Fertile cervical mucus it seems is very important when trying to conceive. 

I always knew the appearance of the fertile cervical mucus (CM) signified the fertile time of day but until I watched The Great Sperm Race the other night, I had not realised just how important it was in aiding the sperm in entering  the cervix.

It sees the sperm need the fertile CM in order to be able to swim up into the cervix. Fertile cervical mucus is clear, slippery and often described as being like raw egg white in consistency and appearance.

The fertile cervical mucus (CM) helps the sperm in several ways:

• it actually helps the sperm to pass through the vagina and cervix and into the uterus (shown as being like a ladder in the show)
• it provides nutrients for the sperm
• the sperm can move through the fertile cervical mucus more easily than they can move through the non fertile mucus
• it helps alter the ph of the vagina in favour of the sperm (if the ph in the vagina is too acidic it is not sperm friendly)

When you have this fertile cervical mucus it means that this is your most fertile time of the month.

This fertile mucus is produced by the cervix at and around the time of ovulation, and not at any other time of the month. For hundreds or maybe even thousands of years women have used this sign as a natural sign of fertility.

Many women are really good at spotting when they have this fertile mucus, for others it can be more tricky.

I am fantastic at spotting it when we are having sex using a condom. However when we are having unprotected sex (ie when we are trying to conceive) I find it much harder, as the fresh sperm also has a  similar apperance to my fertile mucus, and thus makes it harder for me to spot the change in my cervical mucus.

I am very lucky in that I have plenty of cervical mucus but what do you do if you have very little cervical mucus ?

That is the subject of a whole new post