Throughout your menstrual cycle you may see various different types of cervical mucus in both appearance and texture. These changes to the mucus reflect different stages of the cycle and hormonal shifts.
Cervical mucus can be categorised into three different types: L type mucus, S type mucus, and G type mucus. Read on to learn the differences!
L Type Mucus
● Seen in lead up to ovulation during fertile window
● Secreted from the whole cervix
● Secreted with normal or increasing levels of oestrogen
● The first mucus to secrete in response to rising oestrogen
● Filters out malformed sperm before they reach the cervix
● The sensarion is wet and sticky
● Opaque or translucent in appearance
S Type Mucus
● Seen prior to ovulation on peak fertile day
● Wet, lubricative, slippery and stretchy like raw egg whites
● Increases with high oestrogen
● Secreted from upper half of cervix
● Transports normal sperm to the crypts in the cervix
● Nourishes the sperm
● Forms swimming lanes to transport the sperm very quickly
● S type crypts reduce on the pill and during menopause (reflecting the changes to estrogen levels)
G Type Mucus
● Seen outside of fertile window after ovulation
● Increases with progesterone
● Barrier to sperm advancement, seals the cervix and blocks the uterus
● Dry sensation
● Thicker, pasty
● Produced in lowest third of cervix from the G type crypts
● Contains leukocytes and lymphocytes
● Irregular shape
● Antimicrobial properties
Have you seen all three types? Take note with your next menstrual cycle what you observe and any changes you notice!
*The information listed above should not alone be used as a means to self teach a fertility
awareness method with the intention of avoiding pregnancy.
Lauren Curtain
Lauren Curtain is a registered Chinese medicine practitioner, women's health focused acupuncturist and herbalist. She centres her practice around supporting women to navigate their hormones, menstrual cycles and fertility using a combination of education (all the women’s health info you didn't get in high school), acupuncture, herbal medicine, nutrition and lifestyle support. Lauren believes every woman has the right to know how her body works, and what she can do to optimise not only her reproductive health, but whole body health. Lauren has seen firsthand with her patients the dramatic improvements that can be made to reproductive health through simple, inexpensive, non-invasive techniques and firmly believes symptomatic periods and menstrual cycles can be a thing of the past and we can embody a thriving fertile life.
