Questions we First-Timer Mommas have for the Experienced Mommas

[Teenytoona]

I've been thinking, and I thought this might be a good thread for it, I've got a few questions (mostly about what I call the "end game") that I've not found a whole lot of info about here and there, or have missed. I figured there are enough women here who have given birth before, and plenty more who haven't so maybe this is a good chance for us first timers to ask you experienced veterans some of the finer details of what happens/ what can happen.

My question number 1:

The Mucus Plug. Now In my mind I picture something very like a booger-colored and textured (wine)cork that goes "POP" when it comes out. I'm sure that's not what it looks like, so I figured I'd ask you a bit more details about that.

Question #2:

While in officially in labor, when people are measuring contractions and whatnot, is there a sort of perpetual fluid leakage/drippage going on (aside from water breaking and actual birthing)? If I'm walking around through contractions and lets say am naked will I be leaving a trail of goo around or have it running down my legs the whole time? will I need to wear some kind of pad/towel/something during labor?

I'm sure I have more, but those are the pressing ones. I'm sure there are others with questions too...

Here we go!

[Nature]

The mucus plug probably does look like something of a cross between snot and blood. However, there is a good chance you'll never see it anyway. Many moms never do. I'm one of them! Usually it doesn't dislodge in one piece, but more like.. bits come off here and there, and it can be hard to tell the difference between plug and normal vaginal secretions in late pregnancy. kwim? (Oh, I don't think it goes "pop!" either. ) Its kinda like "bloody show" that you read about in books. The books never say that some moms don't have any until they are well into labor! So many moms look for this sign that labor is coming, when in reality it might not show up beforehand or it might be so scant that you don't even notice it.

If your water has already broken, either spontaneously or by AROM then you will have some leakage of fluids. If you're up and walking around, and you're in a hospital.. they will give you panties and a pad to wear. Sometimes they even send you home, or off the grounds to walk around. So yes, you do need to wear something because amniotic fluid replenishes itself. Its like a constant little leak after the initial break. And its not goo, its like water or urine.. except it smells better. (To me it smells a lot like what a newborn baby smells like)

When you're in full on labor, and dialated well.. there will be some blood. Especially when you start pushing. Usually they clean up what is there, put down new chux pads frequently and its not a big deal. You will not notice it at all. Trust me! When I had to use the bathroom, the nurse would help me stand while I held onto the chux pad that was underneath my bottom, and I'd use that as my temporary pad while I waddled to the bathroom. After that, I'd get a new one.. or she'd give me new undies and a pad and that would be that!

So much is individual really. Some peoples water breaks at home, before contractions even start.. and many don't break until labor. (and still some never break at all!)

[weeirishlass]

Originally Posted by Teenytoona

My question number 1:

The Mucus Plug. Now In my mind I picture something very like a booger-colored and textured (wine)cork that goes "POP" when it comes out. I'm sure that's not what it looks like, so I figured I'd ask you a bit more details about that.

Question #2:

While in officially in labor, when people are measuring contractions and whatnot, is there a sort of perpetual fluid leakage/drippage going on (aside from water breaking and actual birthing)? If I'm walking around through contractions and lets say am naked will I be leaving a trail of goo around or have it running down my legs the whole time? will I need to wear some kind of pad/towel/something during labor?

1. Hmm, mine looked a lot like a big blob of snot or mucous. I guess that's where they got the name! Duh to me. Mine was almost burgundy, also, with old blood. And no pop. I lost mine after an internal. It just came out on the nurses glove. She was all excited to show me, while I preferred not to look too closely!

2. It depends, some people get a slow leak, some get a gush (that was me), and some don't have the water rupture until it's time to push. Since mine came out in a gush, at home, I wore a pad (someone told me they'd want to see it to check the color for meconium. they didn't) to the hospital. Not that it really helped much. Then once I was there, I really have no idea if I was leaking or not. I think it was all out by then. But I also wasn't walking around (damn nurses wouldn't let me, and I didn't have the wherewithal to argue).

[lincap]

HI!

Can't answer # 1 never saw mine!


#2: My water broke and it was like more than a trickle but not a gush.. I had just gone to the bathroom and stood up and then it started coming out. Like a light stream of urine.. It was weird.. cuz I was like "hmm.. I just went!" but then I figured it out. I put on a pad called the MW.. My DH took me to the strore and I bought and SWEAR by Poise pads ultimate absorbancy! I changed them often throughout my 34 hour labor! Plus I used the leftover ones for post partum bleeding.

HTH

[Kitten]

I didn't see a glob, either it came out in bits or got pulled out during an internal and no one bothered to tell me.

I had AROM so had a big gush. I don't really remember anymore whether I leaked after that, or how much. I'm not consenting to AROM again, though.

[Mindi22]

I saw my mucus plug in the toilet about 4 days before DS was born. It looked rather snotty, but was sort of brownish/clearish/greyish/reddish... kinda streaky, and to me, it did look about the size of a cork, although maybe a little bit thinner. No pop, though!

I had a gush when my waters broke at 1am (in bed, luckly had an absorbant pad underneath me)... truthfully, I don't really remember doing a lot of leaking while I was in labor after that. I'm sure there was some, but I really don't remember it - my focus was on other things for some odd reason! I don't even remember wearing a pad while we traveled to the hospital an hour or so after the water broke. I bet that it happens for some, doesn't for others, and probably depends quite a bit on how engaged baby's head is, because if the baby is engaged, he or she will be the cork holding things in.

HTH!

[StrawberryFields]

My mucus plug dislodged in the middle of the night when I woke up with contractions. I noticed it when I wiped after going to the bathroom--just a little streak of blood tinged mucous on the TP.

My water didn't break while I was laboring around the house so I didn't have anything leaking or whatever while I walked around. I didn't notice any after my midwife broke my water either, to tell you the truth. The only time I noticed any sort of blood or mess was after ds was born while they were cleaning him up I looked down and blood was really coming out then. I asked them to please move the mirror!!

[MamaBBrown2003]

1) I learned with #2 that the mucous plug, like amniotic fluid can replenish itself. I lost my plug at 37-38 weeks with that baby. From then until she was born (32 days later!!!), I would have gloppy junk whenever I'd have a few contractions.

As far as appearance, to me it's a lot like the mucous that happens at ovulation. Just imagine 9 cycles worth of that all built up with a little blood mixed in at times. A lovely image, no?

2) They say only 20% of labors start with water breaking, but so far I'm 3 for 3. Every single one of my labors has begun with my water breaking -- in my bed!. It took until baby #3 for me to get the bright idea to put something waterproof on the bed a few weeks before my due date. Since my labors all began that way, yes, I was kind of leaky throughout my labors. I wore a pad when I was walking around at home, but I didn't care at the hospital because I didn't have to clean it up.

[the elyse]

(To me it smells a lot like what a newborn baby smells like)


i want to smell my baby!!! i didn't get to hold my baby for 24 hours...i missed that! (darn hospitals)


1. i have no idea about the mucous plug..i went into labor at 33 weeks so i was definatly not paying attention to mucous leakage...

2. my water was intact till 9cm when my CNM ruptured it, so i didn't have any leakage. but, i'm also a doula, and all the women that i've worked with had leakage, but nothing gross or excessive.

[LoveChild421]

my mucous plug did look like a really big slightly bloody booger. I went to go pee and it just plopped out (no pop sound though). That happened a couple days before my water broke (I was in light labor on and off for those 2 days).

My water broke 20 hours before I gave birth and I did feel a pop (didn't really hear it though) and thought "what was that pop?!" and 2 seconds later water was gushing out. I too thought that once it was broken there was a big gush and then no more- NOPE! I leaked pretty much all the time just a little. I took a towel with me wherever I went. I didn't like being up walking, I prefered to sit on the birth ball and move around so I just put the towel on my birth ball.

[SamuraiMom]

I never saw my plug with the first 2. DD/#1, they broke my ag in hospital to speed up delivery, it wansn't even necessary, it was more like "how bout it, I got the hook in my hand, I mean I'm standing right here, want me to do it?"
And with DS I was laying in bed on my side contracting and then I did hear a pop, at least I know I felt a pop, and then a gush. But DD/#2 was a home birth and my bag didn't pop until I was in transition and squating on the floor with my MW in front of me. Eveything came flying out onto my poor MW, I seem to recall a little bit of blood and goo, but it's not so clear in my mind because right after that I gave birth. So to sum up I would say for me it was what felt like a pop and than a gush.

[TrishWSU]

Originally Posted by Teenytoona

My question number 1:

The Mucus Plug. Now In my mind I picture something very like a booger-colored and textured (wine)cork that goes "POP" when it comes out. I'm sure that's not what it looks like, so I figured I'd ask you a bit more details about that.

To me it was like really thick CM and a lot of it! Mine came out all during labor. As labor progessed it starting mixing with the "bloody show" so it was more pink tinged mucus, then more bloody mucus (yeah, kind of gross, but hey, where else will you learn these things, lol!) For a few days before labor started I'd get little chunks of creamy looking mucus (again, think really thick cm) in the toliet when I used the bathroom. But your water breaking can sound like a "POP"! Mine did while I was on the toliet pushing and it sounded very...interesting.

Originally Posted by Teenytoona

Question #2:

While in officially in labor, when people are measuring contractions and whatnot, is there a sort of perpetual fluid leakage/drippage going on (aside from water breaking and actual birthing)? If I'm walking around through contractions and lets say am naked will I be leaving a trail of goo around or have it running down my legs the whole time? will I need to wear some kind of pad/towel/something during labor?

My water didn't break until I was pushing so nothing was coming out during labor except the mucus plug/bloody show. I wore a pad because of the blood and didn't take my undies off until I started pushing (I was in a shirt and underwear until then.) If your water has broken you will more than likely have a slow trickle or little gushes of fluid during contractions, so a pad/towel/something will be useful to absorb that.

I think it's a great idea to ask these questions! Nobody really tells you the nitty gritty details IRL.

[dianna11]

#1 pretty much what everyone else said.

#2 I was waiting for my water to break, and it never happened! Not even a drip or a leak! My daughter was born with the bag of water over her head - it's called being born "in the caul" and has lots of fun mythology with it.

[Teenytoona]

Yay! I knew you mommas would come through! The idea of the "pop" I just figured myself, because well, most corks pop. Heh! But now I know what to look for - anything from a boogery corkish thing to heavier CM mucus wtinged with blood! That is why I came to mothering, to get the real skinny on these things. My sis, who gave birth 3 times, doesn't get into the gory talk, so I knew I could come here for the real deal...

Now, I wonder if other new moms will drop by and ask their questions too!

[bloominmamas]

My water broke before labor started with both of my babies and it just felt like something snagged and gave way. I didn't leak much at all I just leaked r e a l s l o w. With my plug it was just like a bunch of CM as well, and towards transition it would get a little bloody. One thing I wish I had had hammered in my head as a first timer was that if your water breaks STAY HOME!! Cause as soon as you get to the hosipital you are on their clock and at least with me I just didn't give myself enough alone time in my home to let labor get started on its own and ended up with Pitocin and that led me down a road of having a 3rd degree tear. This time I am avoiding the hospital altogether and so I am hoping things will go better than the last 2 (the second one was harder for other reasons than the 1st). Anyway, hope that was helpful.

[flapjack]

Dianna, my eldest shares a birthday with your eldest, and he was born in the caul too Coincidence, huh?

The best way I can find to describe the mucus plug is a blob of old semen. Gross, probably, but the best description- but obviously, it's traditionally bloodstained. Do NOT get excited though- I lost part of my mucus plug on 16 days of my month of beautiful birth stories (aka prodromal labour hell) and it didn't get the babe out any quicker.
My midwife with the first two asked me to put a pad on so that if my waters went, we'd be able to confirm it was amniotic fluid, and know there was no staining.
Totally seconding what bloomingmama says about staying home after ROM (assuming the fluid is clear.) I know so many people who've had bad experiences, and so many midwives who believe that if labour doesn't immediately follow ROM, baby is probably malpositioned and induction won't work well. Old wives tale? Maybe...
Here's a question from a fourth-timer. If you had a natural third stage but cut the cord before the placenta was out, did your babe get jaundice???

[bloominmamas]

Originally Posted by flapjack

Here's a question from a fourth-timer. If you had a natural third stage but cut the cord before the placenta was out, did your babe get jaundice???

My babies' didn't, although I fully intend on waiting til the placenta is out before cutting it this time, if it is long enough...

[flapjack]

That's what I'm planning. DD had mild jaundice which cleared, but she cried when her cord was cut I had actively managed third stages with both boys, so that was a new experience for me.

[eilonwy]

With the first, I lost my mucous plug on day three of a 4.5 day labor. It was huge, very snotty and nasty and bloody (fresh blood, mine-- very red). It was also runny as heck, because I was leaking, and vaguely tinged with green because Bean had passed meconium.

Super messy and icky.

Water broke as a trickle and slowly leaked out over the four days. It left me looking smaller, but my doctor refused to see me when I described the process to her because she was tired of dealing with my crap (please note: if you are uncomfortable with your CP, even if you are 33+weeks, CHANGE PROVIDERS. *THAT* is the best advice I have for any pregnant woman. I still regret not doing so with Bean. .

Baby number two, I didn't go into labor at all and my cervix was still tighter than Fort Knox when she was delivered by emergency c-section, so I didn't lose much (if any) of my mucous plug. That said, my water still broke and trickled out over about a 24 hour period. I wore regular maxi pads to catch the drippage, but it wasn't a big deal at all. It smelled like BooBah. Again, though, I didn't go into labor with her at all, and wasn't having any contractions when she was born. I'd only had braxton hicks contractions *once* during that pregnancy, and sitting on my backside for an hour with a gallon of water put an end to them.

I lost my plug with #3 around 34/35 weeks. My cervix was softer, and it opened up a bit and the plug just dropped out. The easiest way to describe this is that it looked like a really big bronchial cast... but if you're not asthmatic and/or someone who's dealt with a great number of respiratory infections, that probably won't mean anything to you. I guess it was kind of like a wine cork, only the texture was of hard snot. It was not remotely blood-tinged, either; just kind of yellowish and snotty looking. : I lost another big hunk in labor with her, which leads me to something else--

Did you know that the mucous plug can actually replenish itself? It's kind of constantly fixing itself up, so you might find small bits of snotty goo in your panties on a regular basis and they could mean nothing at all. That's more common in the second & third trimesters (once the baby starts gaining weight/putting more pressure on your cervix), but it can also happen as a result of...er... let's call it "more active" intercourse.

Oh-- my water never broke with #3; the surgeon who did the c-section found the amniotic sac intact.

[ScarletBegonias]

#1: mine was streaky and came in streaks here and there. when i was about 5 cm there was a large piece of what was left of the infamous "plug"

#2: i, quite unfortunately because it made the rest of my labor HELL, had arom. there was a big gush when the sac was ruptured and every time i had a cx, a decent amount of fluid would spew out. having arom and the fluid gushing was the *worst* and only bad part of my labor (shudders):