There are 2 primary signs of ovulation, namely fertile quality cervical fluid and a soft, high cervix.  There are other possible symptoms of ovulation that you may or may not have. 

Cervical fluid monitoring can help you determine when you are approaching ovulation.  Your cervical mucus changes from an infertile quality to a fertile quality as you approach ovulation.  Infertile mucus may be rubbery, filmy, lotiony, or even gooey and be whitish in color.  But fertile cervical mucus is slimy, super wet, stretchy and often times clear or streaked clear. 

Your cervix is in the back of your vagina.  It has a little opening, so the face of it almost feels like a donut with an indentation instead of a hole.  If you check your cervix daily with a clean finger (why not check both cervical muucus and the cervix at the same time?), you will notice how it changes position and texture as you approach ovulation.  Namely, it gets harder and harder to reach the mouth.  It's position gets angled back when you are fertile.  This makes it easier for the sperm to be deposited at the mouth of the cervix during intercourse.  The mouth also loosens up and doesn't feel as tightly closed as before.  Right after ovulation, your cervix will come forward and be closed. 

Other symptoms of ovulation may include pain over your right or left ovary during ovulation, spotting at ovulation, and increased sex drive. 

To get detailed instructions on how track the signs of ovulation, confirm ovulation occurred and confirm conception, sign up for our free fertility e-report.  Get your fertility e-report here.

So you've heard that when you have egg white cervical mucus, that means you are fertile and approaching ovulation.  During that time, to optimize your chances for conception, you should have intercourse every other day.  What is cervical mucus and how do you monitor your cervical mucus throughout the month?

Cervical mucus (also called cervical fluid) seeps from your cervix and appears as discharge in your panties. When cervical fluid is fertile, that means it can support the life of sperm, which can live in fertile fluid for up to 5 days. You may have fertile fluid for up to 5 days right before ovulation day. If you have intercourse during any of those days, sperm can technically live in it until ovulation day when conception occurs.

How to Check your Cervical Fluid
In order to check your cervical fluid, you may be able to observe it from getting a sample from the outside on toilet paper or your finger.  The only way I can get a good sample is by inserting a clean finger in my vagina and swiping around in there. I do this while I am in the shower squatting.

Cervical Fluid Patterns Observed
Fertile cervical fluid is slimy, slippery, wet, stretchy and looks and feels like raw egg whites, hence the phrase "egg white cervical mucus".  Your cervical fluid is constantly changing throughout the month from one form into another, but it usually follow a particular pattern, namely it will go from infertile to fertile until ovulation.  Infertile mucus may be dry, rubbery, filmy, sticky.  Then it will transition into a more creamy, gooey, or wet consistency.  Then, you will develop the egg white cervical mucus.  On the day of ovulation or the day after, your mucus will usually dry up and look infertile again. 

Each woman needs to become familiar with her own body's pattern.  Below is my personal typical pattern.

• Right after my period is over, I am clean as a whistle for a couple of days.
• Then, I start to observe just a whitish-grayish film for a few days.
• Then the film gets thicker and whiter, another couple of days or so.
• Eventually, it's pretty white and gooey for a couple of days, but not stretchy or slimy.
• I may even have one day of film again randomly by the time I check my cervical fluid (which I only check once a day at night in the shower).
• Then the white goo starts to stretch between my fingers a little bit (half an inch) and is definitely slimy and wet for a couple of days.
• Then the slimy goo becomes very clear, more liquidy, and only streaked with white flecks. It stretches a lot, like 3 inches. It's super wet and slippery. This lasts for maybe up to 2 days.
• On ovulation day, by the time I check my cervical fluid, I have a clean finger again.
• The next day, when my basal body temperature (another fertility signal) rises, I have that filmy stuff again.

I would consider myself fertile from the time I had the slimy white goo that stretched 1/2 an inch till ovulation day when I dry up, which is the day before the basal body temperature rise.

I recommend that while you are still determining what your fertile fluid looks like that you just take very descriptive notes like I what I described above. Then after that cycle, you can look back and start to observe a little pattern.

I offer a free e-report on how to monitor your fertility signals with an included free chart you can download for keeping track of your findings.  Sign up for your free fertility e-report.