You may or may not have noticed that your normal vaginal discharge changes throughout the course of your menstrual cycle. The reason for this is the fluctuation of the hormones required by your reproductive system to enable you to conceive. As the levels of progesterone and estrogen increase and decrease, the mucus excreted through your cervix alters in consistency, ranging from thick and pasty when you are less likely to conceive through to more fluid and slippery when you are at your most fertile.

Nature being a clever thing, your cervical mucus acts as a stream up which sperm can swim to reach your egg. When there is no egg, during the infertile part of your cycle, the mucus acts as a barrier, a hostile environment which sperm cannot penetrate as easily.

During your cycle, make the effort to examine your cervical mucus and you will begin to understand, just by looking at it and feeling it, when you are most likely to conceive. If you touch the mucus and it feels like raw egg white – slippery, wet and clear – then you can imagine how easy it will be for sperm to travel through it. On the other hand, if it is thick and pasty with a cloudy or milky appearance, you’ll realize that it is not ideal for sperm to swim through.

Interestingly, the consistency of your mucus also makes intercourse more or less enjoyable to a degree; further evidence that nature is on the side of conception!

For some women, the changes throughout the cycle are extremely recognizable whereas for others, they are very subtle. If yours are not so noticeable, then in order to detect changes, it’s a good idea to insert your clean finger only about half an inch into your vagina and extract the mucus so you can inspect it. It may only be necessary, however, to wipe the entrance to your vagina with soft tissue and examine the mucus on that. By keeping track of the changes on a chart, you will start to see how your cycle evolves. Knowing your body and how it functions is not only important when trying to conceive (or avoid conception), it’s also fascinating.

As well as tracking your cervical mucus changes, you can also keep a record of your changing moods and any other symptoms that you are aware of such as pain, food cravings and your desire for sex.

Posted in Trying to Get Pregnant

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