One of the imminent sign of labor is mucus plug discharges. This happens, of course, at the final portion of being pregnant. It is where the mucus plug is being pushed down and thus it is released.
A Sign of Forthcoming Labor
Pregnancy is a joy to most women. And delivery is anticipated enthusiastically as the last part of pregnancy approaches. Every sign that can tell you that labor is at hand makes you excited and you ready yourself of your baby’s coming.
One of the imminent sign of labor is mucus plug discharges. This happens, of course, at the final portion of being pregnant. It is where the mucus plug is being pushed down and thus it is released. This is also known as a bloody show since the mucus is often accompanied by tinge blood.
Discharges before you were pregnant are called as leucorrhea. This is only a normal occurrence where a mild smelling or odorless discharge is found in your underwear. When you get pregnant, the discharge increased because of the increased of production of estrogen and greater flow of blood to the vaginal area.
The discharge is composed of secretions from the vagina and cervix, normal bacterial flora found in the vagina, and old cells in the vaginal walls. During pregnancy, a bit of mucus forms a plug that will seal and fill the cervical canal. And this plug will serve as a protective barrier to prevent harmful bacteria from entering the uterus.
When you are nearing your due date, the cervix thins and dilates. When this happens, mucus plug discharges will occur. Commonly, the mucus is clear, cloudy, and sticky. Once your cervix thins, some blood is released with the mucus and thus the name bloody show applies.
Mucus plug discharges may come as a slow trickle over several days. However, there are times that the mucus plug is released altogether in a day as a glob. The mucus may be tinged with brown, pink, or red blood.
Many believed that the discharge of the mucus plug is a sign of labor. It may be true in some cases, but the loss of your mucus plug does not really imply that labor or even delivery will arrive immediately. In some women, after losing the mucus plug, labor would start days afterwards. However, in other instances, labor would start for a few weeks.
When your mucus plug discharges, there is no assurance nor give you a pattern or consistency in timing to when labor will commence. Nevertheless, it suggests that labor is at hand and you should be ready. You should start to be mindful of any other sign of labor. Therefore, mucus plug discharges really is an imminent sign that labor will come soon.
There are cases that you might mistake other signs that it is mucus plug discharges. In some instances, the mucus plug may be disturbed through vaginal examination or sexual intercourse. Blood-tinged discharges will show because of such disturbance.
There are times that you must call your doctor when:
- Your mucus plug discharges and there is bright red bleeding and or cramping. This may be a sign of placental abruption, placenta previa, or any probable problem.
- You lose your mucus plug but you are 36 weeks earlier or you have an account of preterm labor.
- You think you have infections. Treating one’s self with over-the-counter medicines is not advisable.
- You experience an odorless and whitish discharge that causes pain during sex or urination, itching, soreness, or burning and or your vulva appears inflamed. This might be a yeast infection.
Signs and symptoms are not easily determined, thus it is crucial that you call your doctor initially for diagnosis and for the proper cure. But, when you are closing the due date, there is no need to alert your doctor. There is nothing you can do to cease the mucus plug discharges but you can use party-liners to absorb the flow if you really need to. Never use tampons when you are pregnant. To help keep the genital area clean, wipe from front to back when wiping and wear cotton-made underwear. Practitioners discourage douching while you are pregnant since it can introduce air to your circulatory system via the vagina that can result into serious complications.