You may notice changes in cervical mucus in early pregnancy that can be one of the earliest signs of pregnancy. Early signs of pregnancy can show up as changes in cervical mucus. Rather than getting a sharp drop in estrogen and progesterone, which triggers the onset of menstruation, the cervical mucus will increase under this hormonal influence and will be thick white cervical mucus.
When you see a missed period and experience thick white cervical mucus or slightly yellow cervical mucus, do a pregnancy test to make sure that you aren’t pregnant.
Cervical Mucus in Early Pregnancy you should look for
It is virtually impossible to have no cervical mucus when you are pregnant. There are just too many hormones floating around so that you get stimulation of the cervical glands and increased cervical mucus. There can be particularly thick cervical mucus as the progesterone creates the mucus plug in the cervical canal, which is designed to keep foreign agents out of the pregnant uterus.
These cervical mucus changes are one of the first signs of pregnancy and, if you pay attention to the cervical mucus, you can tell if you are pregnant or not just by the quantity and quality of cervical mucus.
Cervical Mucus during Early Pregnancy will not be ovulatory mucus
Instead of the egg white cervical mucus or watery cervical mucus seen at the time ovulation, this mucus will be sticky cervical mucus that allows for protection of the vagina, cervix, and uterus from spermatozoa or infectious diseases. This isn’t a perfect system and infection can get past the mucus plug, leading to uterine and fetal infections. What is normal cervical mucus like in early pregnancy?
It is usually white but can be brown cervical mucus from “old blood” that is coming out of the uterus during early pregnancy spotting. In truth, the cervical mucus changes in early pregnancy can be very subtle so you have to know your body and the amount cervical mucus you normally make, along with its consistency, in order to notice the increase in cervical mucus during early pregnancy.
Is it normal to have Dry Cervical Mucus?
If a woman isn’t hydrated enough or if her ovaries are not putting out enough estrogen, such as in premature ovarian failure, you can get dry cervical mucus. This is usually very sticky and scant in amount. If you have sex without being sexually aroused, you can have dry cervical mucus that causes sex to hurt. This is called dyspareunia.
When you have dyspareunia, you can add KY jelly to the vaginal area so as to lubricate your vagina during intercourse, making for a more comfortable experience during sex. If you wait and have some sexual foreplay so you become aroused, you can get clear, watery vaginal discharge that acts as a natural form of lubrication during the sex act.
What other cervical mucus changes are not normal?
If you have creamy vaginal discharge throughout your cycle, you may be having anovulatory cycles. During these cycles, the egg does not mature and no egg is released into the Fallopian tubes because an LH surge has not happened. You will continually be under estrogenic dominance and the lining of the uterus can be very thick from the proliferative action of the estrogen.
If you have anovulatory cycles, not only will you not have egg-white cervical mucus but the mucus will be much the same during the cycle and the bleeding that results from that cycle will be very heavy. Without the maturation of the uterine lining from progesterone during the last half of the menstrual cycle, the uterine lining is allowed to become very thick and bleeds heavily when it finally sheds. Such periods are usually shorter on average; rather than being 28 days long, these cycles will be 23 to 25 days in length,
Other cervical mucus changes you may need to seek medical attention for include when you have infections of the vagina or cervix. Some infections are STDs, such as Chlamydia and Trichomonas. Antibiotics can clear these cervical mucus changes and can prevent complications of pregnancy (if you are pregnant with one of these organisms) or infertility (in the case of Chlamydia. Other “infections” simply represent having poor protective bacteria in the vagina. These include bacterial vaginosis and yeast infections, both of which can also be treated with antibiotics or antifungal medications.