Your Cervix is Trying to Tell You Something

I’m going to talk about cervical mucus. If you have no idea what that is, it’s likely because you were never taught the accurate term for it. Most of us go through our whole lives referring to our cervical mucus as vaginal discharge. Yup. I said it. And with a term like that, it’s no wonder we don’t talk about it. Just typing the phrase made me cringe. The good news is, cervical mucus is totally normal and healthy, and even kind of cool once you learn what it really does. Learning about cervical mucus can help you understand your own health, bond with your body, and reach your reproductive goals, whether you’d like to avoid or achieve a pregnancy.

Cervical Mucus (often called cervical fluid or CM) is a viscous liquid produced by small crypts in your cervix. (Sidebar: If you’re struggling to remember middle school health class right now, the cervix is the bottom of the uterus which connects to the vaginal canal.)  The neat thing about cervical mucus is that the viscosity, amount, and sometimes color change throughout the menstrual cycle depending on hormonal changes. That means you can observe your cervical mucus (and a few other indicators) on any given day and determine whether or not you are potentially fertile that day. This is helpful for folks who are trying to avoid a pregnancy, trying to conceive, or trying to figure out if they have a hormonal imbalance.

Most people check their cervical mucus when they urinate. You can check before or after urinating by folding some toilet tissue in half, separating the labia, and wiping from front to back. Pay attention to how the paper moves- is it dry? Sticky? Slippery? Take a look at the toilet paper. Pull some cervical fluid off the paper and rub it between two fingers. What does it feel like? Sometimes cervical mucus can feel like paste, lotion, lubricant, or water. If you are charting your fertility (which I highly recommend), you should record the qualities of your cervical mucus on paper.  

Although there are several adjectives that could describe your cervical mucus, all mucus can be categorized into three groups. Cervical mucus can be labeled Dry/Sticky, Moist, or Slippery. Hormonal changes in your body tell your cervix which type of mucus to create. Immediately after menstruation, most people have a few Dry days. This is because the dominant hormone is progesterone (left over from your last cycle). Dry mucus is responsible for keeping your cervix plugged so that the womb is safe. In a Dry/Sticky environment, sperm can only live for minutes to hours. Later in the cycle, most people find Moist cervical mucus. Moist mucus feels wet and when you wipe, the paper glides pretty smoothly. The cervix produces Moist mucus as estrogen rises. Some people have Moist cervical mucus for one day, and others for a week. Sperm can live in this mucus for several days, but cannot travel well in it. Most people cannot get pregnant with this mucus alone, but these days are considered potentially fertile since ovulation could happen very soon and sperm could live long enough to fertilize an egg. When the body reaches peak levels of estrogen, the cervix will start producing Slippery mucus. Slippery mucus may stretch between two fingers, be clear, or look like egg whites. It is the most fertile type of mucus. It’s job is to help sperm swim into the cervix and womb and also to nurture sperm by providing food and the proper pH balance. Slippery mucus can actually keep sperm alive for up to 5 days in perfect conditions. For those of you who wish to avoid pregnancy, it is extremely important to avoid unprotected sex with a sperm producer if you have Moist or Slippery cervical mucus.

But learning about your cervical mucus is valuable for so much more than just reproduction. Fertility is a sign of health. Healthy bodies are creating hormones and those hormones are reaching ideal levels to set off a cascade of events including ovulation. Regular ovulation is necessary for avoiding some cancers, heart disease, and osteoporosis. Healthy cervical mucus is just one indicator that your body is creating sufficient levels of hormones.

So what happens if you aren’t seeing much cervical mucus?

If you’ve been on hormonal birth control for a long time, been diagnosed with cervical dysplasia or HPV, or if you’ve had any cervical biopsy or testing, you may have a harder time observing cervical fluid. This can be normal and you shouldn’t panic. There are also some people who have a hard time observing due to anatomical differences or hormonal imbalance. There are ways to make this work for you. If you’d like to improve your cervical mucus production, check out the tips below.

1.Hydration

This one is a no-brainer. Cervical mucus is made up of mostly water, so of course you’ll need to intake water to produce it. Additionally, it’s not an essential function of survival (like digestion), so if you’re dehydrated, you’ll notice it in cervical mucus immediately.

How much water should you actually drink? It depends. There is no research-based formula for how many ounces of water you should drink per day. Make sure you have access to water at all times. Choose water instead of sugary drinks. Be aware of your thirst level. An easy way to monitor your hydration is by looking at the color of your urine. A dark yellow means you are dehydrated, while very clear means you’re overhydrated.

2. Diet

Remember that changes in cervical mucus are a result of hormonal levels? Well, cholesterol is the “main ingredient” of hormones, so it’s crucial that we have healthy fats in our diet to support hormone production. In particular, it’s important to have sufficient omega-3 fatty acids for ideal progesterone production. It’s advisable to swap out your vegetable oil (made from soybeans and high in omega-6 fatty acid) for coconut oil, butter, or ghee, which are all higher in omega-3 than omega-6. If you don’t eat dairy, consider using a fish supplement (like cod liver oil) or farm fresh eggs, both high in omega-3. It’s worth noting that using hormonal birth control (particularly with long-term use) depletes the body of a handful of nutrients that are essential for cervical health. These nutrients are folate, B vitamins (especially B6 and 12), Vitamin A, magnesium, and selenium. These nutrients are SO necessary to cervical health that doctors typically treat cervical dysplasia with a folate supplement. These are all nutrients that are best absorbed through diet rather than supplements.

3. Change the way you check

If you aren’t seeing much (or any) cervical mucus, you may need to change your observation method. Some people have a hard time observing cervical mucus. This can happen if you used hormonal birth control for longer than six months, have a tilted uterus, or have a hormonal imbalance. If this describes you, consider checking internally. That means squatting down and inserting a clean finger as far as it will go inside of the vagina. Observe the fluid on the tip of your finger. Important note: the vagina has lots of mucosal glands that keep you moist and clean all the time. When you do an internal CM check, you could be seeing some fluid that is not cervical fluid at all. This is particularly important to pay attention to if you are using this information to avoid pregnancy.

A few other tips include:

Do kegels on your way to the bathroom (kegels are contracting and releasing your pelvic floor muscles). If you aren’t sure how to do that, pretend you are trying to stop peeing mid-stream.

Use your clean finger instead of toilet paper. Some people find that the paper absorbs a lot of their CM and they can’t properly observe it.

4. Avoid tampons

Tampons work by absorbing moisture (duh). But unfortunately, they absorb all moisture, indiscriminately. That means the natural moisture that your vagina needs is absorbed, too. This can disrupt your vaginal pH. Additionally, using an absorbency that is higher than necessary for your flow can cause dryness and micro abrasions which can cause infection.

5. Reduce Xenoestrogen Exposure

Xenoestrogens are endocrine-disrupting chemicals in our environment that can act as estrogen in our bodies.  This can totally throw off our hormones. Xenoestrogens are present in most household cleaners and cosmetics, and exist even in receipt paper, air fresheners, and candles. Basically anything that lists “fragrance” as an ingredient could potentially affect your hormone production. It’s hard to completely remove all xenoestrogens from our environment, but a good start would be with personal care products and household cleaners, as we are often exposed to them more than other items.

If you’re trying to conceive, you should know that there are three ingredients necessary for conception: sperm, egg, and fertile cervical mucus. The main function of cervical mucus is to aid sperm in reaching an egg. The G mucus is not hospitable for sperm, but sperm can live for a few days in EL mucus. That’s because EL mucus can nourish sperm. But the only mucus that can aid in pregnancy is ES mucus, because the sperm needs it in order to move into the uterus and to the egg.

Our bodies are doing amazing work for us every single day. They’re providing us with feedback on our diet, our exercise, and our environments. When we learn how to listen to our bodies, we will get so much valuable insight into how to best care for ourselves. That’s right-- practicing fertility awareness by observing your cervical mucus is self-care.

If you’re interested in learning more about how fertility awareness can help you transform your health and reach your reproductive goals, send me a message. I’d love to hear from you.

Sources:

Dante, G., Vaiarelli, A., & Facchinetti, F. (2014). Vitamin and mineral needs during the oral contraceptive therapy : a systematic review.

Diamanti-Kandarakis, Evanthia et al. “Endocrine-disrupting chemicals: an Endocrine Society scientific statement.” Endocrine reviews vol. 30,4 (2009): 293-342. doi:10.1210/er.2009-0002

Gowie, Brandiw. Your Cervix Just Has a Cold: The Truth About Abnormal Pap Smears and HPV. Morgan James Publishing, 2013.

Mumford, Sunni L et al. “Dietary fat intake and reproductive hormone concentrations and ovulation in regularly menstruating women.” The American journal of clinical nutrition vol. 103,3 (2016): 868-77. doi:10.3945/ajcn.115.119321

Nicole, Wendee. “A question for women's health: chemicals in feminine hygiene products and personal lubricants.” Environmental health perspectives vol. 122,3 (2014): A70-5. doi:10.1289/ehp.122-A70