The rules, in plain language

Vita Nova follows standardized natural-charting conventions — a method of Natural Family Planning fully in line with Catholic teaching. This page explains the code, the stickers, and how the fertile window guides decisions. It's a learning aid — to use the method for family planning, work with a trained instructor.

What is the VDRS code?

VDRS = the Vaginal Discharge Recording System. It's a precise, standardized shorthand so your chart means exactly the same thing to you and to a trained practitioner. Each day you record the single most fertile sign you saw, and it becomes a short code with up to three parts:

Category number — how fertile the observation is (0 = nothing seen, up to 10 = clear & stretchy mucus).
Descriptor letters — the colour & quality of any mucus (e.g. K clear, C cloudy, L lubricative).
Frequency — how many times you saw it (×1, ×2, ×3, or AD = all day).

For example, 8KLx2 = tacky/gummy mucus that was clear and lubricative, seen twice. A bleeding day uses a single letter instead: H, M, L, VL, or B.

Category numbers

`0`	Dry — nothing seen or felt
`2 / 2W`	Damp, moist, or wet — without lubrication
`4`	Shiny — without lubrication
`6`	Sticky / pasty (¼″ stretch)
`8`	Tacky / gummy (½–¾″ stretch)
`10`	Stretchy, 1″ or more
`10DL/SL/WL`	Damp / shiny / wet — with lubrication

Descriptors, frequency & bleeding

`B`	Brown or black
`C / K`	Cloudy / clear
`L`	Lubricative
`G / P / Y`	Gummy / pasty / yellow
`R`	Red
`×1 ×2 ×3 / AD`	Seen once–thrice / all day
`H M L VL`	Heavy / moderate / light / very light bleeding

The stickers

Red — a day of menstrual bleeding.

Green — a dry day. A time of infertility.

👶White baby — mucus is present. A potentially fertile day; conception is possible.

👶Green baby — a dry post-Peak count day (1·2·3): dry-looking, but still counted as fertile.

Yellow — used in special situations (breastfeeding, pre-menopause) under a practitioner's guidance.

PPeak & count — Peak Day, then 1·2·3. These four days are always fertile.

Finding your Peak Day

The Peak Day is the last day you have mucus that is clear, stretchy (1″+), or lubricative. The catch: you can't know it was your Peak until the next day, when that slippery, fertile-type mucus is gone. So mark it retroactively — in Vita Nova every day stays editable, so just tap back to the day and tick "Peak Day" once you're sure. The app then counts the three days after it (1, 2, 3); the Peak plus those three days are always fertile.

Using the chart for family planning

A quick word on a term you'll see often: EOD means "End of Day" — i.e. in the evening, once the day's observations are complete. These are reference principles, not a complete set of personal instructions; CrMS instructions are selected and enabled by a trained practitioner.

To avoid pregnancy

Menstruation: bleeding can hide mucus, so days of flow are treated as fertile and avoided.
Pre-Peak dry days: use is limited to the end of the day (EOD). A practitioner assigns either alternate-day or every-day instructions based on the chart.
Any mucus day, and Peak through Peak +3: fertile — avoided.
Other observations: a single day of Peak-type mucus and unusual bleeding each require a three-day count. Three or more consecutive days of non-Peak mucus also require a three-day count. These situations need practitioner guidance and are not inferred automatically by Vita Nova.
Post-Peak: the 4th day after Peak is always end-of-day. After that, a practitioner may assign end-of-day alternate days, end-of-day every day, or any time of day.

To achieve pregnancy

Use days with the greatest mucus quantity and quality and the first two days afterward, according to your assigned instructions.
Persistent unusual patterns (very short or long mucus phases, limited mucus) are worth reviewing with a trained instructor or a physician familiar with cycle charting.

Handy glossary

EOD	End of Day — in the evening, once the day's observations are complete.
Peak Day	Last day of clear/stretchy/lubricative mucus.
BSE	Breast self-exam — best done around Day 7 of the cycle.
VDRS	Vaginal Discharge Recording System (the code).
NFP	Natural Family Planning.

These rules are a simplified, educational summary of a natural charting method. They are not a substitute for proper instruction. Vita Nova is an independent aid, not affiliated with or endorsed by any organization or method provider, and does not provide medical advice. For family-planning decisions, learn a natural method with a trained instructor.