What your cervical mucus reveals about your fertility
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Getting pregnant can be a complicated process, but it begins with something relatively simple: ovulation. Each month, a woman?s ovary releases a mature egg into the Fallopian tube, where it will live for 12 to 24 hours. To ensure that sperm are ready and waiting for the egg during this narrow window, doctors recommend that couples have sex leading up to ovulation.
The trick, of course, is determining when the egg will be released. Since 1855, doctors have known that cervical mucus changes around ovulation, and eventually they started recommending that their patients track it to gauge this shift in their cycle.
Today, though, as the science of fertility has advanced, this method has fallen out of favour with some OB/GYNs. What are the pros and cons of tracking cervical mucus" How do you know if the process is right for you" We?ve outlined some must-know advice below.
What exactly is cervical mucus"
?Cervical mucus is produced by glands in the cervix, which is the opening to the womb,? says Alfonso Del Valle, an OB/GYN at St. Joseph?s Health Centre in Toronto and medical director for ReproMed, The Toronto Institute for Reproductive Medicine. ?Because of hormones, it changes over the course of the cycle.?
Its sole purpose is to help nourish and support the sperm on their journey to an awaiting egg. An added bonus is that it acts as a lubricant that helps make sex more pleasurable.
How does it change over the course of your cycle"
Befor...
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