If your pregnancy is already full term if you are 38 to 42 weeks pregnant , then losing the mucus plug is a sign that labor is approaching. If your labor is not yet full term, then contact your healthcare provider right away, as it may be a sign of preterm labor.
The mucus plug can come loose several days or one or two weeks before labor starts, or even at the very onset of labor. If your pregnancy goes to full term, you will lose your mucus plug in the 9th month of pregnancy. If you notice what looks like the mucus plug before 37 weeks of pregnancy, contact your healthcare provider, because this may be a sign you are going into pre-term labor.
Read up on the other signs of pre-term labor. Usually, sometime after you lose the mucus plug, contractions will start. You might want to track them using this handy, printable contraction tracking chart. This will help you collect accurate information about your contractions that you can share with your healthcare provider. This downloadable chart, together with our information on how to time contractions , should make preparing for labor a bit easier.
Because the mucus plug can come out weeks before you go into labor, it's not possible to tell exactly when labor will start. A plug of mucus forms inside the cervix during the early stages of pregnancy. Increased levels of progesterone in the body cause the cervix to soften and produce thick mucus that eventually forms a plug. The mucus plug prevents harmful bacteria from entering the uterus as the fetus develops, and it remains in place until the cervix starts dilating.
After dislodging from the cervix, the mucus plug will leave the body as a thick, gel-like discharge that is either clear or slightly pink. Having bloody show and losing the mucus plug are closely related events, but they are not the same thing. The mucus plug is transparent and contains little or no blood, while bloody show is a mixture of blood and mucus.
Bloody show is a normal occurrence during pregnancy. It means that the cervix has started to prepare for labor. Every pregnancy is unique, so it is difficult to say exactly when a woman will enter labor after bloody show occurs.
However, some women may enter labor a few hours or a few days after having bloody show. Bloody show is a type of vaginal discharge that contains mucus tinged with either bright red or dark brown blood.
It occurs during the tail end of a pregnancy, just before a woman goes into the labor. However, the length of time between having bloody show and entering labor can vary significantly between women. Bloody show is not a medical emergency.
Bleeding during pregnancy is a source of concern for many women, but it does not always indicate pregnancy loss or a complication. Certain types of bleeding, including bloody show, are perfectly normal during pregnancy. Light spotting, or implantation bleeding, can occur during early pregnancy, when the fertilized egg attaches to the lining of the womb.
Experiencing inflammation or polyps on the cervix can also cause light bleeding. Bleeding heavily during the second and third trimesters may indicate a serious complication involving the placenta, such as placenta previa or placental abruption.
Women who have bloody discharge long before their due date should seek immediate medical attention. Unlike other types of bleeding, bloody show has a thick, gelatinous, and sometimes stringy texture. It can also appear translucent with very little blood.
Women wondered if losing it meant they needed to come in right away. They also wanted to know what to do with it. One woman even brought hers to the hospital in a plastic baggie. I can assure you — this is very unnecessary. Therefore, it can bleed easily. When the cervix starts to open and the mucus plug dislodges, some of the blood vessels in your cervix will rupture and bleed. This is what you see with the bloody show. It can actually be very slight blood-tinged discharge. It can be so slight that you might not even notice it.
Again, this is because the cervix bleeds easily. Losing your mucus plug, which is often accompanied or followed by the bloody show, usually happens right before labor starts or several days before. Everyone is different. After that, we can all get back to our normal, non-bodily-fluids-obsessed selves. Chaunie Brusie, BSN, is a registered nurse with experience in labor and delivery, critical care, and long-term care nursing.
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