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Mucus flows from the cervix down the walls of the vagina and can be observed when it reaches the vulva. You can learn to observe the changes in your mucus by becoming aware of the wet, lubricated feeling produced by the mucus, and by observing the mucus itself at the vulva. This is called the Billing (fertility awareness) method, and is very useful in allowing you to determine when you ovulate.
You need to chart what the mucus looks like and feels like daily, from the day your bleeding stops. You will find the mucus present at your vaginal opening the vulva. Remember, you do not need to feel inside the vagina; this will simply confuse the picture, because the vagina is always moist. It is the vulva that is the mucus (fertility) monitor.
In a typical 28-day menstrual cycle, at the end of bleeding, the sensation you experience is one of dryness and no mucus is seen or felt. In some women, there is some mucus, but it is thick, sticky, and scanty. This is the basic infertile pattern of dryness and lasts for two to three days. Once this is over, you may notice a feeling of moistness at the vulva and the mucus will change in appearance and feel. It becomes thinner, clearer, more profuse and stretchy, like raw egg white. This fertile-type mucus produces a slippery wet lubricated sensation at the vulva. The last day of this fertile-type mucus that is, the last day when the mucus is stretchy or feels wet or vulva feels lubricated) is called the peak of fertility, because it is the most fertile day of the cycle. You will know it is the last day only in retrospect; and after this, the important to realize that the peak day is not necessarily the day of the highest mucus formation; it is simply the last day that the mucus discharged has fertile characteristics. Ovulation usually occurs within 24 hours of the peak mucus signal. Therefore, these are the best days to have intercourse in order to maximize the chances of conception.
Fig 1. Normal cervix
© Dr. Aniruddha Malpani and Dr. Anjali Malpani www.drmalpani.com
Credits: How to Have a Baby: Overcoming Infertility
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