How to Tell Apart Cervical Mucus From Semen
TMI alert, but hey… there’s no such thing as TMI in our wonderful Trying To Conceive community, so why not 😂?
So if you’ve been (secretly?) wondering about it, let me assure you that you’re not alone! It can be really hard to distinguish fertile cervical mucus from semen.
As your cervical mucus changes from dry, to sticky, to watery and stretchy as you move closer to your most fertile days, it starts to resemble semen. A lot! Which isn’t that strange if you think about it. both semen and cervical fluid want to nourish sperm and provide a safe medium for it to travel through.
So how do you keep track of your CM to know where you are in your cycle if you can’t tell the difference between these two types of fluids… well I created a flow chart just for that purpose. Because things are always easier with flow charts 😆
1. Is it stretchy? If it’s easy to stretch without breaking, it’s probably CM. Semen breaks more easily.
2. Is it water-soluble? Drop the fluids in a glass of water. Does it float or dissolve in water? If so, it’s probably semen. If it clumps and sinks to the bottom; it’s probably CM.
3. Does it absorb in toilet paper? If it absorbs, it’s probably semen. If it just sits on top of the toilet paper; it’s probably CM.
Not working out?
Still having a hard time differentiating between semen and cervical mucus? Or is it simply too hard to tell a difference between fertile and not fertile mucus? Then using Ovulation Predictor Kits -also known as LH test strips- are your best bet. They’re easy to use (you just pee on ’em!) and they can tell with surprising accuracy when you’re in the fertile window. One of my favorites is the Wondfo Ovulation Test Strips Kit (affiliate link).
