If you know when you ovulate, you know when you are most fertile; when you are most fertile, you are most likely to conceive. Obviously, it is important you learn how to determine when you ovulate each month. Fortunately, it is something that can be learned!
In Lisa Olson’s Pregnancy Miracle Book, the author spends a great deal of time going into the details of ovulation. She offers step by step instructions for studying the consistency and texture of female mucus. Pregnancy Miracle includes diagrams, charts and pictures to help you understand how different cervical mucus can be. There are generally three different phases of a woman’s monthly cycle.
The first is the “Infertile Phase,” the days immediately following your period. The Early Mucus level is zero. It is dry for several days.
The second phase is the “Fertile Phase.” As ovulation grows near, you can feel Transitional Cervical Mucus seeping from your vagina. It will be moist, sticky, and may be white and creamy. It holds its shape and breaks easily. As estrogen increases in production, you will experience a wetter sensation around the vulva. Mucus volume is high. It is thinner, raw egg white, watery, and transparent. It will stretch for several inches before breaking. High fertile mucus volume allows sperm to live for several days.
Your PEAK day is considered to be the LAST day that you can see and feel Highly Fertile Mucus; slippery, transparent, and stretchy. This is the BEST time to try to conceive. It is the time when fresh healthy sperm meets fresh healthy egg.
The third phase is called the “Post-ovulatory phase,” or the completely infertile phase. Slippery mucus will cease. Mucus becomes sticky and dry due to significant increases in progesterone, which thickens the mucus to form a plug at the cervix and prevent sperm from entering the cervix at the wrong time of the month.
It is suggested you check your cervical mucus when you use the bathroom, as it is most convenient. By using your finger, not toilet paper, as it is bound to absorb the moisture you want to study, check the opening of your vagina, NOT the walls, which will most likely always be wet. Note the difference between cervical mucus and regular vaginal secretions. If you are unsure of how to tell the difference between the two, try a test mentioned in Lisa Olsen’s Pregnancy Miracle System.
Dip a sample of mucus into some water. If it forms a blob and sinks, it is cervical mucus. If it dissolves, it is normal secretions.”Observing secretions daily and making notes of differences in appearance, consistency and texture, will help you to better understand your monthly cycle and determine when you ovulate each month.
