You can stretch the mucus 2-3 inches between your fingers. Ovulation occurs anywhere from 2 days before to 2 days after the peak day of stretchy fertile mucus. Your fertile time begins with the first discharge, the first sensation of wetness, the first sign of mucus after your dry days and lasts until the next dry days which are 2-3 days after the peak wettest day. This is the most fertile time. The fertile unsafe time begins when cervical secretions are first observed lasting until 4 days past the peak day.
Cervical mucus plays an important role in helping women get pregnant.
It is produced by the body in advance of ovulation to make it easier for sperm to find their way to the fallopian tubes where fertilization usually takes place. Do not douche as it washes away the secretions you want to monitor. Some practitioners warn that during menstruation and the first dry days after menstruation, you should only have intercourse every other day to ensure you do not miss the first signs of increased secretions. Alternatively you can use male or female condoms, to keep semen out of the vagina. Also, spermicides, lubricants, and wetness from sexual arousal can mask mucus, making it difficult to tell the differences.