Vaginal Discharge Types : What they mean + What is normal

Did you know there were different vaginal discharge types? If you answered no, that’s fine since we don’t talk about this every day, right? But I’m here to explain to you what they mean and what they tell about your fertility.

Pinky promise. You’ll go from feeling like vaginal discharge is gross to thinking it’s impressive.

Is vaginal discharge normal?

Yes, yes, YES!

Vaginal discharge (or cervical mucus) starts happening in our teenage years, as soon as the menstrual cycle turns on.

Having vaginal discharge is a sign that your cycle is working properly.

Yet, some vaginal discharge types can indicate an infection, inflammation, or that there are bacteria down there.

To recognize them, pay attention to your discharge color.

• White/translucent: Looks normal and healthy
• Yellow/green: This can be the sign of urinary tract infection
• Pink/red: Outside your periods, they might be the sign of inflammation or irritation
• Grey: They can be the sign of vaginosis

When something’s going wrong down there, unusual vaginal discharge color comes with other symptoms. You might also notice a lumpy texture, strong fishy smell, or itching.

In any case, if you notice abnormal changes in your vaginal discharge, I recommend you going to your doctor.

What’s the role of the different vaginal discharge types?

You might know by know that vaginal discharge is closely related to your menstrual cycle.

They even have a key role in your fertility. According to their texture, they have different functions in the body.

When they’re translucent, watery, or elastic, they have a protector function. Their role is to protect, nourish and guide sperm where fertilization takes place.

The contrary happens when the texture is thick, sticky, or creamy like yogurt. They have a barrier guide preventing sperm from going through the cervix and fertilizing the egg.

Yes, vaginal discharge is your ally. It helps you reach your goal, whether it’s to get pregnant or prevent pregnancy. Isn’t that fascinating?

Finding your fertile window with the different vagina discharge types

You now know that the vaginal discharge type informs you about your fertility. In most cases, we find a similar pattern in every menstrual cycle.

Follicular phase – Day 1 to ~ day 14

This phase goes from the first day of periods until ovulation day.

When periods are over, your body will take more or less time to produce its first vaginal discharge of the cycle.

The first vaginal mucus indicates that your body starts preparing for ovulation. This is also when your fertile period will start.

Most of the time, they have a creamy consistency, are white, and look like yogurt. Approaching ovulation day, the more elastic, watery, and translucent they will become.

Ovulation phase – Approx. day 15

On ovulation day, you might notice your discharge particularly elastic and watery.

If you ever felt like losing liquid from nowhere, it’s probably that you’re on or close to ovulation day. It always happens to me and makes me feel like I can’t hold back pee lmao).

This is the “best quality” of all vaginal discharge types. Meaning that this is when you’re most likely to get pregnant.

Luteal phase – From approx day 16 to next period

Once ovulation is over, your vaginal mucus will become thicker and creamier again. When you’ll notice this texture change during several days, you can deduct that ovulation did happen.*

*I don’t recommend tracking your vaginal discharge only to identify your fertile window. For it to be more reliable, I suggest you using the sympto-thermal method which considers your basal temperature.

I use this natural method for several years now and tell you everything about it in this article.

Do we all have the same kind of vaginal discharge?

Vaginal mucus varies from woman to woman… and from cycle to cycle! Noticing different patterns through your cycles or not having watery discharge can happen and that’s fine!

Can the pill influence vaginal discharge?

Any kind of hormonal or lifestyle change can impact your discharge. So it’s true. Taking the pill (or any hormonal birth control) thickens your mucus to prevent sperm to enter your cervix.

I don’t know about you, but learning all this since going off the pill has completely changed the way I see and feel my body. It’s pretty fascinating, to be honest.

Do you feel like vaginal discharge is gross or do you feel like it’s incredible? Let me know in the comments below!