Cervical Mucus

stickybean

I found this on another website and found it very useful - might help someone else

Cervical Mucus:


Cervical Mucus, first of all I have to tell you when I first heard about this I said "You want me to stick my finger where?" But it is the single most inexpensive thing you can do to see when you're fertile and whether you're ovulating because it doesn't cost anything except for a little knowledge:


Start checking your cervical fluid on the first day after your menstrual period and check it multiple times during the day. Also be aware of the overall vaginal sensation (wet or dry) you have had throughout the day without physically checking.

Checking Your Cervix Internally


Start with clean hands. You are checking a very sensitive part of your body and do not want to risk the chance of infection.

Take notice of any fluid stains on your underwear. When you are extremely fertile the cervical fluid is abundant and has a high content of water and will leave a fluid stain in the form a circle. Less abundant non fertile fluid is dryer and tends to form lines that are in more of a rectangular shape.


Separate your vaginal lips with one hand and with the other hand slip you middle finger inside the vagina and locate your cervix. If you've never done this before you'll be looking for the thing that feels like a doughnut, its round and firm like your nose. Press your finger against the sides of the cervix applying a small amount of pressure (do not apply pressure to the point of pain and make sure your nails are not rough and that they are clean) do this three or for times around the cervix and at its opening. Slowly draw your finger out of the vagina to inspect the fluid.

Rub your middle finger and thumb together and make a mental note on how it feels. Does the fluid feel dry or wet? Is it abundant or stark? Is it thick or thin? Does it feel sticky or creamy? Does it feel slippery like eggwhites? Pull apart you middle finger and thumb, does the fluid make little peaks? Does it Stretch? Does it gum up or crumble? Does the fluid remain on your fingers or is it so thin that it falls from your fingertips? What color is it? Clear, white or yellow? Does the fluid dry up on your fingertips quickly?

Make sure not to confuse semen with cervical fluid. They look and feel very similar. Semen will dry up very quickly upon your fingertips and is more rubbery is consistency. It may also tend to be foamy. Semen is little more white in color rather than clear like eggwhite fluid. To help you identify the difference, when urinating eggwhite cervical fluid will often hit the water and form into a ball while it sinks to the bottom .

Arousal fluid has also been confused with cervical fluid. Again, they look and feel very similar. Arousal fluid like semen will dry up quickly upon your fingertips and is water soluble. If confused as to what fluid is what, take the fluid from your fingertips and dip it into a glass of water. If its is cervical fluid it will form a ball and sink to the bottom, if its arousal fluid it will dissolve.

We realize this sounds like a great deal of information to take in and may seem like you are going to spend a lifetime in the bathroom! Don't get discouraged! Once you have done it a few times you will find that checking your cervical fluid is very easy and just takes an extra few seconds. Remember, the information you will gain is a key tool in conceiving that precious and much longed for baby.


Cervical Fluid is the mucus that is secreted from the cervix. It is produced by the hormone estrogen in the first phase of a monthly cycle. Cervical fluid is an essential element to conception due to its ability to keep sperm alive for up to five days (in fertile quality fluid), protects it from the acidity in the vagina and transports the sperm to the outer third wall of the fallopian tube where fertilization takes place.


What Does Cervical Fluid Look Like

Cervical Fluid will range in abundance, consistency, color and fertile quality due to the increasing level of estrogen within the first phase of your cycle. Typically the changes in fluid will fall into the following pattern.


Dry or Light Moisture - INFERTILE


After menstruation for a period of 3 - 5 days you may experience no fluid at all or a small amount of moisture. Color of any existing fluid is clear or slightly white but will dry immediately on your fingertips. Overall sensation is not wet at this time.


Sticky or Gummy - INFERTILE

Cervical Fluid then changes to feeling sticky for a period of 2 - 3 days. When rubbed between your fingertips it may give a small amount of resistance, feels slightly gummy or may even crumble. The color will range from clear to white and although you may feel a small amount of moisture the fluid is still dry and does not feel wet at this time.


Creamy, Milky, Lotion Like - FERTILE


Cervical fluid now becomes much more abundant and will feel wet from 2 - 4 days. It can appear either thick and creamy or like hand lotion and will form peaks in your fingertips when pulled apart or can be thinner and look milky. Color of the fluid is white or yellow and the overall vaginal sensation is wet.

Eggwhite - VERY FERTILE

Cervical fluid now reaches its most fertile stage for 1 - 5 days. The fluid will look and have the consistency of eggwhites. It is slippery to the touch and if pulled between the fingertips will stretch 1 - 10 inches! The color can be clear or iridescent and the overall sensation is extremely wet.

Dry Moist Or Sticky - INFERTILE

Cervical fluid will now change drastically due to the drop in estrogen and the surge of progesterone following ovulation. It can be dry, watery, moist or sticky and will remain in that stage until the end of your monthly cycle - which is the day before your menstrual period begins. Any fluid at all will dry up quickly upon your fingertips, can range from no color to white and your overall vaginal sensation will be dry at this time.







Cervical Position:

Logging the position of your cervix on your fertility spreadsheet is a key element in charting. When your cervical position rises within your body, the opening gets larger and feels soft to the touch, this is an indication of being at your most fertile time. This page will give you information on the different positions, the changes of the opening as well as the feel of your cervix during your monthly cycle.

Cervix Is Low, Hard & Closed

After your menstrual period you will begin to start checking your cervical position. At this time the position of your cervix will be low within your body and easily reached with your fingertips. The opening to your cervix will be closed - feeling like a small slit or a tiny hole. The feel of your cervix will be rather hard to the touch. It will feel almost like touching the tip of your nose. During this phase (the first phase within your cycle) you are considered infertile.

Cervix Is High, Soft & Open

Right before ovulation occurs the amount of estrogen increases within your body. This causes your cervix to rise. When checking your cervical position, you will notice that it will move from the lowest point to mid and then extremely high. At the highest point it may be difficult to reach your cervix with your fingertips. The opening of your cervix increases making the slit or tiny hole much larger. The feel of your cervix is much softer now almost like touching your bottom lip. This is an indication of your peak or most fertile time. The cervix will remain high until you ovulate - after which estrogen subsides and the hormone progesterone is released causing your cervix to return to its low. closed and hard position.

whatdoicare

I find this website fantastic - warning NSFW - http://www.beautifulcervix.com/