Unreceptive Cervical Mucus

The conception process is very complex and not very accurate. All of the hormones must be in order and a specific sequence of events must occur in order for it to happen. Any number of problems can arise and almost everything can go wrong. One such key element is cervical mucus. Cervical mucus is a jelly like substance that is produced by the hormone estrogen and secreted from the cervix. It is the gate keeper to your cervix and is a very important element in the conception process because it is this mucus that keeps the sperm alive for days, protects it from the acidity of the vagina, and transports the sperm to the fallopian tubes where fertilization takes place. In addition, the cervical mucus will find abnormal sperm and prevent them from passing into the cervix.

This cervical mucus can make or break the conception process depending on its consistency which changes throughout a woman’s ovulation cycle. Cervical mucus can be friendly and inviting, or it can be hostile. Hostile cervical mucus is mucus that is too thick to allow sperm to enter the cervix, which can hinder conception. Here are the various stages of a woman’s cycle and how the cervical mucus changes:

Before Ovulation – During the first few days after menstruation has stopped, the cervical mucus will be almost non-existent with little or no discharge present. There is a very low chance of pregnancy during this stage.

Approaching Ovulation – A white, creamy, moist, and sticky discharge should appear. Although there is a chance of pregnancy during this phase, it is still on the low side.

During Ovulation – The mucus discharge will resemble egg whites at this stage and because it is the thinnest and most abundant, the survival rate of sperm is much higher. This stage has the highest chance of pregnancy.

After Ovulation – The mucus will return to the sticky stage, the vulva will become dry, and the chance of pregnancy drops to very low again.

Every single woman will have hostile cervical mucus at some point during her cycle. Others, however, have more prominent hostile mucus and it becomes a real problem. Luckily, for those women who suffer from severe hostile cervical mucus, there are treatments available and there are methods for increasing good cervical mucus. The two methods to treat hostile cervical mucus include using a lubricant and taking guaifenesin. Using a lubricant is probably the simplest way to make hostile cervical mucus more receptive to sperm. However, using any over the counter lubricant is not wise as some of them can produce the opposite desired effect. Therefore, you should use only lubricants that have been scientifically proven to not harm sperm and counteract hostile mucus. Pre-Seed is currently the only lubricant on the market that has proven it can accomplish both of these tasks.

The second treatment option is to take guaifenesin. This is a rather controversial method because guaifenesin is the active ingredient in the U.S. over the counter cold medicine, Robitussin. If your doctor suggests this treatment method, you will be instructed to take two teaspoons by mouth three times per day, starting five days before ovulation and ending the day of ovulation. As with choosing lubricants, it is imperative that you find a product that contains guaifenesin only as the active ingredient because anything else can be detrimental to the conception process.

Although there is no way to prevent hostile cervical mucus, there are things that can be done and taken to increase the production of good cervical mucus such as eating a healthy diet, drinking lots of water, and taking supplements. Some of the important supplements to consider are Vitamin C, Nitric Oxide, lactobacilli, grapeseed extract, and Evening Primrose Oil.