Cervical Mucus (aka fluid): the magical substance you need to consider when trying to conceive
Gathering calendula blossoms - great to add to broth for beauty and as a mild lymphatic support herb!
Riddle: What’s the most overlooked, invaluable piece of information when trying to conceive and is also completely free?
Answer: What is (or isn’t) on your underwear.
I recently had a call with a client who had been using the Clue app. She wanted to know what she could be doing to support her preconception time period. One of my main answers will always be: charting your fertility signs of course!
I began explaining the nutshell version of what in-depth fertility charting looks like and her first response after hearing a bit about cervical fluid was, “Oh, so if I saw cervical fluid on day 12 of my last cycle, then I just count forward 12 days when I begin my next cycle and I know I’m fertile after the 12th day.”
My response: Actually, that is rhythm method thinking, that’s using a calculation method. “If it happened on day 12 last cycle, then I am going to assume that I'm potentially fertile on day 12 of this cycle.” That's not what I recommend because you could be missing your ideal fertile days by thinking that way, which is the way predictive apps have trained women to think about their cycles.
Instead, I recommend and teach women how to use day-to-day observations of cervical fluid to make accurate and informed baby-making decisions.
It's so interesting. It’s like wait…WHAT!? You’re telling me that day-to day-observations are actually the most knowledgeable and informed way to go about timing intercourse to conceive, instead of using all this tech stuff?
Yes I am.
And I know, it sounds so wrong, but I promise you, using free information that you get just from looking at your underwear will be one of the most valuable pieces of information to use in your TTC journey.
It ultimately doesn’t matter what happened last cycle or what will happen in the future cycle. This is what matters:
Is my cervix producing fluid that will keep sperm alive up until I ovulate. Yes or no?
If it is great, let's have intercourse. Because once the egg is released at ovulation, it is only alive for 12 to 24 hours, that's hardly any time!
What are the chances you and your partner are going to have intercourse in that 12 hour to 24 hour window, when the egg is alive? You could, but it’s also easy enough to accidentally miss that window.
The female body is beautifully designed to create a substance that keeps sperm alive for up to about 6 days (that’s being generous), until that magical 12 to 24-hour window occurs. It also filters out sperm of poor quality, and helps sperm swim, and keeps them alive and nourished.
So if you are relying on timing intercourse solely on predictive apps, LH strips, or fertility monitors without any consideration of your fertile cervical fluid - this is your sign to STOP!
It’s time to understand the ins and out of your cervical mucus production as if it were an invaluable substance, because it is!
Of course, cervical fluid is not the only factor to consider. But it is one of the key indicators of healthy fertility that’s important for all women to get familiar with and knowledgeable about.
What to do if you don’t have any cervical fluid? What can I do to improve my cervical fluid naturally? Or have confusing cervical fluid patterns? What else is important besides cervical fluid in order to get pregnant?
STAY TUNED!
My next blog posts will address the questions above.