Cervical Fluid 101: Why Your Underwear Gets Wet at Certain Times Each Month
Alana is 14 and uncomfortable with the changes she is experiencing in her body. She notices her friends are changing too. She can see the red dots on Maggies face, noticed that Emma wears a sports bra now, but no one talks about what’s happening “down there”.
Alana wonders month after month, “Why are my panties always wet?” But she doesn’t have the confidence to ask her mom or even her older sister about the changes. The “health” classes at school—if you can call them that—only talk about the general differences between boy’s and girl’s hormones and talk about protection or abstinence.
She wonders if there’s more to what she’s feeling. It’s not until 10 years later, when Alana is newly married that she discovers the wetness in her undies is caused by her menstrual cycle. She’s had a period for 10 years but no one ever told her what she’s witnessing is a normal cervical fluid pattern.
Does this sound familiar? I certainly didn’t know what my cervical fluid was telling me as a teen. And I didn’t feel comfortable talking to my mom or sisters about it even though I had a great relationship with them. And my limited memory of my high school health class only discussed what a 28-day cycle looks like for 20 minutes with emphasis only on my period week.
It’s ridiculous that girls are not taught more about their bodies. We know that cycles are more than a period but why hasn’t this made its way into the health programs in high schools? It’s critical to have a basic understanding of your cervical fluid pattern. Not just to achieve pregnancy but also if you want to avoid pregnancy or be aware of imbalances in your body.
If you haven’t started drawing attention to your cervical fluid pattern, this article will give you a basic overview of what cervical fluid is and why it’s important to your overall health.
*This is for educational purposes only, this is not medical advice.*
What is Cervical Fluid?
Cervical fluid, sometimes called cervical mucus, is a fluid your cervix makes throughout your menstrual cycle and is influenced by your sex hormones. It’s most commonly observed on your toilet paper after using the restroom or in your underwear. Some women may not notice it as anything other than wetness in your panties on a random day of any given month. But cervical fluid holds so much more information than an annoying wetness.
Toni Weschler writes, “Cervical fluid is to women what semen is to men.” Yes, read that again. Cervical fluid isn’t discharge, it isn’t gross, and it’s a perfectly normal result of a healthy woman’s fertility.
Additionally, where men are fertile 24/7 and their semen is safe for sperm to live, a woman’s cervical fluid is only a safe place for sperm, 3-5 days a month. That is because your cervical fluid changes from nonexistent to sticky to creamy culminating in eggwhite-like fluid which mimics a man’s semen.
Understanding your cervical fluid pattern can help you see how wise your body is. Simply learn to recognize your patterns and you’ll have a plethora of fertility and health information at your fingertips — more on that later.
What Does Cervical Fluid Look Like Throughout Your Cycle?
Classification for cervical fluid patterns depends on what fertility awareness method (FAM) you follow. My definitions follow the Taking Charge of Your Fertility categories. Ultimately, you should dive into one specific method and determine what works best for you. What creamy is to one woman may be sticky to another. Be consistent and clear and you’ll create your method in time.
The Fertility Awareness Project has great photos on what each stage looks like, check it out here.
Dry
Right after your period, early follicular phase, you will likely see no cervical fluid or feel any vaginal sensations. If you wipe a piece of toilet paper, front to back, across your labia, it would feel scratchy. There may be slight moisture, like what you feel on the inside of your cheek, but the dampness will quickly evaporate.
After a few days of dryness, you will notice the “point of change” when you notice sticky cervical fluid. For some women, the point of change occurs on day 7 while others have more dry days and don’t have any cervical fluid till day 13, and so on.
Sticky
Once you observe the point of change, you’ll likely have a few days of sticky cervical fluid. It usually resembles glue or even rubber cement and is not wet. It may only be noticeable as flakes in your underwear and leave you with a sticky sensation on your labia. Even though it likely isn’t conducive to sperm survival, it should be considered “possibly fertile” if observed before ovulation.
Creamy
After a few days of sticky cervical fluid, you’ll notice your cervical fluid becomes more wet but its still white and lotion-like. That's why some creamy cervical fluid is described as hand lotion, which leaves you with a cold sensation at the opening of your vagina. If you pick up the fluid between your thumb and finger, it might stretch up to ¾ inch but then break. The biggest difference between sticky and creamy is that creamy feels wet but not as wet as the most fertile quality cervical fluid.
Eggwhite
The most fertile quality cervical fluid has to best resemble semen since sperm need to survive in it. Days with this type of fluid are also known as your peak fertile days and for charting purposes, the last day of this type of fluid before ovulation is known as your Peak Day.
This cervical fluid can stretch one inch and won’t break, it’s clear, and it leaves you with a lubricative sensation. When observing this fluid remember, “stretchy, clear, or lubricative” to help you properly identify it. It’s not uncommon to have pink or red streaks in it, which indicates ovulation bleeding. And it may be so lubricative that you don’t see anything but just feel wet. It can leave a wet circle in your panties but will not have a smell and does not dry quickly.
Toni Weschler, notes that young women in their 20s may have up to 4 or 5 days of eggwhite lubricative days whereas women in their 30s may only observe 1 to 2, if any.
After you observe eggwhite quality fluid, you will observe an abrupt change back to dry cervical fluid. You are now in the Luteal phase of your cycle and in about 12-16 days you’'ll get a period or a positive pregnancy test. Observing other fertility signs is helpful to confirm ovulation occurred, such as your basal body temperature (BBT) or cervical position, but that’s a topic for another day.
Why Does It Matter?
Most of the world seems to ignore their menstrual cycle until blood shows up in their underwear. They shove a tampon in, pop an Ibuprofen, and “get back to work”. To say nothing else of the notice they take of the other 3 to 4 weeks of life, every month for 20+ years. But by now, I bet you’re beginning to see that the menstrual cycle and therefore cervical fluid, holds a lot more information than just an annoying wetness in your panties.
Cervical fluid is the perfect medium for sperm to survive in, so if you’re sexually active, it's pretty important to know about yours. Whether you’re trying to achieve or avoid pregnancy, your cervical fluid pattern can cue you into the best times to be intimate with your husband or when to wisely avoid intimacy.
Additionally, cervical fluid, or the lack thereof, can alert you to certain health conditions that you may not otherwise be aware of. Quite simply, cervical fluid is a free, God-given tool, that gives you so much information about your body! All you have to do is simply be aware of it and record your objective observations.
How to Track Your Cervical Fluid
Now, I bet you’re wondering, who has the time for such an extensive look at one’s biology? Well, the good news is that it takes minutes a day! Do you go to the bathroom? Of course, you do! So, you have time to check your cervical fluid.
The first step is simply bringing awareness to your body. Notice how your labia feels throughout the day: dry, sticky, creamy/cold, or wet. Then whenever you go to the bathroom, wipe yourself, before you urinate and notice how the tissue wipes across your labia. Then check if there are any secretions on the tissue. Urinate as usual and then when you wipe again, check the secretions and if there is anything on the toilet paper you can try picking it up between your thumb and finger.
You’re looking for the following qualities:
After your period, you’ll likely experience a few dry days, with no cervical fluid present on the toilet paper or in your underwear.
Sticky cervical fluid will be sticky, pasty, or even gummy, but there will be no smell. If it stretches, it will easily break.
Creamy cervical fluid will have a lotion-like consistency. It may stretch up to ¾ of an inch and will break when stretched.
Eggwhite cervical fluid has a very similar consistency to chicken egg whites, semen, or snot. It will be very wet and may even hang off the toilet paper as you bring it up to inspect. Your secretions may be so wet though, that you don’t see anything and only feel wet. These secretions are known to slip out as quickly as you sit down, therefore you won’t see them when you wipe yourself.
After you go to the bathroom, wash your hands as usual, write down your observations, and record your most fertile secretions of the day. Even if you only observe creamy at the end of the day when you were sticky all day, it’s critical to record the *most* fertile cervical fluid.
That’s it! Interpreting your chart is a topic for another day, depending on whether you’re trying to avoid or achieve pregnancy.
A Few Exceptions to a “Standard” Cervical Fluid Pattern
Now that you know what a normal cervical fluid pattern can look like. Let’s discuss what may cause a different cervical fluid pattern.
Prolonged Sticky Days
If you’re experiencing day after day of sticky cervical fluid with no noticeable change from the end of your period to the start of the next or simply no dry days before transitioning to more wet and fertile cervical fluid, this is called a Basic Infertile Pattern (BIP).
If you’re trying to establish your cervical fluid pattern, it's important to abstain from intercourse or the use of spermicide, douches, or anything else that might mask your true cervical fluid pattern for two weeks. This will give you an accurate observation and then you can classify your sticky days as “dry” until you notice your “point of change”.
For further information about how to chart with BIP, I suggest reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler.
Prolonged Wet Days
The majority of women, only see a few days of wet or eggwhite cervical fluid in any given cycle, which dries up after ovulation. But some conditions can cause prolonged or multiple patches of wet or eggwhite quality days. These conditions include:
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
Ovarian cysts
Stress
Vaginal infection: please see your health practitioner if you have any vaginal discharge that is abnormal in color, smells bad, and/or causes itchy, stinging, swelling, redness, blisters, warts, or chancre sores
No Egg White Quality Cervical Fluid or Only Watery Quality
Women coming off birth control or approaching menopause may not experience many or any days of eggwhite quality cervical fluid. While some only ever experience a single gush of watering secretions. This is still considered fertile, remember “stretchy, clear, or lubricative”.
When charting your observations, you will record your most fertile quality and record it as your Peak Day even if it’s not exactly like egg whites.
But, if you’re not experiencing any eggwhite or watery cervical fluid your chances of getting pregnant are slim because you need a medium for sperm to survive so they can reach the egg. So, if you’re looking to increase the stretchiness or wetness of your cervical fluid consider the following tips to improve your eggwhite cervical fluid.
Avoid drugs that may dry up secretions such as antihistamines, atropine, belladona, cough mixtures containing antihistamines, dicyclomine, progesterone, propatntheline, or tamoxifen
Drink lots of water!
Look into using Evening Primrose Oil
Look into using FertileCM
Some suggest taking Mucinex Expectorant or Guaifenesin Extended-Release 600 mg tablets
Fertile Information at Your Fingertips
Cervical fluid isn’t talked about nearly as often as it should be. It’s a fertile sign that God gave to women for information, planning, and general well-being. Now whenever you ask yourself, “Why are my panties always wet” you can reference this article to figure out where you are in your cycle. Keep in mind, this is just the tip of the iceberg and I highly encourage you to read and research more about cervical fluid and FAM for natural family planning and overall health.
