Question about Mucus Plug & Bloody Show

[Danimom13]

I'm a little confused. Is the Mucus Plug & Bloody Show the same thing. I keep getting different answers, so I figured I would come here. Last week I lost my Mucus Plug. The nurses told me it's no big deal labor could take weeks to start, when I have a bloody show, that's when I know that labor will start within a couple of days. Fine. That was Sat. Yesterday,(Thurs) I had bloody show. They told me to come in, and that nurse said Bloody Show means nothing except my cervix is changing. Labor still isn't necessarily near.

Does anyone know who is right? I'm so confused. I'm spending so much time worrying about all of this stuff, that I'm not even enjoying my last few weeks of being pregnant.

TIA

[krizty]

The mucus plug and bloody show happen when the cervix effaces and dialates. Some women have them at the same time making them "the same thing". Other women will lose a mucus plug (not tinged with blood) making them seperate. So, in your case, it was 2 different events. Both are basically the same.. just one has blood, one doesnt.

[SabDoulaMommy]

I like to say they are on a continum. Mucus Plug on the "light" side, bloody show on the "heavy" side. You absolutely can loose your mucus plug or even have a little bloody show w/ no "labor" however, the futher in labor you are, the more bloody show you will see. Good to keep in mind that the fact that you are seeing these things means that you are dilating, even without being "in labor." Less to do when the time comes.

[Metasequoia]

You could even have some bloody show from things like internal exams & sex, so I guess it doesn't always mean labor is near.....having said that, I never saw any of my mucus plugs & I didn't have any bloody show until about an hour or two before my babies were born (& I was already dilated about 4-5cm for a few weeks.) So I guess you can dilate & not have bloody show & you can have bloody show & not dilate - confusing, eh?

It *does* sound like your body is doing *something* though, best wishes!! Try not to think on it too much.

[MAMom]

They are both indicators of cervical changes -- which is a good thing! But neither can "predict" when your labor will start. Just like no one can predict when your baby will be ready to be born...but he'll let you know The cervix is like a "turtleneck" that has to stretch over the baby's head, so as this happens small capillaries burst & cause the "bloody show".

I'm not clear why they would tell you to come in instead of just discussing it with you over the phone? Are you planning on laboring at home during the early/latent phase of labor? The most important thing to remember to do is rest, rest, rest & stay hydrated & nourished to make sure you're ready for the work ahead of you!!!

My midwife's protocal is that she typically comes (I'm having a homebirth) when I have regular contractions every 5 minutes that last about 60 seconds or so - though this may differ depending on how close/far you live to where you're delivering.

I'm having a hard time enjoying these last couple of weeks too -- too big & tired to do too much of anything fun, and also wanting to make sure I don't exhaust myself incase today is "the" day!

[EllasMama]

That's definitely a bit irritating to get "mixed messages" about each thing happening (this one doesn't mean labor, but that one does, oh no wait, that one doesn't necessarily mean it either...).

From what I can tell from everyone's stories, either one can be a sign of labor being really close, or of not being close at all. It just depends and is probably best not to get too excited. I had some pink/brownish discharge this morning and am trying to not think too much of it. Nothing interesting has happened yet except for it feels like baby is pressing down hard on my cervix and must weigh about 15 pounds by now, LOL.

With my DD, I never saw any sign at all of mucus plug or bloody show or anything but clearish discharge. My water just broke one night and started things, so sometimes "no show" is a sign of labor being close, too.

Carol