Cervical Changes During Menstrual Cycle (Photos)
Cervix
Obie Editorial Team
This series is part of the Beautiful Cervix project, a grassroots movement celebrating the beauty and intricacies of women’s bodies and fertility.
The pictures below are from a cervix of a 25-year-old woman who has never given birth before. Each photo was taken at approximately 10 p.m. every day starting the first day of her menstrual cycle. For the duration of this project, she used condoms as her birth control method so as not to introduce seminal fluid into the photoshoot. She did not use tampons or mooncups during her menstruation either.
Cycle Days 1-14
It's the first day of menstrual bleeding.
Today is the second day of menstrual bleeding.
See up close what the cervix looks like on day 3.
Here's what's happening on day 4.
There is very low flow today.
How is cervical mucus on day 6?
Cervix is low and closed today.
Cervical fluid is sticky on day 8.
There is a dry sensation on day 9.
Cervix is low today on Day 10.
See what's happening on Day 11.
Cervical fluid is white and milky.
The cervix is starting to soften up.
Cervical fluid is watery on day 14.
Cycle Days 15-33
The cervix is now open and high.
There is egg-white consistency now.
Certain changes taking place in the cervix now.
The cervical fluid looks egg-white.
Egg-white fluid is now gone.
Is mittelschmerz starting?
The cervical fluid is dry.
Basal body temperature is starting to rise.
Breast are tender on day 23.
Cervix is high again.
See what's happening on day 25.
Breasts are swelling today.
Cervical fluid is tacky on day 27.
See what's happening on day 28.
The cervix feels dry on day 29.
Breasts are feeling heavy now.
Feeling pretty bloated on day 31.
The cervix is low and open.
Lower backache on day 33.
Check out more information about the Fertility Awareness Method of birth control to learn more about cyclical temperature changes.
This cycle is of normal/average length for her, about 33 days. Her cycle’s follicular phase (variable number of days preovulation) lasts until about day 20 or 21. Her fertile phase lasts from days 13 to 21 with ovulation on day 20. Her luteal (post-ovulation) phase is 13 days long (12-16 days is the norm and is not variable in a normal cycle).
You may notice on the right side of some photos, some jagged looking skin, which is the remnants of her hymenal ring. Her os (opening in the cervix) is round because she has never given birth; the os becomes more of a slit after childbirth. On the sides of the photos, you can see her vaginal rugae, which are the ridges that make the elastic muscular canal of the vagina able to open/expand dramatically during arousal and childbirth.
She also tracked the depth/movement of her cervix in her vagina. These gradual shifts are not really distinguishable in the photos but was a tangible change as the depth she needed to reach a finger inside to touch her own cervix varied slightly each day. She also noted the firmness of the cervix and openness of the os — again a change she was feeling with her finger.
Her uterus is tipped backward (retroflexed or retroverted uterus), so you may notice that the cervix is pointing upwards in some photos. This is an anatomical variation that is present in about 20-30% of the population and is most often a genetic trait. It means that the body of the uterus lies more towards her back than over her bladder.
