I worry about everything. Every little thing.
HOWEVER, I think I was justifiably freaked out when, after doing the ah 'Deed' (you know, the one that started Peanut in the first place), I found little lumps of brown-reddish snot-like stuff on the toilet tissue. OMG.OMG.OMG.OMG. Trepidatious exploration of my inside woman-parts ensued. Curiously, instead of smooth, my fingers encountered what can best be described as a string of slimy, firm, GLOBS. I tugged on the 'string' and each time, small pieces broke off that I smeared onto a piece of tissue. There was a little bright red blood that accompanied the pieces.
Second Warning: DO NOT PROCEED IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH!
I tried to stay calm but I was close to freaking out. Ok fine. I was freaked out. I'm not averse to the sight of blood or anything, and I think I have a reasonably tough constitution. But what I was seeing was a bit too much. However, I put on my poker face so as not to worry hubs. Then I turned to Google for answers.
I learnt that when spotting 'bloody show' is accompanied by 'mucus plug' in the third trimester, labor is eminent. The mucus plug, which plugs the cervix, is a physical barrier that prevents bacteria from entering the uterus. Close to labor, when the cervix effaces (thins out), the mucus plug naturally dislodges.
Mucus plug in the 2nd Trimester?
However, I was only 21 weeks pregnant, so what could that mean? Preterm labor? The forums were abuzz with women like me worrying about preterm labor and asking if what they were seeing was a mucus plug. It appears that there is a lot of confusion over how exactly a mucus plug looks. A mucus plug isn't just any vaginal discharge. And, in the second trimester, it usually doesn't just happen. I read of women miscarrying shortly after losing their mucus plug. I read of mucus plugs being dislodged by the rigors of intercourse.
Should I be worried?
After more than a day of combing the forums and pregnancy websites - and with no further spotting, no cramping - I decided the following information made sense:
- I had indeed lost part of my mucus plug. The mucus plug does sit in the cervix and sex can dislodge it.
- Losing the mucus plug (outside the 1st/2nd trimester) does not mean labor is going to happen. However, if miscarriage is (sadly) going to happen, then mucus plug and bloody show could precede that (accompanied by cramping, which I did not have).
- Mucus plug production is continuous - as fresher stuff is produced up in the cervix, the older plug material moves outward and makes an occasional appearance that serves to horrify pregnant women all over the world.
- I was going to be OK.
Just to be sure, I called up the midwives at Magee and told them about it. They said not to worry, as there was no further spotting and I had no cramps.
Phew.
