Testing Cervical Fluid Properly
Testing Cervical Fluid Properly
There are several ways to observe your cervical fluid so that you make the best educated observation each day. Cervical fluid observations should be done ideally more than once a day, and the easiest way to do this is through a mix of active and passive checking.
Passive Checks:
Underwear Observations - Look down at your underwear (or pants if you're going commando!) when you use the toilet. Is there something there?
If no, indicates dry day
If yes, what kind?
White lines can be marked as creamy
Wet spot can be marked as watery
Gummy mucus can be picked up and tested as stretchy
Crusty or flaky mucus can be marked as sticky
Tissue Checks - Swipe over your vulva when you use the toilet. Look at the tissue, Is there something there?
If no, indicates dry day
If yes, what kind?
Lotion like fluid that sits on the surface of the tissue can be marked as creamy
Gummy mucus can be picked up and tested as stretchy
Vaginal Sensation - This is the feeling of vaginal lubrication around your vaginal opening. This feels similar to when you stand up when you are menstruating and you can feel your flow. Can you feel the flow?
If no, indicates dry day
If yes, mark this day as fertile. You can use the watery category if you don't have the ability to look at your mucus right then and there
A lubricative vaginal sensation is JUST AS IMPORTANT as seeing cervical mucus. So if you don't observe mucus but feel sensation, mark as fertile. Opposite is also true if you do not feel vaginal sensation but observe mucus.
Active Checks:
Internal Checks - Internal checks are not necessary, but can sometimes be helpful so you can pull down any cervical fluid that is still at your cervix. Take one or two of your fingers and insert them into your vagina, feel for your cervix at the top of your canal, and curl your fingers as you pull down. Is there anything on your fingers when you remove them?
If no, indicates dry day
If yes, what kind?
If tacky and dries up quickly, mark as sticky
If lotion-like and stays lubricated on your fingers, mark as creamy
If it drips down your hand, mark as watery
If it stretches between your fingers at least 1", mark as stretchy
External Checks - This is the bread and butter of cervical checks for FAM purposes. Simply swipe your fingers over your vaginal opening and observe. Is there anything there?
If no, indicates dry day
If yes, what kind?
If tacky and dries up quickly, mark as sticky
If lotion-like and stays lubricated on your fingers, mark as creamy
If it drips down your hand, mark as watery
If it stretches between your fingers at least 1", mark as stretchy
Water Test - Many people have trouble with understanding cervical fluid, and that's okay, we have never been taught about it! If you feel confusion about whether what you are looking at is vaginal secretion, cervical mucus, or even semen, here's a quick way to tell the difference. Perform a water test by placing your fluid into a glass of water and observing it.
Vaginal cell slough (not fertile) or Semen
Dissipates/evaporates when you rub it between your fingers
Dissolves if you put it in a glass of water
Often has a pasty or lotiony consistency
Cervical mucus (fertile)
Has staying power/keeps it’s shape when stretched between your fingers
Curls up into a little ball if you put it in a glass of water
Can be cloudy/white/clear/red, can stretch a very tiny amount up to over an inch
Some other Cervical Check FAQ's
Do NOT trust predictions from any apps or devices
Remember that app predictions are based on previous cycle history. This is a digitized version of the rhythm method and it's not very accurate! We take our biodata every day so that we rely on the primary fertility signs (temperature and cervical fluid) to guide our understanding of our fertility window.
All fluid is fertile
Don't think you are safe for unprotected sex because you only observed a little sticky or creamy cervical fluid. The quantity does not matter in this case. Once you observe the point of change where fluid is starting to get produced in your cervix, your fertile window has now begun. During that fertile window, you need to use protection and alternative contraceptive methods until the rules have confirmed ovulation.
The categories are made up
This is always really confusing for people, because we created these categories and not everyone's mucus fits into them well. We are constantly working to improve FAM methods and perhaps we could come up with better terms. I'm certainly open to it. If you think you have better descriptors for your fluid, feel free to use them as your categories, as long as you remember that any presence of this fluid denotes fertility and the possibility of pregnancy.
Questions about cervical fluid? Please drop me a comment!