1. Cervical fluid functions exactly like seminal fluid. It provides an alkaline medium to protect the sperm in an otherwise acidic vagina. In addition, it provides nourishment for the sperm. Without fertile cervical fluid, sperm will die within a few hours.
2. After a woman has her period, cervical fluid typically starts to develop in the following pattern:
   • Menstruation . . . . . . . *
   • Nothing/dry . . . . . . . . --
   • Sticky . . . . . . . . . . . . .S
   • Creamy . . . . . . . . . . . C
   • Eggwhite. . . . . . . . . . . E
   • Nothing/dry . . . . . . . . --
   • Menstruation . . . . . . . .*
3. Observing your cervical fluid
   • Begin checking the first day after menstruation has ended.
   • Try to check CF two or three times each day, either at your vulva or internally. Either way, remain consistent.
     1. If checking internally, remember that generic vaginal moisture is always present, but will evaporate quickly in the air. Do not confuse this with CF.
     2. Be sure to check when not sexually aroused, since sexual lubrication can mask CF (so can semen from the previous night :-).
     3. Note underwear during the day. Very fertile CF often forms a symmetrical round circle on your undies, whereas non-fertile CF tends to form more of a rectangular square or line.
     4. CF is insoluble. Take a sample and dip into a glass of water. CF will form a blob that sinks to the bottom. Basic vaginal moisture will dissolve.

• Menses. Red blood flow
• Spotting. Brown, pink or discolored
• Nothing. Dry. No CF present
• Sticky. Opaque white or yellow. Can be fairly thick. May be crumbly or flaky like paste, or gummy like rubber cement. May form small peaks when you separate fingers.
• Creamy. Milky or cloudy, white or yellow. Creamy or lotiony. Wet, watery or thin. When separating fingers, doesn't form peaks, but remains smooth like hand lotion.
• Eggwhite. Usually clear but can have opaque streaks. Very slippery and wet, like raw eggwhite. May stretch from 1 to 10 inches

• Eggwhite-quality cervical fluid (which is slippery and usually stretchy)
• Lubricative vaginal sensation (which is wet and slippery, but may not be accompanied by any cervical fluid)
• Any midcycle spotting

1. midcycle spotting
2. pain or achiness near the ovaries
3. increased sexual feelings
4. fuller vaginal lips
5. abdominal bloating
6. water retention
7. heightened sense of vision, smell and taste
8. increased sensitivity in breasts and skin
9. breast tenderness

Natural Birth Control

• First 5 Days Rule. You are not fertile for the first 5 days of the menstrual cycle if you had an obvious temp shift 12 to 16 days before. For most women, the combined risk of ovulation occurring on Day 10 or earlier and sperm living long enough to fertilize the egg is extremely rare.
• Dry Day Rule. Before ovulation, you are infertile the evening of every dry day. If you make love in the morning, check the cervix to insure there is no fertile CF present beforehand. Sperm cannot survive in a dry vaginal environment, and the lack of cervical fluid indicates that estrogen levels are too low for ovulation to occur.
• Temperature Shift Rule. You are infertile the evening of the third consecutive day your temperature is above the coverline. The rise in temp due to the release of progesterone indicates that ovulation has occurred. Waiting three days allows for the remote possibility of two or more eggs being released over a 24-hour period, with each one living a full day.
• Peak Day Rule. You are safe the evening of the 4th consecutive day after your Peak Day. The last day of wet cervical fluid or vaginal sensation indicates the imminence of ovulation. Allowing for 4 days for drying up assures that any eggs released are already gone, and the return of a dry vaginal environment inhospitable to sperm survival.
• If there is a discrepancy between the Temperature Shift Rule and the Peak Day Rule, always wait until both signs indicate infertility to be most conservative.
• If trying to avoid pregnancy, please remember that you must either abstain during your fertile days, or use some form of contraception, in order to insure you will not conceive during lovemaking!

How do I do this?

• Basal Body Thermometer. Do not use a standard fever thermometer, as the calibrations are not fine enough. Call local drugstores before going shopping, as not all stores carry them.
  1. Glass Basal Body Thermometers. Easiest to find. They run about $7-10, and are considered the most reliable. However, they require a full 5 minutes to register an accurate reading.
  2. Digital BBTs. Nice because they usually require only a minute to register, and will beep when it is ready. For charting, be sure it has a memory capable of storing the last temp until you can record it. It is imperative that it is accurate to .1 degree F (fever thermometers are only to within .2 degrees).
     • If your local drugstore does not carry these beasties, you can ask them to order you one from Becton Dickenson Consumer Products, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417-1883, 800/316-1611. The cost should be aproximately $15.
  3. Ear Thermometers. Not considered reliable enough for these purposes.
• Charts. The book provides three types of charts you can use. I wish I could duplicate them for this page, but I have not found a way to.

  Menopause, Premenopause and Breast Feeding

  • Classic signs of impending menopause
    1. menstrual cycle irregularities
    2. hot flashes
    3. vaginal dryness
  • While it is true that premenopausal women are less fertile than younger women, fertility signs shift more quickly than usual. As a result, the body may progress faster toward ovulation than in earlier years.
  • Women who are breast feeding may mistakenly believe they are infertile during this time. They are not, unless they are feeding every 3-4 hours around the clock and offering no other subsitute to breast milk. Women who are not breast feeding regularly must assume they can become fertile at any time!
  • There are two rules to follow when charting cycles during premenopause and breast feeding:
    1. Unchanging Day Rule. If your 2-week Basic Infertile Pattern (BIP) is dry or the same-quality sticky cervical fluid day after day, you are safe for unprotected intercourse the evening of every dry or unchanging sticky day.
    2. Patch Rule. As soon as you see a change in your BIP, you must consider yourself fertile until the fourth consecutive evening after your Peak Day. The Peak Day is the last day of the more fertile patch of cervical fluid or lubricative vaginal sensation.
  

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  Last Updated: 25may09
  Laura Bryannan
  LauraBryannan@hotmail.com