Cervical mucus, what is it anyway? It’s what you see in your underwear or panty liner when you’re not on your period. Whitish, yellowish, colorless, viscous, slimy or watery – cervical mucus has many states of aggregation.

You probably don’t like to talk about it because it’s a bit embarrassing and not very pleasant. But it is an important indicator – especially if you want to have a baby! The sticky mucus tells you by its consistency when you have fertile days.

In the following text you will learn what mucus is made of and what it does. It also explains what it should look like and when you have the best chance of becoming pregnant.

What Exactly Is Cervical Mucus?

The mucus itself is made by the cervical glands, which are located in the cervix. The cervix connects the uterus to the vagina.

This is where the name comes from – cervix (neck). The secretion itself consists of 90% water, but also sugars, electrolytes, amino acids and various enzymes and mucins.

For this reason, the fluid is always visible and never completely watery. Depending on the composition of the components, the mucus changes its consistency.

Task Of Cervical Mucus:

The secretion closes the entrance to the uterus like a thick plug on infertile days. This prevents bacteria and sperm from entering the uterus. It is therefore a natural bouncer.

Under the microscope, this then looks like a crisscrossing collection of cellular filaments that get in the way of intruders.

Fertile Days

The cervical mucus after ovulation looks quite different from that in the second half of the cycle.

This is due to the increased release of estrogen shortly before ovulation, and this hormone ensures a different, more watery composition of the mucus. The cell filaments now lie parallel to each other, like a runway for sperm on their way to the uterus.

How Do I Recognize Cervical Mucus After Ovulation?

In general, it is often said that the mucus is spinnable when you have fertile days. But what does it mean? It means that you can take some cervical mucus between two fingers and pull it into threads, like chewing gum.

You will notice this when you wipe yourself with toilet paper, and this thread of mucus sticks between the paper and the vagina. Women who have a very regular cycle do not always pay attention to this.

Are Fertile Days Tied To Spinnable Mucus?

No. There are a number of other days when your desire to have a child comes closer. But spinnable mucus clearly indicates fertile days.

Make it a rule of thumb: no mucus and no dry feeling means infertile days and any kind of visible cervical mucus indicates fertile days. Exceptions prove the rule.

Infections in the vaginal area result in heavy, often smelly discharge. This has to be distinguished from healthy cervical mucus – but mostly you will know if you are sick.

Mucus Conditions

• Mucus neither felt nor seen: infertile, healthy.
• Protein mucus: When you separate eggs, you’ve probably noticed the stringy, slimy-transparent egg white. This is what cervical mucus looks like on your fertile days.
• Cloudy and lumpy: slightly yellow hue, not spinnable, but viscous indicates cervical mucus after ovulation.

The Fern Phenomenon

If you have a desire to have children, you may have already encountered the word fern phenomenon. Or you have heard of the cervical score? This is a scientific measure of the spinnability of cervical mucus after ovulation.

It is used to determine the hormonal situation of the woman. The name comes from the sodium chloride molecules that look like ferns, whose concentration in the cervical mucus is particularly high after ovulation.

Hormonal Contraception

If you are currently taking the pill, you may be wondering what cervical mucus is all about. In fact, the so-called micropills in particular ensure that the mucus becomes denser.

So the bouncer is more active and is in the way of the sperm. In this position, the cervical mucus rarely flows up to the vaginal entrance and you can therefore rarely see it.

It never becomes spinnable if you are using hormonal contraception, because it is supposed to prevent sperm from entering.

Does The Mucus Change During Pregnancy?

The cervical glands continue to produce a mucous secretion – but now no longer to support fertile days. The main task now is to protect the uterus, and thus the embryo, from pathogens.

Pregnant women do have discharge, sometimes very heavy, but it no longer looks like cervical mucus after ovulation.

Supporting The Desire To Have Children With Cervical Mucus

You have already read that cervical mucus looks different after ovulation. And if you want to have a baby, you naturally want fertile days to be accompanied by a particularly permeable mucus.

To improve the quality of cervical mucus after ovulation, you can do a few things yourself.

Medication:

Iodine supplements and other medications improve the quality of cervical mucus. Drugs such as antihistamines, on the other hand, tend to cause dryness in the vagina.

Therefore, some women with hay fever are more likely to get pregnant outside of hay fever season.

Nutrition:

Secretions are slightly alkaline. Therefore, it makes sense to eat a low-acid diet and avoid dairy products, meat or coffee, and high-sugar foods if you want to get pregnant.

This does not mean that you should live purely vegan, but you should attach importance to a rather alkaline, balanced healthy diet. In the past, women who wanted to have children were completely talked out of sugar – this is no longer the case. It depends on the quantities.

Drinking:

It’s no different with cervical mucus after ovulation than it is with other bodily fluids: the more you drink, the better the quality. Of course, this does not mean sugary sodas or alcohol, but mainly water or herbal tea.

Many of the so-called rattle stork teas have exactly this effect.

Contraception With Mucus?

The symptothermal method combines basal body temperature with the consistency of mucus secretions to determine fertile days. Women who do not wish to have children then avoid the act of love.

However, this is not recommended as a reliable contraceptive method. Diseases such as fungal infections or cystitis can quickly lead to errors with this method.

Cervical mucus after ovulation: An unpleasant topic, but promising if you want to conceive a baby! Dare to approach the subject, it is not disgusting, but very natural.

After all, it is your body, trust it and observe yourself well. Cervical mucus analysis is nothing to be ashamed of.