Fertility Education Trust

guidelines to charting your fertility cycle, page 11 of 26

2. The Mucus Symptom - How To Observe The Mucus Symptom:

Look for mucus at the vulva each time you visit the toilet.
Observe before and after passing urine, by wiping from front to back across the vaginal opening with toilet tissue.
The tissue will pick up any mucus, which can then be quickly observed on the paper, before it is absorbed.
Mucus will usually be shiny and needs to be stretched between the fingers, or tissue, to recognise its changing qualities.
The passage of mucus can be assisted down the vagina by using a bearing down action as if having a bowel motion and repeating it in quick succession for a few seconds. Many women find their best mucus sample after a bowel motion, for this reason.
You can also assess the mucus internally with your finger, but there are always transudate fluids internally and you need to learn to distinguish between these transudates and genuine cervical mucus.

Each day, describe the mucus symptom following the code “SCAT” which represents:
Sensation - Colour - Amount - Type

sensation:

As you went about your daily work today, what feeling did you have at the vulva (vaginal opening)? Were you dry or moist or wet? When you wiped from front to back over the vaginal opening with tissue, at each visit to the toilet, was it pulling, or did it slip indicating the presence of a wet lubricative mucus? Each day you mark one of those sensations on your chart.

colour:

If there was mucus on the tissue, what colour was it? white/yellowish or cloudy? Was it clearer or absolutely clear? Note that it may only look clear when stretched, either on tissue or fingers.

amount:

How much mucus was there? For scant mucus mark 1; for an increased amount mark 2 or 3; for a lot of mucus mark 4 or 5. Mucus usually increases in amount the nearer ovulation approaches.

type/texture:

How did the mucus feel between your fingers or tissue? Standard descriptions used by women worldwide for the mucus when it first starts after the period are:
milky, creamy, sticky, pasty, clotty, crumbly, tacky, gluey

Nearer ovulation, they describe it as more stretchy, slippery to feel, resembling raw egg-white. For some, the mucus is so thin and watery, they can’t find any to finger test, but feel continuously very wet. If different types of mucus appear on the same day, mark them all on the chart.

The last day of wet, slippery, clear mucus is called PEAK DAY - peak of oestrogen, peak of fertility - the most fertile day in the whole cycle!