Lo básico del ciclo
Cervical mucus through the cycle
Revisado: 4 de octubre de 2026
Solo en inglés por ahoraThe mucus from your cervix changes through your cycle as hormones rise and fall. Knowing your usual pattern helps you understand your body and notice when something is different.
What cervical mucus is
The neck of the womb (cervix) makes mucus, which you see as part of your vaginal discharge, on your underwear or on toilet paper. Healthy discharge keeps the vagina clean and moist and helps protect it from infection. It can be clear or white, and thick and sticky or slippery and wet. It should not have a strong or unpleasant smell. How much there is and how it feels changes through the cycle, mostly because of the hormone oestrogen.
The usual pattern
During your period, blood hides any mucus. For a few days afterwards, many people feel dry and notice little or none. As oestrogen rises, mucus increases. At first it is often sticky, and white or cloudy. It may then become creamy. Closer to ovulation it gets wetter and more watery. Just before ovulation there is usually the most, and it is clear, slippery and stretchy, like raw egg white. After ovulation there is often less, and it becomes thicker and stickier again until your next period.
Five types of mucus
Mucus is often described in five types. Dry means little or no mucus. Sticky is thick and holds together. Creamy is smooth and white or cloudy, and often comes as your fertile days begin. Watery is thin, wet and clear. Egg white is clear and slippery and stretches between your fingers. Watery and egg-white mucus usually come closest to ovulation, when you are most fertile. Not everyone notices every type in every cycle, and it can take a few cycles of daily checks to learn your own pattern.
How to check
The easiest way is to look at the mucus on white toilet paper when you wipe before you pee, or on your underwear. You can also use clean fingers. Notice the colour, how wet it feels and whether it stretches. Some things can change mucus and make it harder to read. These include sex, lubricant, hormonal contraception and some other medicines, breastfeeding, douching and vaginal infections, including sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
What mucus can and cannot tell you
Clear, slippery, egg-white mucus is a sign that you are probably near ovulation, in your most fertile days. But it is a sign, not proof that you have ovulated. Ciclo lets you log these five types, but the phases and fertile window it shows are estimates, and it is not contraception or a fertility test. Using mucus to avoid pregnancy takes careful daily checks, and it usually takes 3 to 6 cycles to learn. With typical use, fertility awareness methods are only about 76% effective, and they do not protect against STIs. A doctor, nurse or sexual-health clinic can advise you.
When to see a doctor or nurse
Changes through the cycle are normal. See a doctor or nurse, or go to a sexual-health clinic, if your discharge has a strong or unpleasant smell, changes colour, or looks green, yellow or frothy. Also get checked if you have itching, soreness, pelvic pain or pain when you pee. The same goes for bleeding between periods or after sex, or a sudden change from your usual pattern. These can be signs of an infection such as thrush, bacterial vaginosis or an STI. Get urgent help if you have sudden, severe pain in your lower tummy.
This is general information. If your discharge smells strong, itches, hurts or suddenly changes, see a doctor or nurse.