Fertility Education Trust

guidelines to charting your fertility cycle, page 12 of 26

2. The Mucus Symptom - Charting the Mucus Symptom:

The mucus chart on the lower half of each page is based on a new concept in charting. Instead of you having to think of words to describe your mucus symptom and writing them down, the chart presents all the different standard types of mucus, in the order they would appear in a typical cycle. You simply read the list each evening and choose the descriptions that most closely match your observations of the day. You then put crosses opposite them in the appropriate column for that day. The Colour Scheme is based on the seasons of the year as seen in trees.

Chart comparing the different stages of mucus across the days of the cycle, as per the descriptions on the previous page.

the winter tree (brown)

When a woman has a DRY feeling at the vulva, with no mucus seen or felt, this represents the “winter” of her fertility, a barren time when nothing grows. In terms of her cycle it means that:

  1. the egg for that cycle has not been selected yet
  2. the cervix is closed with a sticky plug of mucus
  3. sperm cannot survive in the acidity of the vagina
A tree with no leaves at all.

the spring tree (yellow - on the way down at the start of the mucus symptom)

When a she is no longer DRY, or begins to feel moist/ damp, or mucus appears, (or the double-check rules apply), it is the “spring time” of her cycle, the wakening of her fertility because:

  1. an egg has been selected and is beginning its final ripening in the ovary
  2. the cervix is opening and dispersing the sticky mucus plug
  3. small amounts of alkaline fertile mucus are being produced
  4. sperm can now enter the cervix and survive for several days
A tree with young yellowy leaves.

the summer tree (green)

When a woman feels wet at the vulva, with clearer slippery mucus present, she is in the “summer” of her fertility, highly fertile because:

  1. the egg is very ripe and ready for release
  2. the cervix is wide open, secreting stretchy, slippery, raw egg-white type mucus
  3. the mucus has abundant swimming lanes, with high levels of nutrients for sperm survival
  4. the last day of this type of mucus (regardless of amount) marks Peak of Fertility
A tree heavy with big green leaves.

autumn and winter trees (yellow and brown - on the way back up after PEAK day)

After the summer, Nature is in decline. So too, by 3rd day after Peak Day (Double check with - 3rd high temperature), the woman’s fertility has faded away and autumn and winter return.

  1. the egg has died quickly, if not fertilised and the fertile mucus has also dried up
  2. the cervix has closed and is re-sealed with a sticky mucus plug
  3. the vagina has become highly acid again and hostile to sperm
A tree with brown leaves falling from it.

© 2007 Fertility Education Trust