Cervical Mucus Tracking for Ovulation

Appearance of the Cervical Mucus When Ovulating

During ovulation, the levels of FSH, LH, and estrogen rise, and that of progesterone drops. In response to this, the composition of the cervical mucus changes: cervical mucus during ovulation is 98% aqueous. This makes it ‘thin’, more watery, and thereby favourable for the sperm to swim through and reach the uterus. The pH of cervical mucus at this time is more alkaline, allowing the sperm to survive in it. The cervical mucus that the female body produces during ovulation is hence often referred to as ‘fertile cervical mucus’.

Post ovulation, progesterone levels go up, and levels of FSH, LH, and estrogen drop. This turns the cervical mucus less aqueous (around 93%), thick, less fluid, and more acidic. This is hence regarded as non-fertile cervical mucus.

Tracking Cervical Mucus

It must be clear from the above description of cervical mucus during ovulation that: for a couple that is trying to conceive, studying the cervical mucus consistency can be an easy and quick indicator of ovulation. While several sophisticated methods for tracking ovulation exist – such as ovulation predictor kits – checking on your cervical mucus is more discrete and easy. Additionally, it will allow women to identify their most fertile days and may help the couple plan their sexual intercourse accordingly, so as to maximize chances of conception.

There are several parameters of the cervical mucus that you should watch out for while trying to understand cervical mucus and ovulation, and trying to conceive. These are:

• consistency of cervical mucus (is it thick or thin)
• colour of cervical mucus
• the opacity of cervical mucus (is it cloudy or transparent)
• the texture of cervical mucus (is it creamy or watery)

Just after your menses ends, the cervix is pretty much dry, save for a very basal level of the moistness that is present, just as it can be found in any body part. After a few days, the cervix gets progressively wetter.

The different cervical mucus stages you will be able to observe thereafter are as follows.

1. Creamy Cervical Mucus

If you check your cervical mucus and find it to be creamy, it is a sign that you are close to ovulation. This kind of mucus is generally found about two to three days before ovulation.

This is not the most fertile cervical mucus stage. However, it is not inhospitable or hostile for the sperm.

2. Watery Cervical Mucus

This type of mucus is a sure shot sign of ovulation. The onset of ovulation is marked by the formation of watery mucus that is thin, transparent, and almost the same consistency as water.

There is a very good chance of conception if a couple has sex during this period.

3. Egg White Cervical Mucus (EWCM)

Egg white cervical mucus – or EWCM – is the cervical mucus stage that is characterized by transparent mucus, which looks just like raw egg-white. It has pretty much the same consistency, texture, and transparency as raw egg white. If you hold EWCM between your fingers and try to stretch it, it will extend for up to two inches without breaking.

EWCM is the most fertile kind of cervical mucus. This is your best chance at trying to conceive!

4. Sticky Cervical Mucus

Sticky cervical mucus is usually found a couple or three days after ovulation. It indicates that your body is changing and you are entering the luteal phase.

This would not be a good time to try to conceive.

How to Check Cervical Mucus

There are several ways in which you can check the state of your cervical mucus.

1. Check your Toilet Paper

Usually, a little bit of your mucus will get rubbed off on your toilet paper when you wipe yourself after peeing. Check for the kind of cervical mucus that your toilet paper catches. If there isn’t enough, you can try again by inserting the tissue paper in your vagina a little deeper.

NOTE: Make sure your toilet paper is clean. Always store toilet paper in a clean and dry place, and keep it covered at all times to avoid catching an infection.

2. Check Your Panty Liner

A lot of women use panty liners when they know they are going to be out of the house for long hours. A panty liner is a smaller, thinner, softer version of a sanitary napkin that absorbs unnecessary moisture and residual urine after you are done peeing, and keeps your panty dry. It also keeps you feeling fresh. Your cervical mucus can get deposited on your panty liner too at times. So you can simply take a closer look at it next time you pee.

3. Use a Surgical Swab

A surgical swab is like a cotton bud, but with a thicker ‘bud’ of cotton, and a longer stick. Usually, surgical swabs are used by doctors and technicians to collect samples for inspection and diagnosis of diseases. They are easily available at a chemist. Make sure you buy a sterile swab. Inspect the sample just as explained above.

4. Insert a Clean Finger

A toilet paper may end up absorbing the water content from your cervical mucus and hence change its consistency. To avoid such a possibility. You may simply insert one or two fingers in your vagina, and ‘swab’ your cervix with your fingers.

Things like consistency, texture, and elasticity can be better assessed with your bare fingers than with tissue papers.

What Can Cause Changes to Cervical Mucus

The composition, consistency, colour and at times, even the smell of cervical mucus are all governed by the level of the four primary hormones that affect and control the menstrual cycle, viz. FSH, LH, estrogen, and progesterone. A careful balance between the levels of these hormones will govern the amount and quality of cervical mucus produced during the menstrual cycle.

As explained previously, the quantity and type of cervical mucus produced by your body depend on which stage of the menstrual cycle you are in. This is a natural and healthy process, and there is nothing to worry about. However, several other factors are known to affect the quality of cervical mucus. Let us try and understand what can cause changes to cervical mucus.

1. Contraceptives

Different contraceptives work in different ways. The most common ones – oral contraceptives – work by preventing ovulation. However, a lot of women may be unaware that contraceptives are also effective because they increase the amount and thickness of the cervical mucus being produced. Women on contraceptives typically produce thick mucus which acts as a barrier and prevents sperms from swimming through it and reaching the uterus.

2. Hormonal Imbalance

Many a time, due to reasons like weight gain, stress, etc. a woman might experience hormonal imbalance. There are a lot of things that go wrong because of hormonal imbalance in the body. One of the effects is a change in the cervical mucus.

3. Disease or Infection

An infection or a disease will greatly alter the body’s microflora. For example, if a woman contracts a urinary tract infection (UTI), the pH of the cervical mucus may change. The consistency of the cervical mucus may also change – oftentimes women report on cloudy, thick cervical mucus. This is the body’s defence mechanism kicking in and preventing the germs from entering the body.

4. Stress

Stress affects different people in different ways: some put on weight when they are stressed, others suffer from body ache or pain in one or more parts of the body. Stress is known to affect the hormones of the body, and so many a time, stress can affect the quantity and/or quality of cervical mucus produced.

5. Pregnancy

When a woman is pregnant, her body produces a cervical mucus plug that acts as a barrier and prevents bacteria from entering the uterus. This cervical mucus plug closely resembles nasal mucus in composition: it contains immunoglobulins and antimicrobial peptides (short protein chains) that are similar to those found in the nose. In appearance, this cervical mucus is thick, cloudy, and sticky.

6. Breastfeeding

It is a known fact that lactation suppresses ovulation. No ovulation means low estrogen and high progesterone levels. This condition mimics the few days right after your menses, and so your cervix will also be in the corresponding state: it will be dry, with very little to no cervical mucus.

7. Weight Changes

Not all, but some women report of changes in either the quantity, or quality, or both, of their cervical mucus when they go on a diet. While small changes may go unnoticed, extreme weight gain or loss, and extreme changes in your diet might produce more perceptible changes in your cervical mucus.

8. Travel

Changes in cervical mucus while travelling are usually in response to change in water conditions. If the quality of water used for bathing and drinking is poor, your body will quickly adapt to this and produce a cervical mucus that will be slightly more cloudy and sticky than normal, as a defence mechanism, to keep infections away.

Hostile Cervical Mucus

Hostile cervical mucus is the kind that either does not allow sperms to survive in it, or affects their motility, or both. Hostile mucus may be either too dry, thick, acidic or may even contain antibodies that make it impossible for sperms to survive in it.

A woman whose body is producing hostile cervical mucus may or may not conceive during her lifetime. Understand that such a woman is different from a woman who is not ovulating. A woman who is facing the problem of hostile cervical mucus is still ovulating; her body is producing a healthy egg each month. However, hostile cervical mucus is preventing sperms from reaching this mature egg. A hostile cervical mucus is hence also called ‘infertile cervical mucus’ sometimes.

Factors That Cause Hostile Cervical Mucus

For a woman whose body ordinarily produces healthy cervical mucus, production of hostile cervical mucus can be an indication of several health conditions.

One of the ways to understand if your body is producing hostile mucus is to correlate the kind of cervical mucus being produced to the stage of the menstrual cycle you are in; if the cervical mucus is different from the expected cervical mucus of that menstrual stage, chances are something is ‘off’ and you need to see a doctor. Usually, medication can correct the situation, and with counselling, you can be on your way to conception soon.

On the other hand, it has also been observed that some women naturally produce a cervical mucus that is not very conducive to conception. There could be several factors that give rise to such a situation: lifestyle, food habits, physiology, etc. It would be advisable for women to first consult a doctor and understand what their normal/regular cervical mucus is like, before trying to conceive.

If you are trying to conceive, it is high time you get familiar with your body. Don’t feel shy to examine and explore yourself. Your cervical mucus, apart from helping you to conceive, can also be a good indicator of your overall health. Start at the end of your next menses, and get to know yourself.

Also Read:

Can You Detect Early Pregnancy With the Help of Cervical Mucus
Bleeding During Ovulation – Am I Pregnant?