Secretion


You can tell a lot about your cycle and your fertility by looking at your discharge. This guide explains the different types of discharge, when in the cycle they are, how to check it and how to tell ovulation discharge (cervical mucus) apart from other forms of discharge.

How to check the discharge / cervical fluids

  • Start on the first day after menstruation.
  • Make sure you finger nails are short.
  • Focus on how it feels ”down there” throughout the day. Does is feel dry, moist, wet or slippery?
  • Pay attention to your underwear. Infertile discharge leaves striped tracks, while fertile discharge leaves wet circles.
  • Check the secretion every time you are at the toilet, since some people only have ovulation secretion for a few hours. You can also press a little to try and squeeze out the secretion. When you are at you most fertile you can also experience the secretion hangs down from the vaginal opening and into the toilet. This can also fall down into a lump in the water.
  • Check at least 3 times per day. Two of these times must be in the morning and the evening.
  • If you cannot find secretion outside the vagina, you can check inside. If you do this you must be consistent and check here each time.
  • Don’t check when you are sexually aroused. Women’s lubrication before/during sex is very close to the ovulation secretion.
  • Learn to tell the difference between sperm, lubrication (secretion from being sexually aroused) and ovulation secretion (cervical fluid).
  • Note down the most fertile secretion you observe during the day. If you for example see creamy secretion four times and cervical fluid in one of the days five checks, then note the cervical fluid, even if it’s just an observation.

 

How to find and check the secretion

  • Swipe you finger of some toilet paper past the vaginal opening.
  • Look away and rub it between your fingers. Does is feel dry, sticky, moist, wet or slippery?
  • Look at it. Try to stretch it between your fingers.
  • If you are in double if it is ovulation secretion or another type of secretion, try the water test. Dip the finger with the secretion in a glass of water. Normal secretion dissolves in water. Cervical fluid does not, but forms a ball and sinks to the bottom.
  • If you are in doubt if it is sperm or ovulation secretion, note it down.
  • After peeing you should pay attention to weather the toilet paper slides past easily or if it is ”as normal”.

 

The different types of secretion

  • Menstruation - bleeding.
  • Spotting – brown/pink small bleeding or light blood-mixed discharge.
  • Dry – no secretion
  • Sticky – often white. Feels ”dry” and crumbly, can be lumpy. It cannot be stretched, but can form small tops after attempting to stretch.
  • Lotion – white or creamy colored, looks like moisturizer. Also makes small tops when stretching.
  • Milky – white or creamy colored, looks like milk. Does not form small tops when stretching, but stays as a thing liquid on the finger.
  • Watery – clear and slippery, almost like ovulation discharge, except it cannot be stretched.
  • Ovulation secretion – often clear, but can also be white, yellow, or clear, white or yellow with a little white/yellow/pink/red/brown. It looks like egg white, it is very slippery. It can be stretched between 1 to 25 centimeters, depending on the quality. It will not be absorbed by toilet paper, but stay on the surface.

    •  

    Sperm or lubrication vs. real ovulation secretion

    • Sperm and lubrication often form thin threads when stretched. It also dries up relatively fast and cannot be stretch much before it looses its quality.
    • The cervical fluid can often be stretched as one thick thread and can be stretched time after time without drying up or loosing its quality.

    Ovulation Secretion

    Different types of discharge

    In what order does the secretions come throughout the cycle?

    All cycles start with the period. Many have a few days of spotting before the period is finished. Then you often experience a few days without discharge. Usually, the discharge gets gradually wetter; one day or more with sticky followed by several days of milky secretion. This finally ends with ovulation secretion. The secretions dry up quickly after the ovulation secretion, but some go straight from ovulation to lotion and sticky before it gets dry. Most people are dry until about a week after ovulation, and then many get a wetter discharge again until the period starts. Some also gets lotion and/or milky discharge on the days just before the period starts, usually because the womb lining has started to break down and leaks moisture.

    There are of course individual differences here as with everything else in life. Some people never get ovulation secretion, others are completely dry. Most of this is normal, and if you pay attention through a few cycles you often see a patter even if you don’t follow the rule of thumb.

    The rule of thumb is:

    Period > spotting > dry >sticky > milky > ovulation secretion > lotion/sticky > dry > (lotion/milk >) period.

    A typical secretion pattern through a cycle can look like this (ovulation on day 18):

    Secretion cycle
    Click for larger image

     

    How to find the ovulation from the cervix secretions

    • The ovulation usually comes on the last day of ovulation secretion or the day after. This is not necessarily the day with the most secretion or the most stretchable secretion.
    • Some experience light bleeding og blood tracks in the secretions right before the ovulation. This is a sign that you are very fertile right then. This is because the womb lining can leak a little between the dives in estrogen before ovulation and before enough progesterone has been produced to sustain the womb lining.
    • The qualities of the secretions are more important than the quantity.
    • The day the ovulation has dried up again, the ovulation is usually over.

     

    More about ovulation and other secretions

    • Inside the cervix there are tiny little hollows that creates secretions. The qualities of these vary depending on where you are in the cycle. In infertile periods, little or ”dry” secretions are being created. Before and during ovulation, wet secretions are being created.
    • The most fertile secretion you can have is the ovulation secretion. It contains small ”channels” that the sperm can swim through easily. It goes through the neck of the womb and helps the sperm on it’s way. The sperm can also ”spend the night” in these little hollows that create the secretions, while waiting for the ovulation.
    • All other wet secretion is also fertile, but not as fertile as the ovulation secretion. Not everyone gets ovulation secretion, and they shall interpret all other wet secretion as fertile.
    • Some can experience several rounds of ovulation secretion in one cycle. This can be because the body has tried to ovulate, but didn’t manage to do so. The new round of ovulation secretion shows that the body is trying to ovulate again.
    • Several rounds of ovulation secretion (often combined with long irregular cycles) can be a sign of metabolism challenges.
    • Wetter discharge (and perhaps lower temperature) about one week after ovulation is not a sign of returning fertility. This is simple the result of the estrogen going up. The estrogen is the reason for the low temperature and wetter discharge before ovulation, and the same can happen when the top is near.

    Illustrations of the structure of the secretion

    Ovulation discharge
    (contains channels that the sperm swim in)

    Fertile secretion

    Infertile secretion
    (are tightly ”vowen” and the sperm thes stuck)

    Infertile secretion
     

    Inspiration sources: “Taking charge of your fertility” by Toni Weschler and Better Helath

    Pictures scanned from: “Taking charge of your fertility”