My Journey of Mishaps & Miracles: CM and everthing about CM

CD16 and guess what? Getting discharge which looks a lot like EWCM.. weird? It will be weirder when I show you my chart which I will try to post later today or tomorrow.

I have learned that its nearly impossible to predict the exact time of ovulation with just your CM observations. HOWEVER, EWCM, especially in the middle of your cycle usually means that you're very fertile at that time. Whether that means you will be ovulating soon or have already ovulated and that the egg is still viable.

BBT charting is not 100% accurate too!

So the most important thing to know is that you are most likely fertile if you're having a certain type of CM. You would obviously have to monitor your basal body temperature and even to get an ultrasound to truly know if and when you ovulated.

As a woman's body moves throughout her monthly cycle, the consistency of her cervical discharge also changes. The changes in the mucus that is secreted from the cervix reflect where you are in your cycle.

CM refers to a jelly-ish substance produced by a woman's body during her monthly cycle. CM helps the sperm to survive once inside a woman's body and helps the sperm get to the egg so that the egg can be fertilised. CM also protects sperm from the acidic content of the vagina. The acids in the vagina typically will stop sperm from moving. CM provides a place for sperm to go where it can be protected from these acids. CM will often detect sperm that are abnormal and slow them down, keeping them from getting to the egg and causing conception.

Cervical fluid is produced by your cervix as you approach ovulation due to increased estrogen. It flows from the cervix into the vagina where it can easily be observed.

Before collecting a sample, be sure to wash your hands in order to prevent the transmission of germs. The most common ways of collecting CM sample are:

Inserting your finger into your vagina and collecting some CM
Using toilet paper and the entrance of your vagina and analysing the CM collected that way
The most accurate way to collect (so I heard but haven't tried it myself) is to insert your finger into your vagina and circle your finger around your cervix or as close to the cervix. This will allow you to actually collect the CM instead of just it's wetness.

Monitoring the changes in CM is the only method I know of that will not require looking back to the past few cycles for analysis and also provide reliable results that you can trust when TTC.

Before ovuation (low chance of pregnancy) - Usually the first few days following menstruation, there will be little or no discharge present. You will fry dryness around your vagina. During this time, chance of getting pregnant is very low.

Approaching ovulation (chance of pregnancy) - The first discharge that does appear should be moist or sticky and should be white or cream in color. In the finger test, the CM should break easily. You will only be able to pull your fingers about 1cm apart before it breaks. During this transition time, first the CM will become cloudy and slightly stretchy during the finger test (this means that it will still break before the fingers are stretched all the way). As time progresses, the CM will become greater in volume.

During ovulation (high chance of pregnancy) - Cervical discharge will appear mroe loose, stringy and slippery, much like th consistency of egg whites. Finger testing will allow the CM to stretch quite a bit (several cm) before it rbeaks (if it breaks at all). The amount of this thin CM will steadily increase until you experience your "mucus peak" which is the last day of this period where the chance of conception is high. It is closely tied to ovulation. During this phase, the sperm's survival rate is higher. It can survive in CM for up to 72 hours, a significant longer time than during the rest of the cycle.

After ovulation (low chance of pregnancy) - After ovulation, there is a marked chance in CM appearance. It returns to the sticky stage (does not stretch during the finger test) and there is again a feeling of dryness around the vagina.

Here are some pictures (I found on the net) as a guide to see the difference between the types of CM. Warning: Images are very graphic.