Natural family planning 201
Clear, wet, slippery mucus
White, dry, sticky mucus (or no mucus)
comes during the
comes during other times of the
fertile time.
month. It is probably OK to
Do not
have sexual intercourse
have sexual
2 days after the first dry day.
intercourse.
After 2 or 3 months of practice, you can easily
recognize these changes in your mucus.
How to use the mucus method
• Check the mucus at the same time every day.
Check before having sex.
• Do not have sexual intercourse on any day you feel
slippery mucus. Or use a condom or diaphragm on
those days.
• Do not have sexual intercourse until 2 days after the last
day you have clear, slippery mucus.
• Do not douche or wash out the vagina at any time.
This will wash the mucus away.
Use another method of family planning if you have a vaginal
infection, or if you are not sure whether it is a fertile time. The mucus
method works best when it is used with another method, like the
counting days method.
The counting days method
With the counting days method, a woman does not have sexual intercourse during
any time she might be fertile. This method can be used only by women with regular
cycles. This means you have nearly the same number of days from one monthly
bleeding to the next, and each cycle is at least 26 days, and no more than 32 days.
If you have one cycle of a different length, you can easily get pregnant. It is
common for a woman to have a cycle of a different length when she is sick or
feeling a lot of stress. During those times, it is best for you to use a different family
planning method until you are well and your cycle returns to normal.
A Health Handbook for Women with Disabilities 2007