![]() ![]() Losing your mucus plug generally means your cervix has started to dilate, efface or both. What does it mean when you lose your mucus plug? The bloody show is a result of blood vessels rupturing in your cervix as it expands. A bloody show is bloody discharge that can contain small traces of mucus. Mucus plug discharge is stringy and jelly-like. Both occur late in pregnancy as your cervix dilates in preparation for labor. They are closely related but slightly different. What is the difference between a mucus plug and a bloody show? It can also be tinged with red, brown or pink blood. Discharge from the mucus plug is thicker, more jelly-like and there is more of it. Vaginal discharge is usually thin and light yellow or white in color. Increased vaginal discharge is normal in pregnancy. How is mucus plug discharge different than regular discharge? Contact your healthcare provider if you notice heavy bleeding during pregnancy. A small amount of blood is common, but severe bleeding may be a sign of placental abruption, placenta previa or other pregnancy complications. You may lose your mucus plug in one glob or you may lose it gradually over time and never notice it. Stringy, sticky and jelly-like in texture.Clear, off-white or slightly bloody (red, brown or pink) in color. ![]() What does mucus plug discharge look like? If you lose your mucus plug sooner than 37 weeks of pregnancy, contact your healthcare provider as a precaution. Some people don't lose it until they're in labor. In some cases, losing the mucus plug happens days or weeks before your baby’s due date. Most people don't lose their mucus plug until after 37 weeks of pregnancy. This is considered losing your mucus plug. The mucus is pushed out into your vagina. This causes the mucus plug to dislodge from your cervix. Why do pregnant women lose their mucus plug?Īs your body prepares for labor, your cervix begins to soften, thin, and open. You will lose this plug as your cervix begins to dilate (open) and efface (soften and thin) in preparation for labor. Think of it as a barrier between your vagina and your uterus where your baby is. It forms a seal to prevent bacteria and infection from getting into your uterus and reaching your baby. The mucus plug is a thick piece of mucus that blocks the opening of your cervix during pregnancy. If it seems excessive or bright red, it could be a sign of placenta previa, which your doctor will need to know about right away.Mucus plug inside the cervical canal during pregnancy. Monitor how you are feeling as well as the rate and color of your discharge. ![]() Unless it’s watery enough that you think your water broke, hold off on the speed dial for now. Should you call your healthcare provider when you lose your mucus plug? Its texture can be stringy, sticky, or thick and varies in color from clearish, to light pink, or even red. “Some women will occasionally get an actual chunk or lump of mucus but most people just see a more copious, thicker discharge,” says April Sarvis, MD, an ob-gyn at Beaumont Hospital, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The mucus plug has the consistency of - you guessed it - mucus, so it’s thicker than the discharge you may be used to. Either way, l osing your mucus plug means your cervix is beginning to widen and your body is getting closer to going into labor. It might happen slowly over a couple of days, or it could dislodge in an instant. It will come out near the end of your pregnancy. Its job is to protect your uterus and block the opening of the cervix to stop bacteria from getting in. Kind of like a cork stopper, the mucus plug is a buildup of mucus that develops throughout your pregnancy in the endocervical canal. “However, if the patient is having regular contractions at the time of her mucus release there is a higher likelihood she will deliver sooner than later.” Nardone, MD, FACOG, an ob-gyn at the Ryan Women and Children’s Center in New York City. “There is no absolute time frame correlating loss of plug and onset of labor,” says Adelaide G. Does losing my mucus plug signal the start of labor? “It was a total mess, and definitely lived up to the nickname.” Unpleasant as it may sound, you won’t mind so much once you know what the mucus plug actually does. “Mine came out in the middle of sex two days before my son was born,” says Jen C., a new mom in Brooklyn, New York. There’s a lot to learn during pregnancy - cool stuff, like the fact that babies can smell and grow fingernails in the womb, and weird stuff like they’re born without kneecaps. But, finding out about the mucus plug is one aspect of birth education that many moms find decidedly, um, gross. The mucus plug doesn’t have a pretty name and it is even ickier than it sounds, as made abundantly clear by its nickname, the “bloody show”. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |