Not a month goes by where I don’t get a question or a comment along the lines of “I’ve heard that you can spontaneously ovulate when the moon is in the same phase as it was when you were born… is that true?” As it seems there are a lot of people wondering the same thing, let’s dive into the research!

 

NATAL LUNAR CYCLES

To answer the question of whether the moon causes random ovulation, it’s helpful to establish where this concept originated. In fact, it all stems from a method known as “Natal Lunar Cycles” created in 1956 by Dr. Eugen Jonas, a psychiatrist from Slovakia. Dr. Jonas was a devout Catholic. When laws legalising abortion were passed in nearby Hungary in 1956, he decided to investigate whether there was a way to help women avoid unplanned pregnancies (and therefore the need for abortion). Throughout much of history, humans have connected the moon with female fertility due to the similarity of their cycles (the textbook menstrual cycle is 28 days long, and it takes around 29.5 days for the moon to orbit the earth). Dr. Jonas gravitated toward this theme in his search for answers.

Dr. Jonas formulated a theory that women had two separate fertility cycles:

• The usual and expected ovulation cycle (ovulation occurring roughly in the middle of the menstrual cycle), and
• A lunar cycle

Jonas theorised that women could ovulate at spontaneous times outside of their usual time of ovulation, and this was likely to occur when the moon was in the same phase as it was at their birth. For example, if you were born two days before a waning crescent moon, then you could expect to always be highly fertile two days before the waning crescent moon (regardless of where that might fall in your current menstrual cycle).

Calculations were done in advance to identify where these “lunar fertile” days would fall throughout the year. Dr. Jonas would then advise his patients to abstain from sex for at least four days around this time. Usually, it was specified to avoid the three days leading up to the “lunar fertile” day, and the “lunar fertile” day itself, as well as a full 13 days identified by the Rhythm Method. This totalled at least 17 days of abstinence out of every menstrual cycle!

Jonas also developed calculations that were supposed to assist with gender selection and avoiding foetal abnormalities.

Dr. Jonas claimed his method (combining lunar fertile days with the Rhythm Method) showed a 97.8% effectiveness (although I can’t find any record of the studies that are supposed to support these findings anywhere online).

 

 

WHAT IS THE RHYTHM METHOD?

To really understand Dr. Jonas’ method, it’s important to understand the Rhythm Method. The Rhythm Method is an outdated relic of the 1930s, where women predict their fertile days based on the lengths of their previous 12 menstrual cycles. The Rhythm Method has only low-quality scientific studies to support it, and an estimated effectiveness rate of around 80% which is generally unacceptable by today’s standards. The Rhythm Method assumes that every woman will ovulate approximately 14 days before her next period, every menstrual cycle. This assumption (and the lengths of your previous 12 cycles) is used to determine when you should avoid unprotected sex.

Why is it so ineffective? In a nutshell, humans are not robots: there is wide variation among women, and even for the same woman when it comes to our menstrual cycles. Many of us have a luteal phase that is significantly shorter or longer than the 14 days assumed by the Rhythm Method, and many things can cause us to ovulate earlier or later than we have in the past 12 months.

As it turns out, Dr. Jonas’ method doesn’t actually follow Rhythm Method rules, but it does apply “rhythm method thinking” by assuming that every woman will ovulate on day 15 of her menstrual cycle. Jonas’ method states that the user must abstain from sex for a full 13 days around this assumed day of ovulation: “Starting from this ovulation day [cycle day 15], add six days before and six days after this ovulation day.”

When combined with the four days of abstinence required around the “lunar fertile” day, that’s a total of 17 days of abstinence required each menstrual cycle!

It’s no surprise that Dr. Jonas had some level of success with his method when you consider the sheer number of days that his users were having to abstain from unprotected sex.

 

 

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Dr. Jonas developed his method in 1956 at a time when the importance of cervical mucus was only just being realised by the medical establishment. Cervical mucus provides real-time insights into our hormones because it changes in sensation, colour, amount and texture in response to our hormones. You can read more about cervical mucus here. The value of basal body temperature in confirming ovulation had already been known since the 1930s so it’s unclear why Dr. Jonas didn’t utilise this information. Instead, in a rather bizarre choice for a Catholic, Jonas decided to pursue the field of astrology for answers to a question that would have been better served by biology.

The Symptothermal Method itself was officially born in 1953 when Dr. Edward F Keefe added daily mucus observations to the existing Calculo-Thermal Method. With the spread of knowledge around cervical mucus, methods such as the Rhythm Method gradually lost favour as practitioners realised that we could monitor our fertility in real-time (as opposed to making “best-guess” predictions that left us open to error).

 

THESE DAYS

Thankfully, we now have very solid evidence of the way our reproductive biology functions each menstrual cycle and are no longer at the mercy of haphazard lunar predictions or the ineffective Rhythm Method. The myth of multiple ovulation is well and truly de-bunked ((you can read about that here). Plus, we have a fantastic longitudinal European study that established a 99.6% perfect use effectiveness rate for the Symptothermal Method.

This 99.6% effectiveness rate would have been completely unattainable if Dr. Jonas’ theory had a single shred of credibility.

In fact, in the entire 20 years of this longitudinal prospective clinical trial, not a single method error pregnancy was ever recorded during the luteal phase after ovulation had been confirmed by Symptothermal Method rules.

 

BUT WHAT ABOUT SUCCESS STORIES?

For the Symptothermal Method charter, it can be very frustrating to hear anecdotes along the lines of “I know I ovulated on the Friday, and we had sex the following Thursday and ended up pregnant – I know for certain that I ovulated twice!”

In these cases, I always say “Interesting! Can you show me your chart?”. I have never once had anyone show me a chart.

Invariably, most people with stories like this were not charting with any reliable method but simply noticed some “ovulation pain” or saw a positive OPK test and assumed that this meant they had definitely ovulated. [Hot tip: Neither mittelschmerz nor a positive OPK test are a guarantee of ovulation].

In other cases, the woman was relying on mucus observations alone and assumed that seeing eggwhite cervical mucus guaranteed that ovulation was occurring. [Hot tip: highly fertile peak type mucus is an indicator of high oestrogen levels – however this does not guarantee that ovulation will occur].

Without a chart which shows a sustained temperature rise and a dry-up of cervical mucus that meets the specific rules of the Symptothermal Method, these anecdotes prove nothing (except that the person telling them does not have a sufficient understanding of their cycle to make any claims about multiple ovulation).

 

IN REAL LIFE

As a seasoned charter and a certified Symptothermal Method instructor, I’ve actually put Dr. Jonas’ theory to the test myself. I sent my beautiful mother a Facebook message and asked her to dig out my birth certificate and confirm for me the exact time of my birth, 30 years ago! (Wow, time flies!). I used a simple calculator available freely on the internet to find out my “lunar fertile” days and then I compared them to my past 12 menstrual cycle charts.

What do you know? The majority of those supposedly highly fertile days fell firmly in my menstrual or luteal phases – and I can tell you I’ve had plenty of unprotected sex during those times that definitely have not resulted in a pregnancy. (Please keep in mind that it is possible to conceive from period sex. These were the times specific to my own unique cycle that were identified as safe days using the Symptothermal Method.)

Are you a seasoned Symptothermal Method charter and feeling curious? You can try it here to debunk this myth for yourself: https://horoscopes.astro-seek.com/calculate-pregnancy-fertility-days/

Mostly, this experiment made me feel sad when I thought of the women who may have tried to do the same thing by actually paying Jonas. He has multiple websites that all seem to offer different services, one of which is providing dates of “good vitality” for women who have suffered miscarriages and foetal abnormalities. This comes in at a cost of around AUD $80 and stinks of predatory behaviour.

 

 

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE ~TIMING~ OF OVULATION?

While the moon cannot cause you to experience two ovulations in a single menstrual cycle, there is some evidence that the luminescence and gravimetric cycles of the moon may influence the timing of menstruation (and therefore ovulation).

A 2021 study looked at data from 22 women, who had each recorded period onset dates for an average of around 15 years. The researchers found that menstruation occurred more often around the new moon and full moon than would be expected to occur by chance.

Luminescence (light) appeared to impact the timing of ovulation for some women, some of the time.

The same was found for apogee and perigee dates, when the moon is closest to or farthest from earth and exerting maximal or minimal gravitational force.

These impacts were temporary, meaning menstruation start dates would cluster around new moon/full moon and apogee/perigee dates for some time, before drifting away again. However, this was occurring more often than would be expected to occur due to chance.

The researchers hypothesise that human reproductive behaviour may have been syncronous with the moon in ancient times. They also hypothesise that our modern lifestyle and increasing exposure to artificial light may now be inhibiting the display of these ancient menstrual onset patterns.

 

CONCLUSION

There’s much we don’t know in this world, and science certainly does not have all the answers. There is definitely some interesting research out there about the impact of light on our fertility! However, if Natal Lunar Cycles were a valid hypothesis then the Symptothermal Method would be vastly less effective than it has been proven.

The verdict? The moon will not cause you to spontaneously ovulate. Natal Lunar Cycles is a now-outdated theory that will only result in unnecessary abstinence on your part (or unfounded hope if you are trying to conceive).

Jess x

Recently, The Guardian released an article titled “Women Don’t Need To Bleed: Why Many Women Are Giving Up On Periods”. Many professionals within the Fertility Awareness-Based Method (FABM) community were concerned at how harmful the article was, and I want to delve into exactly how so! The above video is my response to The Guardian’s article – if you would prefer to read about why your menstrual cycle is more than just a bleed – continue reading for the transcript of the video.

The article was authored by Nicola Davis, who outlined how increasing numbers of women are choosing to use methods of contraception such as the combined oral contraceptive Pill continuously, to completely banish their period, and with it all uncomfortable symptoms such as bloating, cramping, mood swings and acne.

To begin with, I want to make sure that readers understand the definition of a true period: A true period is a bleed which follows approximately 14 days after ovulation. This means that if you’re not ovulating, you’re not having a true period. Instead, you’re having what’s known as a withdrawal bleed. A withdrawal bleed occurs when the lining of the uterus sloughs away in response to the “withdrawal” of hormones (in this case, the synthetic hormones of the Pill).

Most contraceptives work by inhibiting ovulation, which means that if you’re on these methods of contraception, you’re not even having a true period. On top of this, there’s no good reason for you to have a withdrawal bleed each pill packet. It’s simply done because that’s the way it’s always been done (and yes there is some evidence that this is because the original developers of the Pill wanted the method to seem more natural and therefore more acceptable to the Pope).

All this aside – if you’re already on hormonal contraception that inhibits ovulation, then you’re not experiencing a true period anyway – so sure, go ahead and take those pill packets back-to-back because the bleed you’re experiencing really has no benefits for you.

However, here’s where we come to the interesting stuff: the article by The Guardian COMPLETELY missed the mark by saying that menstruation is pointless.

In fact, there’s a quote in there by Dr Anne Connolly, the clinical lead for Women’s Health for the Royal College of GPs, who says there is no health benefit to them: “Ninety-nine per cent of women don’t need to bleed.” Judith Stephenson, the Margaret Pyke professor of sexual and reproductive health at University College London, even goes so far as to say “In some ways, it seems like one of God’s great design faults … It is not helpful to have these periods – in fact, if you don’t have them, one of the biggest benefits would be reducing iron deficiency anaemia.”

Both of these medical professionals are completely missing the fact that menstruation is not the main event of the menstrual cycle.

Menstruation is simply a flow-on effect of ovulation. Ovulation is the true main event of the menstrual cycle – and ovulation has significant health benefits. This is because ovulation is the way that we make our female sex hormones, oestrogen and progesterone. Ovulating regularly has health benefits for your heart, bones, breasts, mood, libido, energy, insulin response, thyroid, skin, hair and so much more.

For example, ovulation is incredibly important for bone health and during our teens and twenties is our only chance to build up a good bone mineral density. Oestrogen and progesterone play a role in bone health, and if we take contraception that stops us from ovulating during this time, we’re missing out on the chance to build up some of our bone mineral stores for the future. This can increase our risk for osteoporosis in old age.

As another example, progesterone has natural benefits for your mood and low progesterone is linked to anxiety and depression. If you’re not ovulating, you’re not making progesterone and therefore don’t get to enjoy this natural protection.

Also, regular ovulation has huge benefits for heart health – and this is one of the reasons why postmenopausal women are at an increased risk of heart disease.

I’m not a medical professional so I do encourage you to do your own research on the health benefits of ovulation. The above are just a few examples. The key takeaway here is that ovulation is a natural mechanism of the body and has many benefits that go well beyond reproduction.

It’s also worth noting that the synthetic hormones in the Pill are NOT the same as the natural sex hormones that your body produces when it ovulates – they don’t have the same benefits (and in many cases actually cause unfortunate side effects instead).

Oftentimes these articles roll out this idea that in the past, women hardly had any periods because we were so busy being pregnant cavewomen – and therefore we should really suppress our periods because we’re having too many periods compared to our cavewomen ancestors. This article by The Guardian is no exception! What they fail to mention though, is that pregnancy involves massive levels of the hormone progesterone which has huge health benefits. Outside of pregnancy, the only other time you’re going to make progesterone is when you ovulate. If you’re not ovulating, you’re not making progesterone.

Therefore if you decide to suppress your menstrual cycle entirely, you’re not replicating the conditions of pregnancy; rather, you’re replicating the hormonal profile of a chemically castrated or post-menopausal woman! In addition to all of this, our menstrual cycles are actually now considered a fifth vital sign of our health. By taking hormonal contraception, we completely suppress the messages that our menstrual cycle is trying to communicate.

It’s a bit like seeing the oil light go on in your car – and it glares in your eyes a bit when you’re driving at night and it’s just all a bit inconvenient, so you tape a piece of paper over the light so that it doesn’t bother you anymore. Meanwhile, your oil levels are getting lower and lower and your car is rapidly heading toward a breakdown.

The same happens when you take the Pill to cover up your menstrual cycle issues. It’s a bandaid.

The Pill doesn’t fix anything. If you have PCOS or endometriosis or fibroids – they’re all still there, under the surface, and in many cases progressing silently in the background! (And yes, the Pill can play a vital role in allowing women to suppress the painful symptoms of conditions such as endometriosis and dysmenorrhea, but this should always be undertaken with the knowledge that it is not fixing anything).

Where at all possible, it’s always preferable to address the root cause of your pesky period problems instead of sweeping them under the rug – after all, they’re your fifth vital sign.

I think we also need to quickly touch on this quote: ‘Experts also stress that stopping periods won’t affect future fertility. Dr Anne Connolly says “When you stop taking the hormones, they get flushed out of your system very quickly, and your periods will return to what they were before you started taking the pill,”’

This is actually a little misleading. Yes, the synthetic hormones of the Pill are very quickly flushed from your system; however, your system itself now needs to kick-start a complex endocrine messaging process that’s been suppressed for however many years you’ve been on the Pill – and this doesn’t necessarily happen straight away. In fact, one study showed that it took 9 months before all the participants had regained their menstrual cycles.

In addition to this, the Pill is known to deplete a number of nutrients that are vital to foetal development during the early stages of pregnancy – so you really don’t want to fall pregnant immediately after coming off the Pill, even if your fertility does return straight away.

I fully support the Pill being available to us all (I have personally used it myself in the past and I’m very aware and grateful for the ways in which the Pill was central to the feminist movements that allowed us access to education, politics and the workforce). However, I think we need our health practitioners to be a little more honest about the mechanisms by which the Pill works, and how exactly those mechanisms may affect our health both now and in the future.

Your menstrual cycle is more than just a bleed.

 

 

“Can you spontaneously ovulate at different times throughout the menstrual cycle?”

It is a common question and the answer is thankfully no.

Our reproductive system actively stops us from ovulating on multiple occasions within a single menstrual cycle.

Ovulation is an event that occurs when a mature ovum bursts out of the follicle that houses it (simultaneously bursting out of the ovary, too). The human ovum has a lifespan of 12-24 hours, during which there is the possibility of the release of a second or third ovum – this is how fraternal twins/triplets are conceived. While multiple ova can be released during this 24 hours, this is still considered a single ovulation event. The lifespan of the human ovum means that a woman is fertile for a maximum of 48 hours every menstrual cycle (this does not take into consideration the lifespan of sperm).

The event of ovulation itself occurs around 24-36 hours after a surge in a hormone known as luteinising hormone (LH).

This surge of LH is released when the dominant follicle has grown large enough to secrete peak levels of oestrogen. Peak levels of oestrogen travel through the bloodstream to the hypothalamus, triggering it to release GnRH (gonadotrophin-releasing hormone) which causes the pituitary to deliver the surge of LH that triggers ovulation. 

If this is the case, why do so many people think you can ovulate randomly at multiple times during your menstrual cycle?

The widespread yet misinformed belief that a woman can ovulate on separate occasions within a single cycle, can be traced back to a journalism piece titled “Women can ovulate more than once a month” by Gaia Vince and published in the NewScientist in July 2003. (You can take a read of it here)

Throughout the editorial, Vince cited a scientific study called “A new model for ovarian follicular development during the human menstrual cycle” by Canadian researchers A.R. Baerwald, G.P. Adams and R.A. Pierson. Unfortunately, Vince blatantly misreported the actual scientific findings of the study – likely for the sake of media sensationalism.

In fact, the results of the study were so misconstrued (not just by Vince but by many other news outlets also) that the lead researcher Roger Pierson was compelled to agree to an interview with the University of Saskatchewan to clear up the confusion. The interview, published by Saskatchewan’s own on-campus news was titled “A cautionary tale about research that touches a nerve”. (You can take a read of it here.) In it, Pierson is quoted as saying “That story claimed women ovulate two or three times a month and that’s simply not true.”

So what did Roger Pierson’s study actually find?

It turns out that Pierson’s study supports the existing knowledge that a woman experiences a single ovulation event per menstrual cycle. However, it was discovered that during the menstrual cycle there are numerous waves of follicular growth (whereas previously it was thought that there was only one wave of follicular growth). Journalists all over the world decided to exchange the term “multiple waves of follicular growth” with “multiple ovulations” – two entirely different concepts!

As Pierson points out in his interview with the University of Saskatchewan, it is only the final wave of follicular growth within the ovary that actually results in ovulation – meaning women really do only experience one ovulation event per menstrual cycle after all.

But what about superfetation?

If you haven’t heard of superfetation I don’t blame you – it is extremely rare (a total of around ten reported cases in global history) and the scientific community generally states that further research is needed to either definitively prove or disprove its existence in humans. Superfetation refers to the condition whereby an animal becomes pregnant with another offspring, while already pregnant. This results in the mother carrying two offspring that are at different stages of development. If you’re interested in reading more about superfetation, the article “A review of the mechanisms and evidence for typical and atypical twinning” is a good place to start.

One theory for the mechanism of superfetation is that some women may have abnormally high levels of FSH (follicle stimulating hormone), which may resist the inhibitory effect of estradiol, progesterone and inhibin A during the first few days/weeks after implantation. Another theory is that some women may have a unique endocrine response to embryo implantation, resulting in levels of estradiol, progesterone and inhibin A that are too low to inhibit the release of FSH and LH from the pituitary. Both of these scenarios could result in an ovulation event after pregnancy has already occurred. You can read more about these mechanisms in the article “Unpredicted ovulations and conceptions during early pregnancy: an explanatory mechanism of human superfetation”

Conclusion? Superfetation remains to be definitively proven by science, and even if it were to be confirmed it is an extremely rare event that applies to pregnant women only.

The jury is in ladies and gents. Ovulation is an event that occurs once in a single menstrual cycle.

 

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It’s the age-old question that just won’t go away. From middle-aged mothers to experimenting teens, confusion reigns supreme when it comes to period sex and whether it carries a risk of pregnancy.

The short answer is a resounding YES: You can become pregnant after engaging in sexual intercourse while menstruating.

If you’re curious like me, you’ll want to know why. Remember, knowledge is power!

We are only fertile for 48 hours every menstrual cycle; however, it takes two to tango and we need to take into account the lifespan of sperm. Sperm can survive up to 5-7 days in the reproductive tract thanks to the incredible properties of cervical mucus. (Not sure what cervical mucus is? Take a read of THIS article).

With the lifespan of the sperm and egg combined, there is a “fertile window” each menstrual cycle of approximately 6-9 days where intercourse could result in pregnancy.

This fertile window can occur earlier or later in your cycle, depending on when you ovulate. A rule of thumb is that ovulation always occurs 10-16 days prior to the start of your next period. These 10-16 days are known as the luteal phase.

There are a few scenarios where the fertile window can land on times of your cycle where you are experiencing bleeding, so let’s take a look!

SHORT CYCLES:
If you regularly have short menstrual cycles, this means your fertile window occurs much earlier than the average. Due to this, period sex can very easily result in sperm sitting ready and waiting in your fallopian tubes just in time for the egg to be released! (This would be especially true if you experience quite a long period in combination with a short cycle). To provide an example, if you have a 23 day cycle, ovulation could be happening around day 9 (23 minus a 14 day luteal phase = 9). If ovulation is occurring on day 9, we then need to take into account the lifespan of sperm (up to 7 days), which takes us back to day 3 of the menstrual cycle as the opening of the fertile window – and it’s highly likely that you will still be menstruating on day 3. It’s important to note that the above are general figures and not necessarily applicable to your individual menstrual cycle.

UNEXPECTEDLY EARLY OVULATION:
If you’re reading this and thinking, ‘phew, I’m safe! I don’t have short cycles – I have average length cycles!” then I have bad news for you. As all Fertility Awareness Educators would say: “never predict future cycles based on past cycles“. The process of ovulation can often be delayed or brought forward seemingly randomly or even due to influences such as new supplements, different exercise regimens, new diets, illness, travel, stress, medication and more. So even if you consistently have 28 day cycles, there is no reason that ovulation cannot occur unusually early for you one day – and if this does happen after you’ve had unprotected sex during the last few days of your period, there is a chance that pregnancy may occur. This risk is even higher if you experience very long periods (say 7 to 8 days).

NON-MENSTRUAL BLEEDING:
The definition of a true period, is bleeding that follows 10-16 days after ovulation as the uterine lining sheds. Bleeding that was not preceded 10-16 days prior by ovulation, is known as non-menstrual bleeding.

Did you know that there is no guarantee that you will ovulate during each and every menstrual cycle? In fact, there is research to show that during our reproductive years, ovulation may not occur in an average of around 7% of menstrual cycles*. These figures are higher during the teen and pre-menopausal years.

Why is this so important? Because you could get a “period” at the end of a seemingly normal 28 day cycle, not realising that you never even ovulated and what you are experiencing is non-menstrual bleeding. Your ovaries may then gear up to finally ovulate successfully – just after you’ve had unprotected sex on days 1 or 2 of what you assumed was a true period!

Non-menstrual bleeding can also be common for people with polycystic ovarian syndrome who may go many months before their body successfully ovulates. This can lead to a build-up of the uterine lining. This thick lining can become unstable without the progesterone we would usually regularly release after ovulation. The destabilised lining can break down and cause bleeding that might be mistaken for a true period if you are not tracking your menstrual cycle.

*Researchers often refer to “non-ovulatory or anovulatory menstrual cycles” but this is a misnomer, because without the event of ovulation, the menstrual cycle cannot complete (because once ovulation occurs, menstruation will follow within 10-16 days, thus completing the full menstrual cycle).

OVULATION-SPOTTING:
Spotting or light bleeding around the time of ovulation is another type of non-menstrual bleeding. The reason that this occurs is hypothesised to be due to large fluctuations in hormone levels as you experience a peak of oestrogen which quickly falls, potentially leading to a small oestrogen-withdrawal spotting event. If you’re not tracking your cycles, this light bleeding could be mistaken for a light period – and if you were under the illusion that period sex was “safe” then you would have made the mistake of having unprotected intercourse right on the most fertile days of your cycle!

So, the next time you put a towel down to enjoy the benefits of period sex (like cramp and migraine relief), don’t forget to use protection!*

*If you’re wondering whether there’s a way to tell whether you’re ovulating each month, differentiate between all these different types of bleeding, and preempt an early ovulation as best as possible – you’ll want to dive deep into the Symptothermal Method of Fertility Awareness. You can find a guide to begin learning the Symptothermal Method here: Self-Teaching

First things first… let’s get clear on the term vaginal discharge! Vaginal discharge tends to imply that we have some kind of infection or pathological issue. In reality, the term ‘vaginal discharge’ refers to ALL types of fluid that are discharged from the vaginal canal. This can include:

• skin cells that slough away from the vaginal wall,
• healthy cervical mucus created by special crypts within your cervix
• discharge caused by infection or disease

This article is concerned with cervical mucus (sometimes known as cervical fluid). Cervical mucus is technically a type of vaginal discharge (albeit, a very healthy one!). Cervical mucus is created by special crypts that line the inside of your cervix (your cervix is the bottom third of your uterus and is a thick, muscular tube that connects the inside of your uterus with the upper portion of your vaginal canal).

You’ve probably encountered cervical mucus before even if you weren’t actually aware of it at the time. You may have occasionally or frequently seen cervical mucus dried in the crotch of your undies, on the toilet tissue after you wipe, or even dangling out of you in a long string as you sit on the toilet after a bowel movement.

Tracking cervical mucus is a key part of most modern Fertility Awareness-Based Methods (FABMs), because the consistency of cervical mucus changes in response to different levels of oestrogen and progesterone.

Cervical fluid is a normal, natural, HEALTHY bodily function. And when I say the word “function” I mean it has a very specific purpose! It also follows a very predictable pattern of changes that align with specific phases of your menstrual cycle. If this is news to you, you’re not alone – unfortunately the vast majority of women have no clue about this incredible substance and the way it changes in response to different hormones. In fact, many women assume that they have recurring vaginal infections when they notice cervical mucus, and then resort to unnecessary douching and feminine washes in a misguided attempt to “clean” themselves. (On a side note: I do hope that everyone reading this is aware of the detrimental effect that douches and feminine washes can have on the natural pH level of your vagina).

The primary purpose of cervical mucus is to protect, nourish, transport and filter … SPERM! And seeing as the female body only ovulates once in a single menstrual cycle, there’s no point in producing highly fertile cervical fluid for the entire month. Instead, cervical fluid increases in water content as your oestrogen levels rise the closer you get to ovulating. A typical transition could see your cervical fluid move from:

• None at all after your period ends (dry), to
• Sticky/tacky/moist, to
• Creamy/smooth/white/wet, to
• Slippery/stretchy/clear/lubricative (consistency of raw eggwhite), to
• Watery, to
• Dry again

Lubricative cervical mucus of a consistency similar to raw eggwhite is considered the most fertile. For some people, the water content of this fluid is so high that they can no longer pick it up, and it simply appears like very watery, slippery fluid. After ovulation, your cervical fluid usually dries up for the rest of your cycle. It’s important to note that if you are using the Symptothermal Method of contraception, all cervical fluid prior to ovulation should be considered fertile. Yes, some types are (far) more fertile than other types, but in the follicular phase under the influence of oestrogen, they can all be hospitable to sperm. Don’t be fooled into thinking that you can only get pregnant when you’re experiencing cervical fluid that looks like raw eggwhite (although it is more likely).

Let’s break down the four key functions of cervical mucus. Join the conversation!

PROTECT: Cervical mucus is alkaline. Your vagina is acidic. Sperm cannot survive in the naturally acidic pH of the vagina – in fact, in the absence of cervical mucus, your vagina is a bit of a sperm-killing machine! Cervical fluid provides a nice, safe alkaline substance to protect sperm from what would otherwise be an inhospitable environment inside your vagina.

NOURISH: Cervical mucus contains fructose which is an energy source for sperm. Sperm can survive on average up to 5 days (but on some occasions longer) in highly fertile cervical mucus.

TRANSPORT: The microscopic structure of cervical mucus is fascinating stuff. In the follicular phase of your cycle as your oestrogen levels rise in the lead-up to ovulation, the structure of your cervical mucus transitions to provide easier navigation for sperm. At its most fertile (when it appears as raw eggwhite), the mollecular structure of your cervical fluid mimics “swimming lanes” that allow for easy passage of sperm. In the luteal phase of your cycle under the influence of progesterone, your cervical fluid has a very impenetrable mollecular structure that creates a “plug” of sorts in the cervix to keep any further sperm out.

FILTER: The molecular structure of “swimming lanes” in highly fertile cervical fluid also serves to filter out any sperm of low motility or abnormal morphology. Any sperm that are swimming sideways or backwards get trapped on the edges of the “swimming lanes” and in this way your cervical fluid is actively filtering out low quality sperm in favour of the strongest swimmers!

How impressive is that? Your cervical fluid literally protects, nourishes, transports and filters sperm. For so many people, this is a completely foreign concept. Plus, if you are on hormonal contraception you won’t see this transition of cervical fluid as your body is not cycling naturally through the normal reproductive hormones each month – in fact, many contraceptive methods work (in part) due to the way they thicken your cervical mucus and therefore create an impenetrable barrier for sperm.

So, spread the word. Because you never know which of your friends is out there freaking out over this weird vaginal discharge that looks like someone cracked an egg in their undies!

*Want to see photos of real-life cervical fluid from other women? Check out The Cervical Mucus Gallery – an educational gallery of real pictures of cervical fluid!

*Want to see what a cervix looks like? Head to The Beautiful Cervix project to find out!