How To Get More Fertile Cervical Mucus
Transcription :
Your cervical mucus is one of the most important signs that your body gives you that you are ready to get pregnant, that you are fertile and ready to conceive. So in today’s video, we’re going to spend more time talking about cervical mucus, what it all means, how to understand it, and more importantly, what you can do to improve it. Before we get started, I want to just give a quick shout out to Fairhaven Health, who is the sponsor of today’s video. They produce some great supplements to help you on your fertility journey. Some of which is FH PRO for Women, which I’ve discussed in the past as well. And because today we’re talking about cervical mucus, I did want to point out two of their products. One is their fish oils, their FH PRO Omega, and their BabyDance to help with lubrication. And we’ll get into all of that and what you can do to improve your cervical mucus now.
My name is Dr. Marc Sklar, also known as The Fertility Expert, and welcome to FertilityTV, your YouTube channel dedicated to helping you get pregnant. I’ve been working with couples for over 18 years through my online programs and right here in San Diego at both of my clinic. And we work with couples from all over the world through the online programs to help you get pregnant and more importantly, to really strive to help to get you pregnant naturally. And that’s why today we’re going to be talking about cervical mucus, because cervical mucus is so important for natural conception. Before we get started, I do want to remind everyone that if you are interested in working with me and my team to help you get pregnant, then I want to invite you to apply for discovery call to see if you are a good candidate to join one of my programs. If that’s what you want to do, use the link in the description below to apply.
Okay, so let’s jump into it. Cervical mucus is so important. And I know some of you may not be aware of what cervical mucus is, what it all means, and when it changes, how to understand those changes and what that means for your body. So that’s what we’re going to cover in this video. So let’s start with some of the basics. For those of you who are not aware, cervical mucus is the fluid, the moisture that comes out of the vagina, and this happens all month long, but what we really want to pay attention to is how your cervical mucus looks during ovulation, during that fertile window time, right? But to understand what your cervical mucus looks like during your fertile window and to make sure it’s the right quality, we also have to understand what your cervical mucus looks like outside of that window, which means that you need to be checking your cervical mucus regularly.
So if it’s easy and straightforward and simple for you, then I do recommend checking daily, at least in the beginning so that you can understand what it’s looking like at every day of your cycle and so that you can also more importantly understand how it’s changing, when it’s changing, and what it looks like when it changes. Now, cervical mucus, when you start to check it and you’re more comfortable with it, it doesn’t have to be checked daily. You can start to check every other day or every three days, in the beginning of your cycle, after you’re done bleeding. When you start to approach your fertile window, then you can check more regularly. And then outside of that, you can check a little less frequently as well so that you understand how things are shifting.
Now, one of the key things to being able to track this properly also is that you are having a regular cycle. So I’m not going to spend a lot of time talking about a regular menstrual cycle in this video. I do have many videos that have already created on that exact topic. You can check those out right over here or by using the links in the description below, and you can do that after you watch this video. Now, cervical mucus is an important indicator. It’s your body talking to you. Actually, it’s your hormones talking to you. That’s right. So we do want to understand what this is. And then in just a little bit, I’ll talk to you about how you can influence it and improve it.
First, let’s talk about how you can track it and check the quality of your cervical mucus. So the easiest way is if you’re having an abundant amount of cervical mucus that it will come out of the vagina and sometimes onto your underwear. When that happens, it’s relatively straightforward to check. Although if it’s on your underwear, odds are that it’s dried and it’s going to be a little bit more difficult for you to check the quality of it. So we do want to see that you are checking it at the vagina. And for many of you, you’re actually going to have to insert a finger or two into the vagina to actually get some cervical mucus and be able to check the quality. I do recommend you do this regularly again so that you understand what it’s looking like. You don’t have to insert your fingers too far if you’re having an abundant amount. It should be pretty simple and straightforward. Just insert your finger just about this much, take out the cervical mucus, and start to look at it.
And what you’re really looking for during your fertile period is that that mucus looks like what’s called egg white cervical mucus. That’s right. The name is exactly what it should look like. It should look like egg white that’s raw. You just crack a fresh egg, you have the egg white. You put your finger in, and that finger is going to show you that the egg white, the moisture of the fluid is sticky, stretchy, and clear and abundant, and that’s really what you’re looking for during your fertile window. Now, that should come up right before you ovulate. You should have an abundant amount of egg white cervical mucus right before and during ovulation. That’s the ideal time for that to occur.
Now, to understand what that is, again, we have to check in at other times of the cycle and what it might look like at other times of the cycle is that it’s more white versus clear or opaque, it’s going to look thicker, it’s going to be maybe more clumpy, it’s not going to look like egg white cervical mucus. But again, to understand that, you’ve got to check it all cycle long so that you can see the change and the transition.
So why does it change? Well, it changes because your hormones change. Your hormones are shifting at all times of your cycle. And sometimes we just talk about your menstrual cycle in halves. We talk about the follicular phase being the first half and the luteal phase being the second half, but it can actually be separated into four phases, and it’s going to change during each one of those four phases based on the way your hormones shift as well. And the key hormone responsible for cervical mucus shifting is estrogen. So as your estrogen increases, as you get closer to ovulation, your cervical mucus should become more egg white like we just described. And as you get farther away from ovulation, then that hormone starts to decrease and your egg white cervical mucus goes away and the cervical mucus changes.
I do recommend that you track this and track this ongoingly. And one of the easiest way to do this is through apps. Many of you already use an app to track your basal body temperature. And if you haven’t noticed, there is usually a section there that asks cervical mucus. And so, that’s an easy way to track that as well. If you’re not already using an app like that, then I suggest you play with a few of them, try them out and see which one works best for you.
So just to review, your cervical mucus can change, and it can change and become different qualities throughout your cycle. The main ways of changes, it can start off sticky, then become creamy, then transition to what we want which is that egg white cervical mucus, and then potentially become more watery. So those are the primary ways, although we all have some variations to that as well.
We haven’t talked about why this is so important. So yes, I’ve kind of hinted at it. It does change your cervical mucus changes when you’re getting ready to ovulate, but why does it do that? What’s the purpose of it? Now, everything your body does has a purpose. There’s a reason for everything, and this is no different. But why do you need different cervical mucus during ovulation? Well, the key here is sperm. The cervical mucus will change and transition to that egg white cervical mucus to create a friendlier, more helpful environment for the sperm. It actually helps the sperm get through the vagina, into the uterus, and in the end to meet the egg. So it helps the sperm along the way on this important journey.
When you’re not ovulating, then the cervical mucus changes and makes it much harder for the sperm to get to where they need to go. The reason for that is that it’s trying to protect the uterus, that when you’re not ovulating, it wants to keep everything safe and clean in that area so it prevents bacteria and viruses from getting in there, and in that case, also the sperm. So that’s why it’s so important and it’s also so important for having a good vaginal environment, a good pH because that pH can actually be beneficial for the sperm or be more harmful for the sperm. So all of this is your body’s way of helping the sperm get to the egg and helping fertilization, and in the end, helping you get pregnant.
So what do we do if we don’t have good cervical mucus, if we don’t have that egg white cervical mucus that we’re striving for? Well, the first thing, and as always where I usually start, is do testing because your cervical mucus, as I described, is predicated on your hormones and specifically your estrogen levels. So how do we test what’s going on with your hormones? Well, we do labs. There’s lots of different ways we can do labs. I suggest doing a baseline of hormone testing through blood work so that we can understand what all your hormones are looking like, including your estrogen. And then often, I might do some more advanced testing like a DUTCH Test as well to get a better understanding for how your body is using your hormones.
Now, estrogen is key here, as I’ve mentioned, so we want to understand what’s going on with your estrogen levels. Are they too low or are they too high? And then, we know how to address those through supplementation. In most cases, when we are dealing with low cervical mucus, what we’re dealing with also is low estrogen levels. So that’s how I’m going to make my suggestions here, but that’s not always the case for all of you.
The other piece that is really important when we’re talking about good vaginal environment and healthy cervical mucus is if you are having any BV or yeast, in that case, candida. Do you have any long-term reoccurrent issues with bacterial vaginosis and candida or yeast infections? These things will dramatically, negatively impact your vaginal environment and your cervical mucus and make it much, much harder for the sperm to get to where they need to go. Why is that? Well, we just talked about it. They’re going to change the pH in the vagina and they’re also going to change the cervical mucus. And when that happens and they become more white, there’s a lot of yeast in there, it makes it much harder for the sperm to get through and into the uterus.
So as I’ve often said, on many instances, in other videos on different fertility topics that taking care of candida, and in this case, I am going to equate it to digestive function and improving your digestive health and GI function, is key to healthy hormones and a good reproductive system. And so, if we want to get pregnant and we have these issues or have had these issues, we do want to do some testing to understand what they look like and then create a plan to treat those things. Treating candida, treating BV, and creating a healthy vaginal environment is of utmost importance when we are trying to get pregnant for all the reasons I’ve already said.
So I know for some of you, it might seem like you’re taking a step back because you have to deal with these things, but I want to encourage you. This is actually a step forward because you’re taking care of these things. You’re moving forward and creating a healthy environment for the sperm to get to the egg. I can’t tell you how often I find this in the couples that I work with. This is something that I routinely find and routinely address in all the couples that I treat. I would say at least 50%, if not higher, have issues like this that need to be addressed first, okay? And that’s why I’m suggesting all of you do some additional testing to find out if it’s there. If you already know it’s there, then let’s start to treat it.
So while staying on this topic of candida and BV, what do we do to address it if we have it. So I’m going to tell you some simple things, but in the end, you really do need a customized plan to address them and a good candida detox to address these things long-term. But here are some key steps that you can start to take. First and foremost, get a good probiotic that has what’s called Saccharomyces boulardii in it. That is a key probiotic that helps address the yeast overgrowth. And two, make sure that you cut out the sugars and the carbs, because carbs turn into sugar. So all those processed artificial sugars are making your vaginal environment worse and are only enhancing the yeast overgrowth, right? So we want to create an environment where they don’t like to grow. So I want to make sure that you change your diet. That is step number one, and it’s not a short-term thing. This is a long-term change. And then, add in those probiotics.
There’s a lot of other supplements that you can do which I usually customize when I work with couples individually to address these things. And again, if that’s something that you want my team and I to support you with, you can apply for a discovery call with my team by using the link in the description below. But you can always start by adding those probiotics and changing your diet, and that will help you tremendously even though it might not be everything that you need to do to support this process.
Now, what happens if we’ve got hormonal issues, right? If our estrogen is not enough? Well, this is something that we can start to address at home, and this is where some key things do make a difference. The first one is incorporating some essential fatty acids. Remember earlier when I was talking about Fairhaven Health’s product, I was talking about their omegas, the FH PRO Omega. Well, this is a great step because essential fatty acids will help to nourish your vaginal environment and help your cervical mucus. The other one that I think is also important besides the fish oils is evening-primrose oil because that can also dramatically help the cervical mucus as well.
And one of my favorite, favorite supplements to add in when we are talking about cervical mucus and low estrogen is maca. That’s right. And by the way, when we start talking about maca, there was only one maca that I like to recommend, it’s the FemmenessencePRO HARMONY. I’m going to leave the link in the description below to make that easier for you for that specific maca and all the supplements that I talk about in this video.
Another key nutrient that I always talk about which is essential for pretty much every function that the body does, including regulating your hormones and supporting your cervical mucus is vitamin D. I want all of you to have your vitamin D levels checked. And if you’re not getting enough, add that in as well. So at the bare minimum, your vitamin D levels should be at 30, but I like to see them at between 50 and 80. So if your levels aren’t high enough, start taking some vitamin D.
Last but not least, and possibly the most simple of all the tips that we’re going to talk about today is hydration. That’s right. Stay hydrated. Too many of you are not drinking enough water, are not drinking enough good quality water, and are not hydrating your body, your cells, and your cervical mucus. Cervical mucus is made up of almost 95% water, which means you need more water if you want to improve your cervical mucus. So a simple tip is drink more water. My rule of thumb is drinking half your body weight in ounces. So to keep it simple, if you weigh 120 pounds, you’re going to be drinking about 60 ounces of water per day. That’s about two liters of water per day, okay? So increase your water intake, get more hydrated, and this will also help your cervical mucus.
One additional tip as it comes to hydration is that grapefruit juice is actually beneficial for cervical mucus and can help support the increase in cervical mucus. So one thing you can do is add some grapefruit juice into your diet. Now, you don’t need to do this all month long or all cycle long, but you absolutely can do this the week of your fertile window. So that week leading up to ovulation, get some nice organic grapefruits, juice them and drink a cup of that, not too much, like six to eight ounces per day, and that will make a nice little impact on your cervical mucus. I’m lucky enough to have a grapefruit tree in my house, so we make grapefruit juice regularly as well right here.
As we’ve talked about cervical mucus, candida and BV, and we’ve talked about hormones, we all need to know what our body is telling us, right? And as I always mentioned, you need to know what your hormones are, and if you are having any issues, whether it’s hormone irregularities or yeast infections, you need to know what to do about it. So if you want more support on understanding your hormones and creating a customized plan to support you on your fertility journey, then I want to invite you all to apply for discovery call with me and my team so that we can help guide you to a successful pregnancy. If you want to do that, just use the link in the description below.
All right. So if you like this video, let me know. Comment below and let me know what’s the one or two tips that we talked about that you’re going to start to incorporate, and how about what are the one or two things you didn’t even know about that can influence your cervical mucus, that now after watching this video, you do know? Comment below and let me know. And just as a reminder, when you comment in this video, you allow this video to be seen by more couples who need support on their fertility journeys, which means you are helping more people around the world get pregnant. So comment below and give me your feedback. If you like this video, give me a thumbs up. If you’re not already a subscriber to my YouTube channel, you should be so hit that Subscribe button to be a subscriber, and also hit that bell so that you can get notified when I put out another video for all of you. Until the next video, I want you all to stay safe, stay healthy, and most of all, stay fertile.