How do I check my cervix for signs of ovulation?

Amin Gafar

Fertility treatment expert.

You can find out when you are ovulating by feeling for changes in your cervix during the course of your menstrual cycle. Your cervix is the neck of your uterus (womb), and you can feel it within your vagina.

You may not be used to feeling your cervix and may find it difficult to detect differences in how it feels at first. Start by looking for signs of ovulation in your cervical mucus. In the days leading up to ovulation you'll notice increasing amounts of clear and slippery mucus, which is very hospitable to sperm. The mucus looks and feels a bit like raw egg white when you're fertile.

Become familiar with the feel of your cervix by checking its position when your cervical mucus indicates that you are fertile. Insert your clean, middle finger into your vagina up to at least your middle knuckle, or even further. See how it feels, and then continue checking it for about five days.

As you approach ovulation your cervix becomes soft, high, open and wet (SHOW). It will feel a bit like when you touch your lips. After ovulation these signs reverse, and your cervix becomes firm, low, closed and dry. It will feel more like when you touch the tip of your nose.

In addition to checking your cervix for signs of ovulation, you can also monitor your cervical mucus and chart your basal body temperature (BBT). Charting your BBT involves recording your waking temperature at the same time every day, or after at least three hours of uninterrupted sleep.

If you combine BBT with looking for changes in cervical mucus throughout your cycle, it will take two months to three months before you can predict ovulation.

Ovulation predictor kits may be an easier, quicker and a more accurate way of predicting ovulation than charting every day. However, OPKs may not work as well if you have an irregular cycle.

You're most likely to conceive if you have sex in the two days just before ovulation. However timing intercourse so exactly isn't necessarily the best approach. Most experts advise that you should try to have regular sex throughout your cycle to increase your chances of conception.


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