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The consistency of vaginal mucous can help predict the fertile phase as the character of the discharge varies through the menstrual cycle. Just after a period, it is scant, sticky and thick. Just before the time of ovulation, when oestrogen levels are high, the amount of mucous increases and it becomes watery, stringy and clear – a bit like raw egg white.

If you collect the mucous on your finger at this time and try to stretch it between your thumb and forefinger, it elongates for several inches without breaking. After the fertile phase, the mucous again becomes thicker. Sperm can survive particularly well in the thinner ‘fertile’ mucous, which also makes it easier for the sperm to get through the cervix and into the womb. So charting the pattern of changes in your vaginal mucous can also help you work out when you are ovulating.