Cervical mucus is a key component when it comes to fertility. Cervical mucus is the substance that helps sperm swim up through your cervix so that it can fertilize your egg after ovulation. Without it, the sperm wouldn’t be able to travel as easily. When your hormones shift, your cervical mucus changes too, and its consistency tells us a lot about what’s going on inside your body!
Cervical mucus is the protective mucus that protects the body and prevents bacteria and pathogens from entering the uterus through the cervix. This is why fertile cervical mucus is only present near ovulation — it allows sperm to swim up through your cervix so that it can fertilize your egg.
Types Of Cervical Mucus
If you want to know what cervical mucus looks and feels like, run to your refrigerator, get an egg, and crack it open! Separate the yolk and feel the sensation of the egg whites between your fingers. You’ll notice it is slippery, crystal clear, and stretches when you pull your fingers apart.
As estrogen increases and peaks before and during ovulation, cervical mucus amounts increase and change. While every woman doesn’t experience the same pattern, and it can take several cycles to get the feel for observing your cervical mucus, a typical menstrual cycle goes through four cervical mucus stages:
- Sticky
- Creamy
- Egg-white
- Watery
You’ll typically experience stages 1-3 during the first half of your cycle as you approach ovulation. After you find your LH peak and ovulate, progesterone dominates and creates more of the sticky-consistency mucus. Estrogen also begins to slightly rise again, so you’ll still feel some stickiness or wetness after ovulation.
How To Check For Cervical Mucus
Do the toilet tissue test: Check for cervical mucus (CM) when you use the bathroom. Wipe with a piece of toilet tissue and observe the texture, color and consistency. You can also feel it between your thumb and pointer finger, and separate your fingers slowly to look for any “stretching” of the CM. Also, consider paying attention to the sensation in your underwear; many women observe a familiar “gush” of watery CM just before their fertile mucus presents itself.
Keep in mind, vaginal secretions have to move from the cervix down the vagina for you to feel it, so it’s normal to need to be up and moving before you notice it!
Absent, Abnormal, or Low Cervical Mucus
If you have absent, abnormal, or low amounts of cervical mucus, it could mean a few things:
Estrogen Imbalance
Estrogen, the predominant hormone in the follicular phase, is what triggers the creation of fertile cervical mucus. If it is low, it can also result in low levels or absent cervical mucus. Lab testing with your doctor can check for this if it’s a concern for you.
Candidiasis
Candidiasis is an infection from a type of yeast called Candida. Its presence when out of balance can change the quality of cervical mucus and can block sperm from getting through. It also changes the pH, which is another obstacle for sperm.
Treatments for candidiasis should always be discussed with your doctor. It will typically include a focus on your diet, eliminating sugars (alcohol, sugar, carbohydrates). They may want to add probiotics and beneficial/friendly yeast called Saccharomyces Boulardii to crowd out the bad bacteria. Oftentimes people will need antifungals to kill the yeast, whether it involves using herbs and/or antifungal medications recommended by your doctor.
If you’re concerned about yeast, look for sticky, white cervical mucus that may have a yeasty smell. You may also experience an odd discharge throughout the entire cycle. If you’ve had yeast infections in the past, this is something to keep an eye on.
Hormonal Contraceptives
Hormonal contraceptives also change cervical mucus — that’s even how some function! In order to restore fertile CM, you must first restore proper hormonal balance! It’s typical for it to take several months for your cycles to regulate and also for your cervical mucus to regulate again after stopping hormonal contraceptives or removing hormonal IUDs.
Missing Cervical Mucus
Don’t worry too much if you’re missing CM. As long as you still have an LH peak and a BBT spike, it means your body is likely ovulating and you still can get pregnant. However, if you’re still having trouble conceiving, the absence of CM is something you should discuss with your doctor and track in an ovulation and BBT chart.
How To Improve Your Cervical Mucus
1. Hydration
To produce cervical mucus, you need plenty of water! Dehydration can cause thicker, stickier mucus that is more difficult for sperm to swim through. Caffeinated products can actually dehydrate you, so limit caffeine consumption as well. Focus on quality filtered water, and if you have a reverse osmosis water filter, consider adding trace minerals back in, to ensure you are absorbing the water you are consuming.
2. Herbs and nutrients
Evening primrose oil, black cohosh, dong quai, arginine, and maca are known to support the follicular phase and estrogen production but should only be utilized under the care of a licensed functional medicine or naturopathic medical doctor.
3. Mucinex and N- Acetylcysteine
These two substances are considered “mucolytics,” meaning they break apart mucus bonds. This is why you may have taken them when you had sinus or lung congestion. The same thought process is applied here to cervical mucus. These substances are not necessarily proven to improve fertility outcomes and should be used under the supervision of your clinician. Learn more about if Mucinex may help you get pregnant.
4. Good hormonal cycling
If your cervical mucus is absent, chat with a specialist about what may be going on hormonally that’s preventing the production of CM. It may also contribute to anovulation or irregular cycles, so cycle tracking is essential while investigating CM.
Premom Helps With Cervical Mucus Tracking
While ovulation tests help predict ovulation by directly tracking the luteinizing hormone (LH) that peaks 24-36 hours before ovulation, changes in cervical mucus can indicate the onset of a woman’s fertile period and the overall health of her cycle.
You can track all of your fertility symptoms (including ovulation and cervical mucus) and get your questions answered by a fertility expert, with our free Premom app!
A 2021 research study by Dr. Levia and Dr. DiRienzo, published in The Annals of Family Medicine, found that monitoring your cycles with the Premom ovulation tracking app in combination with daily ovulation tests and cervical mucus tracking can contribute to quicker diagnoses and treatments.
Research Study and Findings
Study findings state that “e-technology can now respond to concerning conditions around ‘irregular cycles, infertility, hormonal disturbances and natural birth methods’ with aid from virtual apps’ data.”
In the study, 104 patients were directed to monitor their daily cervical mucus secretions and perform urinary tests (ovulation tests), and track them using the Premom app. Predicted ovulation by the Premom app and Easy@Home testing products were clinically assessed with blood test results.
The research concluded that e-technology can now respond to concerning conditions around ‘irregular cycles, infertility, hormonal disturbances and natural birth methods’ with aid from Premom’s virtual app data. It showed that using Premom for monitoring the menstrual cycle was satisfying for both patients and their providers, and it allowed for effective and timely input in diagnosis and treatment.
This was a particularly exciting discovery during a period of increased remote monitoring!
Premom is dedicated to enhancing the experience both for women who use our app and their healthcare providers. To advance patient-clinician sharing, Premom is launching exportable PDF reports from the app. The reports organize the patient’s fertility tracking into simplified charts for clinician evaluation, also providing helpful analysis and guidance so patients can optimize their time trying to conceive.
References
- Leiva R, DiRienzo L. Combination of Home-Based hormonal and mobile technology for virtual monitoring of menstrual cycles. Annals of Family Medicine. 2021;19(2):180. doi:10.1370/afm.2653
- Yarnell E, Abascal K. Multiphasic herbal prescribing for menstruating women. Alternative and Complementary Therapies. 2009;15(3):126-134. doi:10.1089/act.2009.15305
- Dr.V.Usharani. A Study of Improvement of Cervical Mucus with Guaifenesin In Infertility Patients. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/international-journal-of-scientific-research-(IJSR)/article/a-study-of-improvement-of-cervical-mucus-with-guaifenesin-in-infertility-patients/MTc1MDQ=/. Published January 1, 2018.
