Cervical mucus monitoring prevalence and associated fecundability in women trying to conceive

Abstract

Objective: To assess the use of cervical mucus monitoring (CMM) in women trying to conceive and determine whether monitoring is associated with increased cycle-specific probability of conception (fecundability).

Design: Time-to-pregnancy cohort study.

Setting: Population-based cohort.

Patient(s): Three hundred thirty-one women trying to conceive, ages 30 to 44 years, without known infertility.

Intervention(s): None.

Main outcome measure(s): CMM prevalence and fecundability.

Result(s): During the first cycle of the study, CMM was performed consistently (checked on >66% of pertinent cycle days) by 20 women (6%), inconsistently (34% to 66% of days) by 60 women (18%), infrequently (≤33% of days) by 73 women (22%), and not performed by 178 women (54%). Cycles in which CMM was consistently performed were statistically significantly more likely to result in conception after adjusting for age, race, previous pregnancy, body mass index, intercourse frequency, and urinary luteinizing hormone (LH) monitoring. Fecundability also increased with increasing consistency of CMM.

Conclusion(s): Among women trying to conceive, CMM is uncommon, but our study suggests that CMM-a free, self-directed method to determine the fertile window-is associated with increased fecundability independent of intercourse frequency or use of urinary LH monitoring.

Keywords: Cervical mucus monitoring; conception; fecundability; fertile window.

Copyright © 2013 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Figures

Figure 1

(A) Unadjusted, Kaplan-Meier curves with time varying CMM. (B) Adjusted, discrete-time proportional hazards model using first cycle information on CMM, intercourse frequency during the fertile window, and LH monitoring (P=.02).