I'm a big girl and I want to know how can I go about checkin my cervix?

Question

I'd like to get preg and tryin to check the position of my cervix but I can't seem to reach it. Is there any other big girls that can help me out with this?

Answer 1

As with testing your cervical mucus, this can be extremely uncomfortable. It can take some practice to find the right feel, try not to become too discouraged. It may take practice to come up with a position that you find comfortable and works, for feeling your cervix. To find the position that works best for you, try squatting or sitting on the toilet, or with one leg risen by placing your foot on the toilet or bathtub. Separate your vaginal lips with one hand and with the other hand slip your middle finger inside the vagina. Reach back, with your fingers until you can feel the texture, height, opening and moistness of your cervix. You will be palpitating the cervix, located at the end of your vagina. Press your finger against the sides of the cervix applying a small amount of pressure (do not apply pressure to the point of pain) do this three or four times around your cervix opening. If all else fails, you could have fun and have your partner check for the cervical position, mind you, this may only work for a while, trust me, he isn’t going to be willing to do this every day without other plans and it could get old fast. This way is best accomplished by positioning yourself on your hands and knees, with your partner checking from behind. Like all other tests, this test is best if done at a regular time every day, best if just performed when you check your cervical mucus. The key to performing this test is that you need to use the same position every day. Take the time to come up with a position that works best for you. You need to learn to recognize subtle changes in your cervix. The cervix is the lowest part of your uterus, extending into your vagina. It may take you several attempts to find what is comfortable so you can feel correctly.

Like cervical mucus, cervical position is directly affected by your estrogen levels. Your cervix is the lower constricted part of your uterus that adjoins the vagina and you will find that the position of your cervix will change throughout your cycle. It will be low in the first phase and start to rise closer to ovulation and then will lower again after ovulation has occurred. When charting for your first menstrual cycle, you may find it could take awhile to determine what low or high feels like. You should begin checking your cervical position the first day after completing your period. Cervical position is one of the best signs for recognizing the presence of estrogen in your blood stream. Right after your period, the position of your cervix should be low and easily reached by your fingertip. At the time of ovulation you should find is almost unreachable with your fingertip. Your cervix heightens and becomes more difficult to reach as you approach ovulation. Like your cervical fluids, your cervix is designed to keep foreign substances out of your body, when you are not fertile. It is closed, hard and hostile toward seminal fluids prior to and after ovulation. At ovulation, it becomes high, open and soft so the sperm can easily travel up toward the fallopian tube to fertilize your ovum. Like BBT charting and cervical mucus monitoring, tracking your cervical position is not reliable for prediction on its own. Just because everything seems ready does not mean that you actually ovulate. Like with cervical mucus, the changes tell you what your body is doing right now, and what it is about to do. If everything is working perfectly, you should notice that your cervix is high, soft and open just before your temperature rises. Recognizing and documenting cervical changes is very important to monitoring your fertility when used as a sign for cross-checking.

After your menstrual period you will begin to monitor your cervical fluids and position. With time you will learn to recognize cervical changes throughout your cycle, in relation to your fertility cycle. When checking your cervical position, you will recognize the changes as it moves from its lowest point to a mid point and then to its high position. At the highest point you may find it difficult to reach your cervix with your fingertips. Practice will help you learn to recognize your own unique fertility changes. This will probably take some time, practice and probably a few cycles to do. During the first part of your cycle your cervix sits fairly low in your vagina and should feel firm and dry. Your cervix will be fairly easy to reach at this point and it should feel very similar to the tip of your nose. The entrance of the cervix will feel closed and you will record it as closed ‘C’, hard ‘H’ and low ‘L’ at this time. As your body approaches ovulation, you will notice that your cervix will begin to rise, soften and become more moist, in order to create a more fertile environment for the sperm. The entrance of the cervix will begin to feel more open and lift. Your cervix will start moving a little higher within your body but can still be reached rather quickly with your fingertips. As this change occurs you will note it as ‘M’ medium (for both position and texture), and ‘SL’ since it should feel slightly open. At this time there is a possibility of being fertile, but only you will realize that after regular charting. A day or two prior to ovulation the amount of estrogen increases within your body and your cervix will rise to its highest point. At your most fertile time, the cervix should be somewhat difficult to reach and the entrance of the cervix will increase in size. As a result you should mark ‘H’ on your chart to note that it is high. You should also note that the opening of your cervix will increase making the slit or tiny hole feel much larger. At this point, mark the openess by using an ‘O’ to mark your fertility chart. Finally you will find the feel of your cervix will become softer and feel more like touching your bottom lip. At this stage you will mark ‘S’ on your chart to note the softness. When your cervical position is high, soft and open you need to consider yourself fertile and time sexual intercourse now. After ovulation your cervix will begin to drop and return to its pre-ovulatory state. It will become low, dry, closed and hard. If you are fortunate enough to become pregnant, you will find that your cervix will soften and remain soft through the pregnancy.

While examining your cervix, take your time to learn what is ‘normal’ for your body. Ask yourself:

Is the cervix easy or difficult to reach, or is it some place in-between?
Does the cervix feel firm, somewhat soft or soft?
Does the opening of the cervix feel closed, slightly open or open?
Does the cervix feel dry to the touch, relatively moist, or very moist?

Answer 2

Some people find that squatting rather than lying down is a good way to do it. Others find that putting a foot up on the toilet or edge of the tub and reaching down that way helps. I have my husband do it, because he's better able to reach my cervix as I near ovulation, when the cervix moves up in the vagina.