One of the most important elements when it comes to trying to conceive is cervical mucus. This substance, produced by the cervix, does a number of things. It protects the man’s sperm from the acidic and often harmful vaginal environment. Without cervical mucus, the sperm probably won’t survive the journey through the vagina. In addition, cervical mucus also helps to carry the sperm the rest of the way up into the fallopian tubes, where it can then fertilize an egg. Cervical mucus even helps to avoid problem pregnancies by detecting abnormal sperm (which would normally not fertilize an egg or else wind up causing a miscarriage) and slow them down, allowing the healthy sperm access to the egg.

You can see, then, that cervical mucus is an important part of conception, and how having little cervical mucus could be a barrier to conception.

It’s important, as well, to understand a little bit about the quality of cervical mucus in addition to considering the quantity. The consistency and appearance of your cervical mucus will vary throughout your cycle, in the same way that the volume will vary. Right after your period, you’ll have little or no cervical mucus for about three to five days. After that point, you’ll have little cervical mucus that will probably be a cloudy clear color and sticky. As you get closer to ovulating, you’ll see that the cervical mucus increases in volume and becomes moist and sticky. During ovulation and just after, your cervical mucus will be plentiful. It will be similar in texture and appearance to the white of an egg. This is often referred to as “egg-white cervical mucus.”

There are some remedies that women have tried in order to increase their cervical mucus. Herbs and nutrients such as Vitamin C, Nitric oxide, Lactobacilli, Grapeseed extract, and evening primrose oil have all been used by women trying to increase their cervical mucus.

Some women have luck with guaifenesin, an expectorant. It’s thought that this particular substance  works to prevent the production of hostile cervical mucus and helps to promote the production of egg-white cervical mucus. You can easily get guaifenesin at your local drug store.

In addition to taking supplements, to increase your egg white cervical mucus, you can use a lubricant that mimics the sperm friendly mucus. Pre-Seed is a lubricant on the market that has been proven to be friendly to sperm and promote the proper internal environment for sperm. Don’t be fooled! All lubricants are not created equally and some do more harm then good when you are trying to conceive.