If you've spent any time reading fertility boards, then you know that those spaces sometimes use more acronyms than words. Although the shorthand is helpful once you are more accustomed to the culture, the letters can be confusing to newcomers. For instance, what is EWCM, and how does it impact your fertility?
As explained by the American Pregnancy Association (APA), EWCM stands for egg white cervical mucus, and it can play a key role in helping you understand your fertility cycle. That's right: this bodily secretion can hold a wealth of information about your ovulation cycles and optimal times for conception. As further noted by the APA, the appearance and quantity of your cervical mucus changes throughout your cycle, which is why it's sometimes thick and other times more watery. When your mucus is most conducive to helping the sperm meet an egg, it's stretchy and clear like an egg white, as concluded by the APA.
With this in mind, you can monitor your cervical mucus to help track your fertility cycles. Granted, this does involve a certain amount of comfort with your own body, but it can be a helpful way to keep up with your ovulation times. And it's easy enough to track, because you can keep an eye out for these different types of CM whenever you use the bathroom. As explained by Baby Center, the EWCM is stretchy and mostly clear, and it's the type of cervical mucus most conducive to helping sperm swim into your body. At other points in your cycle, it may appear more watery, creamy, or sticky, as further noted by Baby Center. These last two types are not considered great for conception, because the thicker texture may inhibit the movement of sperm.
So if you're trying to conceive, whenever you see the EWCM, think: go time. It's the most sperm-friendly mucus and, as explained by the Mayo Clinic, ovulation most likely occurs within about a day of producing this secretion. Once you know how to spot EWCM, it's an easy way to keep track of your body's fertility cycles and note the prime time for conception.
