Home Women's Wellness What is Egg White Cervical Mucus (EWCM)?

What is Egg White Cervical Mucus (EWCM)?

by Gauri Kolhe

Sometimes you feel something sticky raw egg white like liquid, this is known as egg white cervical mucus. This indicates you are more like to ovulate. Cervical mucus changes throughout the whole menstrual cycle from almost dry to sticky raw egg white like consistency.

EWCM is the most fertile mucus and a great indication to get ready having sex in order to get pregnant. Basically egg white cervical mucus is the most important kind of cervical mucus. This is shortened as EWCM on fertility charts.

EWCM provide the ideal viscosity and pH for sperm. Some of the people take white discharge as annoyance or a cleanliness problem. Person who is planning or planned  a pregnancy or conceive the baby, known what EWCM indicates. It’s time for the play or you can say the perfect time for the fertility.

Role of EWCM

Fertile cervical mucus gets the name as egg white cervical mucus just because of the appearance that is similar to the raw egg white and also known as hostile cervical mucus.

EWCM plays a key role in providing ideal environment for staying in the fallopian tube. EWCM helps to let in the sperm from vagina cavity and cervix into uterus.

Vaginal environment is acidic in nature and have the property of self protection from the bacterial infection and other foreign infection which is not in the favor of sperm.

EWCM helps sperm to survive in the more acidic vaginal environment. In absence of fertile quality mucus, it is difficult for the sperm to survive as well as swim. This may cause problem in conceiving the baby.

Improper secretion of EWCM indicated the hormonal imbalance or problems associated with ovulation.

When EWCM happens

Although EWCM is friendly to sperm but vaginal discharge is not always seems to be friendly. As mentioned above cervical mucus keeps changing throughout the cycle.

Right after the period cervical mucus transitions starts from the sticky consistency to creamy, to watery and at last a consistency like raw egg white consistency.

This consistency occurs only near and during the ovulation, after ovulation cervical mucus will go to dry and return to more sticky consistency.

In general, average women should get this fertile egg white discharge 1- 2 days before the ovulation. These days are the most fertile days to get pregnant so go for it.

In some cases people also have EWCM before five days before ovulation or sometimes you have it only for one day.

Some of the women have this secretion again right before their period which is not a sign of ovulation and doing job during that time is will not going to help you to get pregnant.

Multiple Patches 

In general, a person should have notice egg white cervical mucus discharge for a few days just before you get ovulated. In some cases it has been seen that they get get multiple patches of egg white cervical mucus.  

The days of EWCM may alternate with the days when less fertile cervical mucus occurs. This is generally happened in women suffers from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

Nobody cannot possibly know that which part of the egg white cervical much patch is the fertile that preceding ovulation. In this kind of situation you should give importance to each EWCM patch as this is the right day to have sex in order to get pregnant.

But excessive discharge can also indicate the infection in case when discharge occurs with other symptoms like burning, itching, bad smell and different color then go to your doctor and discuss with him.

How EWCM occurs

During ovulation the hormones that responsible for the release of egg from the ovaries also   bring other changes in the body.

Having more fertile vaginal discharge, changes in cervix and change in mood are some of the changes that triggers by these hormone at the time of ovulation.

For instance, cervix moves up right before the ovulation and desire of sex also increases.

The hormone named as estrogen is responsible for the egg white discharge and other changes. If the estrogen level becomes low, person won’t     get much or sometime no fertile quality cervical mucus. This may be happens due to some side effects of medication or due to age or may be because of the hormonal changes.       

How to check for EWCM

As mentioned earlier EWCM is the most fertile mucus and person who is planning to get pregnant should have known to check the EWCM patches but how they can check is the matter of concern.

Some of the researches have been reported that tracking cervical mucus changes can help you to detect the perfect timing for sex in order to get pregnant. It may be helps you to track your basal body temperature.

You can see the time for ovulation by taking basal body temperature daily morning at same types and charting them. Although charting BBT is a great ting to determine the time of ovulation but EWCM is the best way to know that.

So how can you check for the fertile mucus? Simple you can check just by observing the discharge by your finger or the tissue paper.

To check before the or after sex is the best. This will change the vaginal discharge.

Sometimes you might get confuse between the semen and watery mucus. EWCM can be differentiating as it is more viscous than semen and can be more stretched and looks crumbly or sticky.

Billings method is a very specific method of cervical mucus tracking. You do not have to learn or study this technique to track cervical mucus, but you can easily know when someone mentions it.

Billings method or billings ovulation method or simply ovulation method, was developed by the Dr. John and Evelyn Billings of the Melbourne, Australia, in 19950s.

This is also a form of a family planning method that is used by many of the couples to prevent unwanted pregnancy while others use this method to get pregnant. This method used to track down the cervical mucus to detect early pregnancy. The important thing is that the person can’t use this method reliably.  

Problems:

There are some of the problems that arise when you check up for the cervical mucus to conceive the baby or as a way to prevent pregnancy. It is not necessary that these problems indicate the fertility problems. Some of the problems are :

 No rise in temperature

Fertile cervical mucus a sign for upcoming ovulation and basal body temperature chart, you can assume the timing of ovulation knowing that three days rise in temperature observed.

So what indicates that you get white cervical mucus but no changes in temperature occurs?

This may occur due to few reasons mentioned below:

  • It could be possible that you belong to a category of women who don’t get an increase in temperature after ovulation.
  • This could be possible in case when you are not charting the basal body temperature carefully such as not taking temperature at same time in every morning.  
  • The most possible case is that you may have an ovulation problem that’s why your body temperature does not rise.

If you are unable to get the rise in temperature even after seeing cervical mucus and this happens to you frequently then you should go to your doctor with your charts. You may ask to carry some medical tests and then you can get a way to short out the problem.

Lack of cervical mucus discharge

This is not necessary that every woman will have egg white cervical mucus and in this case, she having fertility problem but it could be sign. Even after not getting that ideal egg white discharge you can get pregnant.

Some of the women may have notice that they get watery mucus instead of egg white discharge, if this is the case than this is the best time to have sex to get pregnant.

You don’t get this watery consistency mucus than you should have go to your doctor especially if you are trying to get pregnant for a while. Lack of cervical mucus which is also known as hostile cervical mucus, May causes issues associated with fertility.

Doctor will ask you some questions and run some medical tests after that doctor may prescribe using fertility friendly lubricant and medicines. Make sure to not use the conventional lubricants as they may causes harmful effects on the sperm.

Accidental removal of discharge

Douching may lead to less cervical mucus and it may also decrease the chances of getting pregnant. Accidental removal of white discharge may also lead some pregnancy problems.

Summary

Cervical mucus is the naturally occurring indications associated with a healthy reproductive system. This indicates the best time for the pregnancy but in some women this also indicates some fertility issues.

So if you feeling any problem with EWCM then go to see you doctor even it is not comfortable to talk with doctor. But for the sake of you health and to get pregnant, this is only way.

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