The first level of intervention in NaProTechnology is aimed at ensuring that sperm and egg can meet. Women are asked to observe changes in their cervical mucus. Thin, “springy” cervical mucus helps the sperm swim farther into the uterus. If the cervical mucus is thick, then the first requested change is just drinking more water. If the woman has a “dry” period, then she is asked to come for blood work to determine any estrogen or progesterone deficiencies.

Men, for their part, are asked to refrain from ejaculation for 1 to 4 days before intercourse.  If intercourse in the midpoint of the female partner’s period does not result in pregnancy, then the couple will be counseled on timing ovulation, either through basal temperature measurement or with a hormone monitoring system such as the ClearBlue fertility monitor.

If these methods are not successful, then there may be treatment with Clomid, or other hormone treatments, and medical remedies for PCOS, endometriosis, pelvic adhesions, and so on. The advantage of NaProTechnology is that it always offers the least expensive, least dangerous, simplest intervention to support couples trying to conceive.

The results of NaProTechnology vary, but nearly 100 per cent of couples who do not have a diagnosis of a medical problem and about 50 to 80 per cent of couples who do have a medical issue are eventually able to conceive, usually within the first 24 months. Costs of the system are about 2 to 3 per cent of the cost of IVF.

And another basic idea of NaProTechnology is that it isn’t enough to have sexual intercourse to achieve fertilization. The sperm has to reach the egg, and one of the ways that sperm reaches the egg more readily is with the help of the cervical mucus. Just keeping hydrated sometimes is enough to increase cervical mucus, and the slight change in cervical mucus can be enough to enable conception.

Conversely, increasing volume of semen also can be enough to enable conception, and all this requires is for the male partner to abstain from ejaculation for one up to four days before sexual intercourse intended for conception of a child. When these simple methods are not enough, then the NaProTechnology program might instruct the couple in how to chart the peaks of hormone levels that indicate ovulation with a fertility monitoring system such as ClearBlue, or the physician might then look at easily correctable hormone deficiencies.

The benefit of NaProTechnology for couples trying to conceive a child is that it allows them a chance to use the simplest and least expensive interventions first. Treatment of PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) is not typically part of the NaProTechnology program. However, simply ensuring the production of cervical mucus, increasing semen volume, charting the ovulation date, and working with a trained, knowledgeable, and caring NaProTechnology counsellor enables about 65 per cent of women who have PCOS to conceive, even without specific treatment for the condition.

The simple idea behind NaProTechnology is that for a child to be conceived, the sperm has to reach the egg. For an astonishingly high percentage of couples, it’s enough to ensure that there is cervical mucus in good enough condition to conduct the egg into the uterus, along with adequate volume of semen. NaProTechnology starts by training the female partner to observe changes in her cervical mucus, and if there is a “dry period,” to come in for hormone measurement.

The system asks the male partner to support his wife in his efforts to keep a calendar, and to abstain from ejaculation for 1 to 4 days before his wife’s most fertile days in order to provide an adequate volume of semen and a higher sperm count. Simple interventions like drinking enough water and taking a B vitamin might be tried next, followed later by hormone analyses, treatment of endometriosis, pelvic adhesions, and PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) in the female partner, and treatment of variocele and other physical barriers to the release of sperm in the male partner. The focus, however, is always on the couple’s control of their own fertility with the simplest, easiest to understand methods. Even when there are pelvic adhesions, PCOS, or endometriosis, sometimes simple interventions work without having to pronounce the disease condition cured.

A British NaProTechnology program is run from Liverpool. Program charges for twelve consultations, over about 24 months, is around £1,500, far less than the cost of IVF. The average age of couples in the British program is 36, and about 25 per cent of couples who have a medical diagnosis of infertility conceive a child in the first twelve months. Among couples who just have not yet conceived but who have not been labeled as infertile, the success rate approaches 98 per cent.

Cervical mucus changes throughout the menstrual cycle. During the first half of the cycle, it will be different from the cervical mucus after ovulation, and in the luteal phase it will change again. Women who have used their cervical mucus to determine whether or not they are fertile swear by this method, and say that it is extremely effective – whether it is to avoid pregnancy, or to conceive sooner. There are periods of life when the cervical mucus may be a bit confused. If you have recently given birth, or are menopausal, studying cervical mucus is not an effective fertility monitoring method.

In addition, the key to this method is experience. While there are plenty of online resources that give information about what your cervical mucus is likely to look like at a given point in the cycle, this does vary for every individual woman. Therefore, getting to know your mucus and perhaps taking notes on a calendar is the best way of making sure the technique is effective.

I just recently got my menstrual cycle back following the birth of my second child, and I decided to give the mucus method a go myself, out of curiosity more than anything. I have had two periods now, and based on the mucus, I think I ovulated once. I found that the structure and color of cervical mucus I noticed largely corresponded to the information that is available. I would not go by this method alone if I wanted to avoid a pregnancy, however.

Couples have to have sex at the right time, and the sperm has to be able to reach the egg. Thin, “springy” cervical mucus transports the sperm farther. Sometimes achieving the right consistency of the cervical mucus is just a matter of hydration, drinking more water.

A greater volume of semen results in a higher sperm count. Men who abstain from ejaculation for one to four days before intercourse timed to conceive a child are more likely to become fathers. Even in couples who have various medical diagnoses related to infertility, these very, very simple interventions may be enough to get pregnant.

If simpler interventions fail, NaProTechnology goes through a series of interventions to help couples conceive. There can be hormone treatments, especially for women who have “dry” periods. There can be referrals to the OB-GYN to treat pelvic adhesions, polycystic ovarian disease, or endometriosis. At every step of the system, however, it is the couple who are in charge of fertility, not the doctors. The doctors only treat the diseases that get in the way of the couple’s choices about the timing of children. Surgical interventions are only recommended under unusual circumstances, and NaProTechnology practitioners will recommend adoption rather than in vitro fertilization.

But adoption is usually not recommended. Up to 83 per cent of couples with problems such as anovulation, PCOS, and endometriosis eventually conceive. Nearly 100 per cent of couples who turn to NaProTechnology for supportive care only conceive in the first year.

In Canada, the Margarite Bourgeois Family Center in Toronto can refer to Canadians to physicians trained in NaProTechnology techniques. Many of the expenses of treatment are paid by HealthCanada.

The problem with timing intercourse for conception is that not every woman ovulates at the exact midpoint of her menstrual period, and not every menstrual period is 28 days long. If the period is 28 days long, then conception is mostly likely when intercourse is consummated on days 11 to 16, just before the egg is released, to about two days after. Some women, however, ovulate a day or two later in their periods. And it’s not unheard of for women to have menstrual cycles as short as 20 days or as long as 42 days.

If the male partner has an unusually high sperm count, timing ovulation is not quite as important. But if there is any problem with the sperm count, then intercourse needs to timed for maximum chances of conception. An online ovulation calendar, such as you can find on this site, is useful if you know the length of period, length of the luteal phase, and date of last menstruation–and periods are regular.

Otherwise, it may be better to chart basal body temperature and cervical mucus to estimate the date of ovulation. If you just don’t want to inspect cervical mucus, it’s possible to estimate the date of ovulation by increase in body temperature–but the method won’t work unless the temperature is taken at the same time of day and after rest, preferably first thing in the morning. Even then, the method is only about 85% accurate.

A much more accurate approach to timing conception is a fertility monitor, using test strips to measure increases and peaks in the hormones associated with ovulation. Even these methods, however, have to be used consistently, the same way, every day, starting early enough in the period to observe ovulation and late enough to avoid using too many expensive test strips.

Whichever methods you use  to time intercourse for conception, however, there is one right time for couples over 35 to get pregnant: Now. Never use any method for assisting conception for more than six months without consulting a physician to see if there isn’t a better way to achieve success while trying to conceive.

What does cervical mucus look like after ovulation has ended, then? How do you know that your luteal phase has commenced if studying only cervical mucus? The process of monitoring your cervical mucus sounds quite complicated and scientific, doesn’t it? But once you know what signals you are looking for, it really is not all that hard.

The difference between fertile cervical mucus, and mucus during your luteal phase, is very obvious. While cervical mucus is stretchy, transparent, and fluid during your ovulation, it is totally white, very thick, and high on volume after ovulation has ended. This type of cervical mucus does not allow semen to travel through to your uterus, and sperm is not able to survive in this vaginal environment either. You will notice thick, white, and non-stretchy mucus until the onset of your menstrual period, after which the whole cycle will start from scratch again.

Let’s begin by examining what cervical mucus normally looks like during ovulation. A thin, stretchy, slippery structure indicates ovulation. The color of cervical mucus during ovulation is either transparent, like a raw egg white, or white. During this point in your cycle, cervical mucus contains a high percentage of fluid. This kind of cervical mucus provides an ideal environment for sperm to reach an egg, and to survive for the longest possible time.

After your ovulation is finished, your cervical mucus will thicken and change in color. If you notice a clay-like, non-stretchy mucus that is totally white in color and not see-through in any way, you can be fairly certain that this is post-ovulatory cervical mucus. At the same time, you might feel that your vagina is drier than during ovulation. If you conceived, you might even notice implantation bleeding.

Early pregnancy cervical mucus is so similar to the cervical mucus you would normally expel during the luteal phase that monitoring the changes can’t really be used as a reliable way to determine pregnancy. Some women do report that they had more cervical mucus than before during early pregnancy, but this is not the same for everyone.

What can you tell us about your experiences with this? Are you able to tell where in your cycle you are, just by looking at your cervical mucus? How do you do it?

During the luteal phase of a woman’s menstrual cycle, after ovulation has taken place, the cervix drops down into the vagina, so it becomes harder for you to reach. Furthermore, the cervix will become small and firm in texture. Some describe it as feeling like the tip of your nose, and that is not wholly inaccurate. At the same time, women can notice a change in the structure and amount of cervical mucus during the second half of their menstrual cycle as well.

If an egg was successfully fertilized and you are at the very beginning of early pregnancy, your cervix is sure to change. However, the timing of this event is not the same for every pregnant woman, and therefore it is difficult to use the changes your cervix is undergoing as a way to determine pregnancy.

On the whole, once a woman has conceived, the cervix will become softer and more “squishy”, and perhaps increase in size somewhat. Besides that, you might also be able to notice that your cervix will move closer to the entrance of your vagina, so you will easily be able to access it.

What do you think? What were your experiences with cervical changes early in pregnancy? Would you like to share?

As you will know if you are a faithful observer of your own cervical mucus, your typical, run of the mill post-ovulation mucus is thick and sticky, and not thin and transparent like it is during your most fertile days. While mucus is thin, stretchy, and egg-white like, it changes into a more thicker and sticky substance later on. During early pregnancy, your cervical mucus is likely to remain the same as it is during your luteal phase. Could you say that changes in your cervical mucus are not really a reliable way of determining pregnancy, as you will not notice any significant changes in comparison to the second half of your menstrual cycle?

In a way, yes. But don’t forget this cervical mucus will keep going, instead of your menstruation. Therefore, the presence of cervical mucus and the lack of your period indicate that you might just have conceived this month! As always, a pregnancy test will give you conclusive evidence that you are expecting a baby!

Have you noticed any changes on your cervical mucus during early pregnancy? Do you have any interesting facts to share about your cervical mucus during the whole of your pregnancy? Was your cervical mucus one of the first early pregnancy signs you noticed? We’d love to hear from you, as always!