A Mucus Lady's guide to Cervical Mucus & Fertility
What is Cervical Mucus?
Cervical Mucus is a product of the cervical crypts that line the cervix, which is situated between the uterus and the vagina.
The cervical crypts produce different types of mucus depending on the dominant fertility hormone in the body at the time.
When Cervical Mucus Indicates Fertility
When the woman is approaching her ovulation, oestrogen will be produced and becomes the dominant hormone in the woman's body.
Oestrogen stimulates the cervical crypts to produce the Type-E cervical mucus.
Type E cervical mucus, when observed externally by a woman, stretches into long fine threads and appears like egg white.
During these days, when the woman can observe her cervical mucus coming out of her body, the cervix is open.
Similar to seminal fluid, this Type E mucus is also alkaline. Sperm can live for 3-5 days in the presence of good cervical mucus.
The mucus has a filtering function that allows only the best of sperm to pass through the cervix into the uterus.
Simply put, when a woman can see cervical mucus externally, she is fertile.
When Cervical Mucus Indicates Infertility
After ovulation, progesterone will be produced and becomes the dominant hormone in the woman's body.
Progesterone stimulates the cervical crypts to produce the Type-G cervical mucus.
Type G cervical mucus forms a barrier to anything beyond the cervix. It acts as a plug, blocking anything coming into the uterus.
During these days the woman will feel dry. She will not observe any mucus externally, and her cervix is either closing or closed.
The vagina is naturally acidic without any good cervical mucus. It is a hostile environment for sperm, which cannot get past the cervix into the uterus, and will die within a few hours.
It is very important that after ovulation the woman should feel dry. At this point in time, a conception may have already occurred. The uterus must now be kept sterile for the growing life. The cervix is now closed to maintain gestation. Hence this mucus is known as Type G mucus, G for gestation.
Therefore, when a woman feels dry, she is usually^ infertile.
^ There are some exceptions to this, such as the time when the cervix is closing.
When is a Couple Fertile?
Generally speaking, men are fertile all day every day, i.e. there is no cycle.
Therefore, the fertility window of a couple will depend on when the woman is fertile. This is dictated by the presence, and the absence, of her fertile type(s) of cervical mucus.
Key Ingredients for a Couple's Fertility
Imagine a woman with dry cycles, that is, no observable cervical mucus prior to ovulation.
She may be ovulating and her other half may have good sperm, but the cervix is not open because she is generally dry.
In this scenario, it will not be possible for conception to occur.
Therefore the key ingredients to fertility are:
Good Egg
Good Sperm
Good Mucus
The fertility advisors at natural fertility matters teach couples how to observe and interpret their fertility throughout their cycle.
There is plenty of material online that teaches one how to identify mucus and many mobile apps are doing a similar job. However, these are generally better suited for couples who have little trouble with conception, as their fertile cycle and signs are more regular, and usually less noisy.
If you find yourself unable to conceive after a year of random intercourses, then we would highly recommend that you speak with us.
We have a few tricks in our bags that could increase your chance of a natural conception without medical support.
We are also very used to reading noisy and irregular woman's fertility charts and can identify causes of concerns. We can certainly refer you to our preferred medical doctors and partners to get the help you need to build your family.