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The Quest to Give Cervical Fluid a Name!

Originally published at re:Cycling, blog of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research, September 25th, 2012

Cervical fluid, the sticky/creamy/stretchy/slippery substance produced by the cervix is arguably the most important substance on earth. Without it, the human race would be shortly extinct, yet not many people even know what it is. This is unacceptable, and you and I are going to change this.

In case you don’t know, Cervical Fluid plays a vital role in helping women get pregnant, avoid pregnancy, and figure out health issues, yet its name has remained merely a description. Cervical fluid is too important to be forever described but never properly named.

Cervical fluid is incredibly valuable. Without it, life as we know it would literally cease to exist. Fertile cervical fluid keeps sperm alive once it is inside the vagina.  It provides nutrients, a hospitable alkaline environment, and aids in transportation. Cervical Fluid helps the sperm survive, sometimes for up to five days, while waiting for an egg to be released. Cervical fluid is like a soccer mom, providing snacks, protection, and transportation to the sperm, while they are on their way to the big game.  Without her, there would be no game, and getting pregnant would be virtually impossible without outside intervention.

And that is just ONE of the many ways cervical fluid makes our lives richer. It also tells an awful lot about the state of a woman’s hormones, which can play a key role in many health issues.

OK, so we’ve established that cervical fluid plays a vital role in the continuance of the human race, not to mention women’s health.  But with just a description for a name, we are faced with an intractable communication problem: unnamed bodily substances have a particular propensity to make people uncomfortable, and currently many people get scared off or grossed out by cervical fluid’s various descriptive identifiers.

You’ll hear it referred to as “Cervical Mucus”, “Vaginal Discharge”, “Vaginal Mucus”, and the slightly less gross-sounding “Cervical Fluid”. It’s not fair.  What if semen was called “Testicle Mucus”, or “Penile Discharge”?  Imagine if saliva was called “Oral Mucus”, or “Mouth Discharge”?  It’s not, for a reason! Even feces gets its own name!  You don’t often hear it referred to as “Solid Anal Discharge”. Each of these substances has an important role to play in the health of the human body, and hence, they have been given names, not just descriptions, so that we can acknowledge and understand them.

This quote from The Simpsons episode The Principal and the Pauper  illustrates my point:

Lisa: A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Bart: Not if you called ‘em stench blossoms.

Homer: Or crapweeds.

Marge: I’d sure hate to get a dozen crapweeds for Valentine’s Day. I’d rather have candy.

Homer: Not if they were called scumdrops.

You get the point.  Something can be lovely and beautiful and wanted, but if you call it by an unappealing name, no one is going to give it a chance.

Now, I personally LOVE cervical fluid. It has taught me a great deal about my fertility and my health.  It’s a crime that this stuff is not more not widely popular. I posit that if cervical fluid had a more euphonious appellation, people would be more interested in hearing, talking, and reading about it.  Which would lead to understanding and wider acceptance. This Quest to name Cervical Fluid has broad-reaching social implications. With wider understanding and acceptance of this most sacred substance, women would own their fertility again. The sense of panic and confusion that many women experience when thinking about their reproductive health would diminish and eventually vanish.  There would be fewer unplanned pregnancies and more wanted pregnancies. More wanted pregnancies would lead to happier families and, ultimately, a happier world!  For the betterment of women everywhere and the world at large, cervical fluid needs a name of its own!

I propose we give cervical fluid a name within six months. I will be working towards this goal. If you want to help, please leave your thoughts about this and your suggestions for cervical fluid’s new name in the comments below. Together, we’ll make history.

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Comments


  • Reply

    alan

    11:53 pmJanuary 4, 2013

    Brilliantly quirky idea for raising awareness….deserves BIG interest…Simpsons example is excellent.

    Lifeflush, Birthshield, Babyspill, Softish, it could go on…

    • Reply

      Kati Bicknell

      6:27 amJanuary 8, 2013

      Hi Alan,

      Thanks for your ideas! I could put these all in a spreadsheet, and then get people to vote on their favorites. :)

  • Reply

    Elizabeth

    3:29 amJanuary 5, 2013

    I’d be up for renaming it though cervical fluid doesn’t bother me though I prefer not to call it mucus. Just to throw an idea out there. How about something that has to do with life, fertility, etc. Looking up some of the root words

    -fer
    a combining form meaning “that which carries” the thing specified by the initial element, used in the formation of compound words: aquifer; conifer; foraminifer.

    What if it was something like ferlife- pronounce how you want. I’m not sure but it would mean something along the line of to that which carries life.

    • Reply

      Kati Bicknell

      6:29 amJanuary 8, 2013

      Hi Elizabeth,

      That’s a great idea. I like the idea of using Latin, or another language to look for appropriate root words.

  • Reply

    Kristin

    12:46 pmJanuary 6, 2013

    I can’t think of a suggestion right now, but I’m going to think hard and see if I can come up with something. It’s amazing that it doesn’t have a name already really! It’s important!

  • Reply

    Kristin

    1:23 pmJanuary 6, 2013

    How about something from the Latin (or some other language) for ‘gatekeeper’. Cervical fluid is sort of like a gatekeeper for sperm – allowing them easy passage or making it very difficult for them.
    I’ll keep thinking!

    • Reply

      Kati Bicknell

      6:35 amJanuary 8, 2013

      Hi Kristin,

      OOH!!! I like that! Let me know other ideas you have, as they come. I’m thinking of creating a big list or spreadsheet with all the suggestions, that people could vote on.

  • Reply

    gatha

    8:36 pmJanuary 8, 2013

    Hi Kate
    one very weird yet rational question. On sunday night around 8pm we had intercourse. Yes i leaked a bit but didnt really fuss much. Monday morning aroung 10am i go use the bathroom and wow there was this huge blob of mucus not sure if it was normal but i think it could have been his sperm with with my cm which i having been charting and i started ovulating yesterday which still lives me wit that question should sperm stil come out hours later.

  • Reply

    Jim

    10:59 amJanuary 10, 2013

    I think we need some good slang terms for it as well.

    Some PG rated ones: Lady liquid, girlie goo.

    Trying to concieve? Girlie Goo Good!
    Trying to avoid? Girle Goo Gone.

    • Reply

      Kati Bicknell

      4:22 amJanuary 11, 2013

      Hi Jim!

      Ha!! I love Girlie Goo! So funny! Lady liquid is nice too. Thanks for your ideas! Keep them coming!

  • Reply

    Kat

    1:25 pmJanuary 12, 2013

    The only option missing is cervical changes! And I am NOT having luck finding an app that offers this option :-(

    • Reply

      Kati Bicknell

      3:57 amJanuary 15, 2013

      Hi Kat,

      You’re in luck! We are developing the cervical changes feature! :) The designs are complete, and after we finish the cloud sync feature, we’re going to start on Cervical Tracking. :)

      • Reply

        Kat Smith

        1:37 pmJanuary 15, 2013

        Sweet!! :)) Very excited!

  • Reply

    Lynne

    9:15 amJanuary 15, 2013

    Hi!

    I am very new to this whole fertility charting / awareness. My husband and I (married 8 1/2 years) have started trying to concieve in the last couple of months. My current question is this. For the last two months right around and during my period I have an inordinate amount of watery cervical fluid. I can soak completely through a super tampon in a few hours (clear, maybe a tint yellow, but it’s definately not urine. What’s up with that? Is it normal to have that much watery urine around a period, and why did this suddenly start when I stared TTC? Thanks!

    • Reply

      Lynne

      9:18 amJanuary 15, 2013

      Oops. I meant watery fluid and I thought I posted this in the types of cervical fluid discussion. :-/

      • Reply

        Kati Bicknell

        4:28 amJanuary 16, 2013

        No problem! I figured that was what you meant. :)

    • Reply

      Kati Bicknell

      4:28 amJanuary 16, 2013

      Hi Lynne,

      Sometimes women will experience watery cervical fluid the day before their period, as their endometrial lining starts to break down. This might be what you’re noticing. I don’t know if this is the case with you, but oftentimes when women start fertility charting they notice things that they’ve never noticed before, because they are now paying more attention to what’s going on with their vaginas. Regardless of of whether or not it’s ever happened before, bringing attention to cervical fluid, as opposed to ignoring it, can make it seem like there is more of it. :)

  • Reply

    melissa

    11:44 pmMarch 9, 2013

    Here are my suggestions along with the meanings of the Latin roots. :)

    Liquifer (water/carry)
    Bioten (life/hold)
    Ferendo (carry/within)
    Fluvend (flowing/within)
    Vitagest (life/carry)
    Beneflux (good/to flow)
    Valin (to have worth/inside)

    • Reply

      Kati Bicknell

      12:45 pmMarch 11, 2013

      Thanks Melissa,

      These are beautiful!!! :)

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