Stages of cervical mucus
For understanding when your ovulation occurs, you need to first understand 4 different stages of cervical mucus. Just insert clean finger to scoop out cervical mucus and roll your index finger and thumb finger over the mucus. Here’s how you can analyze them in 4 stages:
After your period and until ovulation, the mucus transitions itself from being dry to wet in the following pattern.
Dry stage: If you find it dry, damp, scant and barely noticeable then you are not probably ovulating yet. This kind of mucus appears right after and before your menstrual period.
Sticky stage: If you find it sticky, white, thick and cloudy then you are probably near to ovulating but not just yet.
Creamy stage: If you find it creamy, thinner and slightly stretchy then you are likely to be close to ovulation and find time for your baby making sex.
Wet stage: If you find it very wet and stretches between your fingers and if it resembles raw egg whites then your cervical mucus is very fertile and your ovulation is right under the corner. This is the ideal time for intercourse if you are planning a pregnancy.
Tips to check cervical mucus
Check your cervical mucus during the day for 2 to 3 cycles.
Do not check cervical mucus right after your sex or during the sex.
Not everyone would be comfortable with finger method for checking the cervical mucus. Instead try checking using toilet paper method or your underwear (not that efficient method).
If you feel that you never got the fertile friendly/ quality cervical mucus, tell your doctor.
Best time to get fertile quality cervical mucus is 10-15 days before your period.
Never over wash away the natural vaginal fluids.
Stay hydrated throughout the day.
Methods to check cervical mucus
Finger method
Firstly start with washing your hands properly and dry them. Then make yourself sit in the comfortable position sitting on the toilet or in the squatting position. Reach your index finger inside the vagina and get the sample from near of cervix. Make sure you don’t scratch yourself nor reaching far. Remove your finger from the vagina and observe the consistency of whatever the mucus you found. Make sure you do not have long nails.
Toilet paper method
Toilet paper method is another good way to check the mucosal changes. It can be done by wiping the vagina with a toilet paper (tissues) and observing the discharge. This method is again not so accurate. However, this can be improved by simply touching the mucus on the toilet paper and examining its consistency.
Underwear method
Underwear method is the least effective method to check the cervical mucus because most of the times, the mucus will have already dried out at the surface of underwear. This will not help you analyze full of its consistency.
Cervical mucus chart
Maintaining the cervical mucus chart is very important as it can give you the accurate results. Make sure to also include ovulation signs and symptoms, basal body temperature and checking cervical position. You can maintain one sheet of cervical mucus chart per menstrual cycle. This makes you understand your own ovulatory pattern and estimate the ovulation more precisely. So try marking the days of your menstrual cycle on which a woman can mark her observations with things like mucus color, amount, consistency and mark abbreviations such as:
D – for Dry mucus
S – for sticky mucus
C – for creamy mucus
EW – for egg white mucus
You can mark as PK for your last day of wet and slippery mucus which is considered as peak fertile day.
Disclaimer
If maintaining the chart doesn’t help consult your doctor if you never see the stages of cervical mucus in your entire menstrual cycle. The content in this article is for generic information only and please note that every body is different and the pattern varies.
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