Penetration of cervical mucus by spermatozoa was observed in cycling and infertile women, in women on sequential or combination oral contraceptive medication, and in women with an IUD in situ. _Sperm penetration of cervical mucus varied from women not using contraceptives and from infertile women, to patients taking sequential conception control pills. In cycling women penetration was low in th...

Most combination OCPs contain ethinyl estradiol (20 to 50 mcg) and a synthetic progestin (e.g., norgestrel, norethindrone, levonorgestrel, desogestrel). These pills inhibit ovulation in most women. They also induce thickening of the cervical mucus, which impedes transport of sperm to the uterus. With perfect use, only 0.1 percent of women become pregnant within the first year of using a combina...

Improvements in the acceptability and effectiveness of the IUD involve developments in design of its shape such as the Dalkon Shield (Davis, 1971), or the addition ofa copper-releasing wire to the inert plastic material of the device, which was first reported by Zipper, Medel & Prager (1968). The copper could act at any stage in the reproductive process. It could interfere with sperm transport,...

Cyclic changes in the human cervical mucus were observed as early as the middle of the 19th century and have in the last two decades been the subject of extensive investigations. Among other matters studied have been the macroscopic and general appearances (SEGUY and VIMEUX 1933) and the crystallization pattern (e. g. by PAPANICOLAOU 1945, 1946, by RYDBERG 1948, and by ZONDEK 1954). The amount ...