Cervical mucus and cervix position

Your cervix responds to hormones all cycle long. Its cervical mucus shifts as ovulation gets closer, and many people also notice its position changes. Mucus is the better-studied sign of the two.

What are the types of cervical mucus?

ACOG explains that just before ovulation, the amount of mucus noticeably increases and becomes thin and slippery. Just after ovulation, it decreases and becomes thicker and less noticeable. Rising oestrogen is what makes it wet and stretchy, which helps sperm swim and survive.

• After your period: often dry, or sticky like paste.
• Building up: creamy, lotion-like.
• Near ovulation: clear, wet, slippery and stretchy, like raw egg white.
• After ovulation: thick, sticky or dry again.

How does your cervix change in your cycle?

Some people also check how their cervix feels, with clean hands. It is commonly described as higher, softer and more open around ovulation, and lower, firmer and closed at other times. This is optional. It takes practice, it is the least studied of the fertility signs, and most formal methods rely on mucus and temperature instead. We could not find strong research on how reliable self-checks are, so treat it as a curiosity, not a measurement. You never have to check if you do not want to.