at the end of pregnancy you will likely find yourself examining your toilet paper after each
wipe to see if you've lost any of your mucus plug while we're waiting for labor we're just
looking for signs that labor is near and when you agree that the mucus plug is one of the weirdest
things of pregnancy and as a doula i that i think actually that is now the weirdest photo that has
ever been sent to me several times strangest and grossest is that of someone's mucus plug
but i do find it interesting now what does it mean when you lose your mucus plug well at the most
basic level it means that something is happening with your cervix it's opened at least a tiny bit
to allow for the mucous plug to exit your body because the mucus plug sits at the cervix it
serves the purpose of keeping bacteria out of the uterus so while we don't know how open your
cervix is we do know that some small amount of dilation or opening has happened now if you lose
your mucous plug prior to 36 weeks you should definitely let your doctor or your midwife know
now let's jump in to talk about the color the color of mucus plug can actually vary quite a
bit and it can tell us more about what is happening in our body so it can be clear
yellow pink it can be red streaked it can be brown it could be greenish
the only color though that should be a concern to us is if we have that greenish colored mucus plug
so if you have a greenish mucus plug it can be a sign that you have an infection
and i recommend contacting your doctor or your midwife to let them know what you saw
so all the other colors are normal shouldn't be a cause of concern
but these three right here mean that there has there's also some blood in that mucus
so let's take a quick look at the anatomy the mucous plug is found here at the cervix and
when the cervix dilates or opens sometimes the capillaries here on the cervix will also break
and small amounts of blood will come out this blood can cause the mucus to turn that pink
color can be red streaked or it can look brown if that blood is actually older so when the mucus
plug contains blood it actually gets another name bloody show so losing a mucus plug that is clear
yellow or lightly pinkish generally doesn't mean that labor is close it lets you know that the
cervix has made some change but probably could be days or weeks until labor starts if you see
a bloody red mucous plug it can indicate that your cervix is making more change and that change might
be significant if bloody show comes out when you're experiencing cramps or contractions then
that could be more significant sign that you're in labor or that labor is going to be starting soon
now many people see a brown mucous plug come out the day or two days following a prenatal
appointment where your doctor or midwife performs a cervical check or maybe if you've had your
membranes swept at your cervical check it could cause some bleeding at your cervix and that blood
can turn brown before it exits with the mucous plug so sometimes people think they're having some
kind of opening in their cervix but it's really just result from that exam now beside the color of
the mucus plug let's quickly talk about the amount because this can also vary as much as the color
you might experience a large blob of mucus all at once you might experience pieces over a few
days or so and don't be surprised if you see your mucus club mucus plug come out two times or more
the mucous plug can actually regenerate i remember the first time i had a client
call me totally confused because she lost her mucus plug and then lost it for a second time
so don't be concerned if you also never see your mucus plug come out at all i remember
supporting a client in the hospital who we had been laboring together for several hours
she started to feel the urge to push she had a cervical check and indeed it was time to
push her cervix was 10 centimeters dilated 100 percent effaced and then she looked at me and said
but i haven't lost my mucus plug yet and we all started laughing it is not necessary to see your
mucous blood come out and many people don't so while we're talking about interesting things that
happen in pregnancy i know that you'll want to check out this video right here where i share all
the details about water breaking i also use water balloons to show you how artificial rupture of
membranes is done i know you're going to like that one next see you next time bye