Hey everyone!
I'm Sarah Lavonne and welcome back!
As you approach your due date,
sometimes you're gonna find that there are some changes that happen in your body.
These are normal, but they're not reasons to come to the hospital.
Today, we are talking about all the reasons NOT to go to the hospital.
Let's get started!
So let's get to it.
So what are some of the things that could happen?
Throughout your pregnancy,
your belly is gonna grow bigger and bigger and bigger.
And as it grows bigger,
it's gonna grow higher and higher and higher into your rib cage.
That's why a lot of women towards the end of their pregnancy are like
"Oh my god, get this baby out of me!", because it's so uncomfortable.
So one of the things that can happen is
as you approach your delivery day...
I always need my pelvis!
Your baby is going to be sitting this high
and then all of a sudden, it has to settle into the pelvis.
So what happens? The baby is going to drop!
It's gonna come down.
And so what does that do to you for your sensations?
That means that all of a sudden, you go from not being able to breathe
and huffing and puffing around your house, just literally walking down the hallway
to "oh my god, I can breathe again!"
"I have so much space and energy!",
because now the baby's no longer sitting right up on your rib cage.
What does that mean for you?
A lot of women, that causes this burst of energy,
so they get up they finish up with the nursery,
they cook meals for their family to throw in the freezer for after delivery,
they're cleaning their house like crazy.
So when the baby drops, that means that you're getting closer,
which is something to celebrate!
At the same time, it's important for you to balance your rest with your activity
because we know that labor is work, that it takes time,
you may go 24 hours without sleep
and so really, lay down, rest when you can,
work when you want to work and clean up your house.
Make sure everything is ready. There's nothing wrong with that.
But at the same time, just pay attention to
the fact that you still need that rest in order to prepare for your baby to come.
The second thing that may happen is you might have some loose stools.
So your poop might be a lot softer,
it might be kind of like diarrhea.
But why is that?
One of the theories is that as your uterus grows up in your belly,
what happens to your intestines?
They get smushed out of the way
and then they're, like, kind of packed all around the uterus.
As you get closer, your uterus is gonna start contracting here and there.
It's gonna squeeze. You probably won't even know that it's happening.
You may know that it's happening.
It might be a little bit painful or feel like menstrual cramps,
but either way, your uterus is moving
and as it's what we call "irritable",
it may stimulate the bowel or your intestines for you to have a little bit of loose stool.
How I like to think about it is like if I get period cramps.
When you have your period, sometimes you have some loose stool, or you might have a case of diarrhea.
Now, if you're having profuse, explosive diarrhea that you can't keep anything down
and if you just literally are exploding everywhere,
then that is something to be concerned of and a reason to actually contact your doctor.
You might have some sort of food poisoning going on
or something else that may need to be taken care of.
But if it's just one case of diarrhea, or one case of loose stool, or a couple, it's not a big deal,
just make sure you're staying hydrated and know that maybe your uterus is getting irritable.
Not a reason to go to the hospital.
The other thing along those lines is you might have a little bit of nausea like you have morning sickness again.
If it's one or two, here and there, just like you're more nauseous,
you just kind of feel crummy, almost like you have the flu a little bit.
Nothing necessarily to be concerned of.
Make sure that you're getting the nutrients that you need and the hydration that you need
but at the same time, that also can be normal.
The other thing that lots of people are very interested in is your mucus plug.
Sexyyy
So what is your mucus plug? Your mucus plug actually sits in the inside of your cervix.
Remember, this is my cervix again. It's a thick, hard cervix that's not in labor.
What happens is, as your cervix starts softening out and effacing a little bit,
it kind of is getting riper, that mucus that was stuck in there now all of a sudden can slide out.
Sometimes people see it. Sometimes you don't.
If you do or don't, it's like okay, it is what it is.
So the mucus in there is like the glue keeping your cervix together
and then protecting it from any of the bacteria that might be in your vagina.
All of our vaginas have bacteria in them.
They're good bacteria. That's what keeps our vaginas healthy.
So, we don't want those good bacteria that are good for the vagina
to get up where the baby is and potentially cause an infection.
The mucus plug is there to protect from the bacteria.
What does the mucus plug look like?
It looks like boogers or
like, I think about glue. I've seen mucus plugs -
I know. Really cute.
I've seen mucus plugs that are like, um
Like if you have dried glue that sits for a while
and then it's just kind of like sticky and globby.
It might look like that, too.
So the colors should be clear. It might be a light yellow. It might even be like a darker yellow.
But if it's, like, if it's green or brown or like blue or something, which would be really weird,
then that is something that you would want to reach out to your doctor about but otherwise,
it if it comes out, if maybe you go to the bathroom and all sudden
there's like this globby, gluey thing that is hanging from you, wipe it away and go "okay, cool."
Statistically speaking, if your mucus plug comes out,
you probably will deliver within about two weeks from when it comes out.
So, it's not a sign of labor.It's not a reason to come to the hospital.
You don't need to bring it in a little baggie.
One of the ways that I've heard it described, which I think is pretty accurate, is like egg whites.
So you have your watery egg whites and then you have like your gooey, snot-like egg whites.
If it's more watery like all of a sudden you peed yourself
or like it keeps dripping out like water versus like a boogerish-type substance,
then it might actually be your water, but if it's more like egg whites,
which I have here. - There's the mucusy ones in there.
[squealing]
My god!
So, it really does actually look like this.
If it's like a glob that comes out and it's more like snotty and thick and gooey
more like this, I guess,
Then it's probably your mucus.
You get the point.
You can just say "Yay, I'm excited! I am getting closer to my due date. My cervix is softening out."
"It's doing what it's supposed to.", but your mucous plug coming out does not mean a sign of labor.
The other thing with your mucus plug is sometimes it's clear and gooey like this
and other times it has a little bit of blood in it
and that's just because your cervix has a lot of little blood vessels that go to it
and as your cervix softens and moves around a little bit, sometimes those pop
and you might have a little bit of vaginal bleeding.
But if it's profuse, like all of a sudden you soak a pad or you have your period again,
that is concerning. Please go to the hospital.
But if it's just a little bit like you wipe yourself and there's a little bit of, like, blood-tinged mucusy stuff in there,
that's probably what we call "bloody show" and/or your mucus plug.
I'm done. This is so gross.
[excited scream] There it is!
So, like that! That's what it sort of looks like.
Maybe. I need to go wash my hands.
And then last but not least are gonna be your Braxton Hicks contractions.
So, real contractions have a pattern. They're gonna get closer and closer together in time.
They're gonna be very regular.
For instance, you may have a contraction now, let's say,
and then you have one eight minutes from now, and then you have one two minutes later
and then you have one fifteen minutes later.
Those are not a regular pattern.
Versus on that's that's now and then three minutes later, and then four minutes later,
and then five minutes later, and then two minutes later and then four minutes later- that's within a range.
And so when your contractions are irregular, you might start feeling your uterus cramp up.
You might feel your belly tighten.You might feel like menstrual cramps or lower back pain.
When you can ignore it, continue to ignore it.
Until it becomes something that that, like, takes you off your feet
where you're like "Whoo, Lord! I gotta stop for a second"
then it's not something to pay attention to.
Braxton Hicks are just warm-up labor.
They're your body getting used to it, your body figuring it out.
Your uterus has to kind of coordinate its squeezing
because it's gonna squeeze this way and then it's gonna squeeze this way.
So, until it figures out exactly the perfect rhythm to bring your baby down
and help change your cervix, they're just Braxton Hicks contractions.
So, contractions that are irregular, that you can ignore, that aren't all-consuming, and that also vary in strength,
where one might be all-consuming, and then the other one is like, "meh, no big deal."
Those are not something that you would need to come to the hospital about.
And last but not least, as you get closer and closer to delivering your baby,
you may feel an increase in emotion.
Your hormones are fluctuating and figuring out how to get this baby out of you
and as that happens, it can cause some differences in emotions.
So, it may feel like you're PMSing all of a sudden.
Things that usually don't irritate you all of a sudden are so frustrating
or maybe you're walking down the street and you just find yourself crying
or you're touched very easily by something. That's normal.
Embrace it. Know that your body is doing everything that it can.
Give your partner grace as she may feel like she's going crazy at times.
There's nothing to worry about. It just means that you're getting closer.
So, if you have some loose stools, some nausea, some changes in your emotion, you lose your mucus plug
or you start having these irregular, kind of sporadic, not super-duper painful contractions,
those are not reasons to go to the hospital but reasons to get excited,
to know that you are getting so much closer to that special day that IS coming.
It will come eventually.
Take a deep breath. Relax.
Enjoy your last moments as a family of two or three
or however many kids you have, if this is my baby number two or more,
and make sure that you take care of yourself and rest as you prepare for your labor.
Thanks for being here with me today!
If you have any other comments, questions, concerns, anything
you want to throw out there for me then please feel free to comment below.
Otherwise, until next time,
Thanks for watching.
... and at it goes br- pffff
...like, *beep* -ing all over yourself.
I can't say that!
...nausea, vomiti-
Oh my god! Where do these bugs come from?!
...small meals. That you're staying hydrated and and those... nutriatized?
and nutriented? nutr...
Oh my god, you have to die.
All our bacterias have vaginas.
Noooo [laughing]
So the mucus plug is your... is your little protection
Protector? No. So the mucus... the mucus plug is that... is that protection that protects the - from the vagina?
I don't even know what I'm saying.
I'm going to smell like egg. This is so gross.
If it's like a glob, you don't need to put it-
Oh, yeah! There we go! There's my glob.
Ooh!
I can't get it. Ooh yuck.
...and then as you anticipate this little one coming into the world, then just get excited.
[scoffs] No
[silence]
Okay
That's all I got!
Until next time, byyyyyyyyyyyye!