Brief Answer:
The size, position or texture of your cervix is not relevant to fertility

Detailed Answer:
Hello, and I hope I can help you today.

A woman's cervix can vary in size, shape, texture, and distance from the vaginal opening from natural anatomic variation. The only constancy in a woman's cervix during the menstrual period is that it has to be dilated, or open slightly, for the blood to come out. Cervical mucus quantity and texture immediately after having sex (called the postcoital test) was used to be used in certain types of fertility testing, however this is largely become obsolete.

However, if you and your partner have been trying to get pregnant for year, it might be reasonable at this point to seek evaluation from a GYN or fertility specialist. 50% of the time there can be a male factor in infertility, so your partner will need to have an evaluation along with you. At an initial infertility evaluation, normally they check your hormone levels, screen for medical conditions what can affect fertility (like diabetes, thyroid disease, and others) do some assessment of your pelvic anatomy, and will recommend that your partner do a semen analysis.

In the meantime, you should be having sex at least 2-3 days/week during your fertile time – which begins at day seven of your menstrual cycle or right after he finishes, whichever comes first and ends when you start to get premenstrual symptoms. The same hormone that gives you PMS also supports pregnancy, so initial pregnancy symptoms are similar to PMS symptoms. You may want to consider purchasing urine kits to check for your time of ovulation, which are sold in drugstores or pharmacies.

I hope I was able to adequately answer your questions regarding your cervix at this time. If there is any additional information you require, or if you would like to discuss anything else, please do not hesitate to contact me again.

Best wishes,

Dr. Brown

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Brief Answer:
It can be normal to have uterine cramps from intense exercise

Detailed Answer:
Hello again,

Uterine cramping, especially when you are in the part of your cycle that is after ovulation, can occur at any point when oxygen is lower than usual going to your uterus. This can happen during times of intense exercise. It is also normal to develop an ovarian cyst after ovulation which produces the hormones that either set up your next menstrual cycle or support of pregnancy if you conceived.

Infertility in general produces no symptoms. The most common reason why couples are infertile is unknown. 85% of couples who cannot conceive have completely normal testing, which is called unexplained infertility.

I want to emphasize again that, although it is important to get your pain evaluated, it is unlikely that whatever has been causing it has anything to do with your ability to get pregnant.

The fact that you actually ovulate and can feel your ovulation is actually a positive thing looking at potential reasons for infertility. This means that you actually ovulate, which is one positive thing when looking at potential causes for infertility. This reinforces the fact that I encourage your partner to also see a doctor and get a sperm count tested if your lab results do not show anything conclusive.

I hope that the blood tests reveal valuable information that will help you get a diagnosis and hopefully help you get your pain treated as well.

Let me know if you need any additional information after the bold blood tests come back.

Take care, and good luck with everything,

Dr. Brown

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