Female genital cutting and other intra-vaginal practices: Possible implications of changes in cervical secretions

Cervical secretions are a marker of good reproductive health. They are indicative of when a woman enters the fertile period of her cycle and are necessary to achieve pregnancy, yet many women are unaware of these relationships. Some Fertility awareness-based method of family planning, such as the TwoDay Method, rely on the presence or absence of cervical secretions to identify the fertile window – the days each cycle in which a woman is more likely to become pregnant. Users who wish to avoid or delay pregnancy do not have unprotected sex on these days.

Female genital cutting, and other intra-vaginal practices such as douching and the use of drying agents, are still prevalent in many communities throughout Africa. These practices can potentially disrupt normal cervical secretions patters, and therefore influence the practicality and feasibility of offering fertility awareness based methods that are based on daily monitoring of healthy secretions.

Our presentation will explore the possible effects of female genital cutting and other intra-vaginal customs on cervical secretions, and consider how these may influence the use of secretions-based methods of family planning. Implications for integrating such methods into reproductive health programs in setting where these practices are highly prevalent will also be discussed.