‘If there is excessive bleeding when you pass your mucus plug contact your local maternity triage and speak to a midwife for advice,’ Mr Pisal advises. If losing your mucus plug is accompanied by contractions or any signs of bleeding or waters breaking, you might be in labour, and should therefore contact your midwifery team when contractions last at least 60 seconds and come every 5 minutes. Generally speaking, losing your mucus plug is a regular part of pregnancy and, in most instances, you won’t need to take any action – though, if you do notice that you lose your mucus plug, it’s worth mentioning to your midwife or at your next checkup so they can keep track. ‘Other signs of labour you should look out for after losing your mucus plug include strong, regular contractions and rupture of membranes (otherwise known as your waters “breaking”),’ Dr Gunasekera adds. It could be hours, days or, as Dr Gunasekera says, even weeks. Whilst your body is showing signs of preparing itself to deliver your baby, it’s still anyone’s guess when labour might actually begin. So, Can You Get Pregnant on Your Period?.Louise Thompson Announces She Is Pregnant.Gymnast Shows Hubby What it's Like Being Pregnant.‘For some women, labour may not begin until a few weeks after the loss of the mucus plug.’ ‘Losing the mucus plug does not automatically mean you will be in labour within the next few hours,’ says Dr Gunasekera. It does indicate that labour might on the horizon, but it could be a while before the real action kicks off. How long after losing your mucus plug do you go into labour?ĭoes losing your mucus plug automatically mean you’re in labour? Well, no – not exactly. Vaginal discharge is completely normal during pregnancy, and it’s therefore common that, since the mucus plug tends to be released in small pieces over time, it goes unnoticed. Is often clear or milky-white in colour.Is often either off-white or pink in colour.Can appear thick, stringy, gooey or jelly-like.However, there are some key differences that might help you decipher between the two. ‘However, often there may not be any visible or identifiable signs.’ What's the difference between discharge and a mucus plug?įrustratingly, it’s not always easy to tell the difference between your run-of-the-mill discharge and a mucus plug. ‘You may feel some wetness in your underwear or notice lumps of mucus when you go to the toilet,’ says Mr Narendra Pisal, Consultant Gynaecologist at London Gynaecology. Whilst the mucus plug can dislodge in one piece, usually, it discharges in bits and pieces, and many women aren’t aware when they have lost it. But, more often than not, losing your mucus plug is an indicator that your body is preparing itself for childbirth. That said, the mucus plug can also be discharged – though, it’s less common – after a cervical exam or following sex. When your cervix begins to soften and open wider in preparation for delivery, the mucus plug is loosened and discharged into the vagina, where it passes out, so losing your mucus plug could be an early sign that you’re going into labour. Sometimes it can be pink, off-white or have blood streaks in it.' And what happens when you lose your mucus plug? It has a thick, gelatinous consistency, and can appear stringy or thick and jelly-like. The mucus plug is, more or less, exactly what it sounds like a sort of protective cork that closes off the cervical canal and acts as a barrier to prevent sources of infection, like bacteria, from travelling up from the vagina and into the womb during pregnancy,ĭr Ayanthi Gunasekera, Specialist Registrar in Gynaecology at London Gynaecology explains: ‘The mucus plug is formed from secretions which are produced by glands in the cervix.

Mucus plug no blood