It is also possible for the plug to be dislodged during a vaginal examination by a doctor or midwife or after sexual intercourse. Sometimes a membrane sweep (a technique performed to encourage the start of labour) causes loss of the mucus plug. Let your midwife know about any vaginal loss after a sweep.
Your mucus plug may come out during active labour or several days before active labour starts. If you're already experiencing regular contractions when you lose your mucus plug, then labour has already begun. If not, you may have a few more hours or days to wait.
Labor begins within 48 hours for most people after a membrane sweep. Every person and every pregnancy is a little different, so it's hard to say how long it will take for your labor to start (or if it will).
The cervix generally needs to be dilated to 10 centimeters before it's ready for the baby to pass through. Your cervix can be dilated to a couple of centimeters for a few weeks before delivery. This softening can cause the mucus plug to be dislodged and come out.
Texture: It has a gelatinous look and is thick while in the cervix, but typically becomes thin and more liquid once expelled. Size: The mucus plug is about 4-5 centimeters long, or about 1 ounce in volume. If your body doesn't expel the plug all at once, it may seem like much less.
Losing your mucus plug generally means your cervix has started to dilate, efface or both. It means labor is around the corner, but there is not an exact time for how soon after other labor symptoms will start. In some cases, you may already be in labor when you lose your mucus plug.
Getting up and moving around may help speed dilation by increasing blood flow. Walking around the room, doing simple movements in bed or chair, or even changing positions may encourage dilation.
Your mucus plug will usually come out before your water breaks, though you can leak amniotic fluid through a tear — which doesn't necessarily mean you've lost your mucus plug yet, as it prevents bacteria from traveling up to baby, not water from leaking out.
If you lost your mucous plug and you do not have any contractions yet, that simply means that your body is preparing for labour by dilating (opening) and/or effacing (thinning and stretching) the cervix. It does NOT necessarily mean that labour is imminent though.
Positive signs after a membrane sweep indicate that your body has responded well and that labor is progressing. Signs of a successful membrane sweep include contractions becoming more regular, the loss of your mucus plug, your water breaking, or your cervix becoming more dilated.
Clear and stretchy — This is “fertile” mucous and means you're ovulating. Clear and watery — This occurs at different times of your cycle and can be particularly heavy after exercising. Yellow or green — May indicate an infection, especially if it's thick or clumpy like cottage cheese or has a foul odor.
A mucus plug and discharge have some similarities, but they are not the same. There is a noticeable increase in vaginal discharge during pregnancy, which is usually clear or white without a foul odor. On the other hand, a mucus plug is more sticky and jelly-like.
A bloody show means your cervix is preparing for labor. For some women, labor begins shortly after the bloody show, but for others it could still be several days away. If you are unsure if you are experiencing a bloody show or think you are in the early stages of labor, contact your healthcare provider.
There are no signs that your water is going to break; however, most people will be in labor and have contractions before their water breaks. So, if you're in labor and experiencing contractions, your water can break at any moment.
A mucus plug is usually clear, but it can be white, yellow, green, brown, slightly pink, or blood-tinged in color. Most of the time it is off-white with some streaks of pink blood. The plug is jelly-like but becomes more liquid as it is expelled.
You may also have slight spotting (a small amount of bleeding on your underwear) for up to 3 days. This bleeding can be reddish, pink, or brown and may be mixed with mucus. Spotting and cramping after membrane sweeping are normal.
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.
You may experience some red, pink or brown discharge, or notice that the mucus plug is streaked with blood. The bloody show can appear in your underwear, or you might see it when you wipe. However, it shouldn't be much more than a tablespoon or two of discharge, says the Cleveland Clinic.
Typically, clear, stretchy and jelly-like vaginal discharge that has the consistency of egg whites, means that you are making a lot of estrogen. This type of discharge often occurs in the middle between your cycles and is a sign of ovulating (your body is releasing an egg) and you are fertile (able to become pregnant).
Jelly like blob discharge during period
Jelly like blob discharge or clots on heavy days of your period are a mix of blood and tissue shed from your uterus lining. When your period is very heavy, the anticoagulants that break down clots can't keep up.
Cervical mucus can look sticky, creamy, pasty, watery, stretchy or slippery. At your most fertile time, your mucus is slippery and watery. When you're not fertile, the mucus will be thick or pasty. Your cervical mucus is generally odorless.
Excess vaginal discharge can occur due to arousal, ovulation, or infections. Normal vaginal discharge contains a mixture of cervical mucus, vaginal fluid, dead cells, and bacteria. Females may experience heavy vaginal discharge from arousal or during ovulation.