36 Weeks and 6 Days.. I Think I Lost My Mucus Plug

The mucus plug is constantly remaking so if you loose some it doesn't mean you are labor.

Joanna
Mommy to Mara 9, Cate 7 and Olivia 6

Very normal. Anytime after 34 weeks even normal sporadic contractions are not necessarily a sign of anything.

unless your water is breaking (and you'd know) i think you're still in hurry-up-and-wait mode...sorry girl! hang in there! and congrats!

It sounds to me like you have lost a big piece but not the whole plug. The closer I was to time the more I lost. I still had to be induced. I would not be too concerned and maybe just call your doctor or speak to the doctor on call at the hospital. I am sure you are anxious and want this all to be over.

All you can do is sit and wait.

It's ok to lose your mucus plug. Some women lose them a month in advance. It's just a sign that you're nearing the end of pregnancy and your body is getting ready. You're not always going to see blood when you lose your mucus plug. What you need to look for is if your water breaks, then you go immediately to the hospital, or with consistant contractions that get closer together. Just have your bag packed and ready and don't go over board with stuff. The hospital will provide everything you'll need if you forget something.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

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The mucus plug will regenerate 24 hours after you lose it if you have not had the baby or are in labor. Wait as long as possible to go to the hospital. You and the baby do not need all the intervention they will heap upon you.

Lisa

I didnt have my baby until a couple of weeks after I lost the mucus plug, and I had to be induced, I was at 3 for 4 weeks and going crazy. :-)

Nothing to do but wait! My doc told me that losing the mucus plug doesn't mean you will go into labor anytime soon--he said it was 50-50--I could go the same day or wait another week.I lost my mucus plug in the a.m. and had the baby the next day at around 1 p.m. I started a very slow labor throughout the day, was admitted to the hospital at 10 pm and was almost sent home because they didn't believe I was actually in labor. Then my water broke about an hour later. My DD was born at 38 wks and 0 days.
Good luck!

I lost mine over a week before I went into labor. Just know that now it's coming (which you knew anyway). How exciting!

That's EXACTLY what mine looked like - thick and clear with maybe the littlest streak of blood in it. I was at 36 weeks 4 days and after I lost my mucous plug my water broke about an hour later and about an hour after that labor started for real. But my labor wasn't 'normal' and I keep forgetting that - most women don't have their water break until towards the very end of labor. Call your doctor and let him/her know what's up. My midwife didn't have me come in until the contractions were a minimum of five minutes apart, lasting one minute and uncomfortable enough that I wasn't able to converse normally through them.

*edited - My husband and I joke that I had a sitcom labor, my water broke (and man did it ever break, I was in a PUDDLE) while I was on the phone with my dad complaining about how sick of being pregnant I was. Then I had to call my husband at his tie kwon do class and he came flying home to find me not even contracting yet. Although when I started contracting about an hour later boy oh BOY did I ever start contracting. But I digress.

Don't freak out! ....but pay attention to your body closely over the next few hours. If you go into labor, great! But don't rush to the hospital yet because they'll just corral you into a bed and overwhelm you.

You will know when you are in labor. If you begin contracting, start timing them. If your water breaks it will most likely be obvious... even if it is slow and not the "huge gush" you've heard other women describe.... if you're not peeing and there's fluid coming out - assume your water might be trickling.

Stay calm. Breathe deeply. Don't let your body panic. Are you having a boy or a girl? What is your ethnicity (rhetorical question! see the following:)

I ask because caucasian males statistically have the most problems with lung development. Don't freak out though! I am caucasian and have all boys- everyone was born early and everyone was fine! Everyone was HUGE and fine!

Call your on-call doctor or nurse if you're getting too concerned. But don't go to the ER unless you really feel like you should.

And congratulations! Its going to be great!

I lost my mucus plug 4 weeks before I had my daughter and I was 2-3cm dilated for 3 weeks before my due date and having fairly regular contractions the last few weeks. She was five days overdue... booger! :) Good news? Perhaps your labor will be short. My water broke at 7:30AM, got to the hospital at 8AM and was 8cm. My daughter was in my arms at 9:57AM - hopefully your mucus plug, dilation and contractions are a sign of a labor like mine. Just keep monitoring. As long as your water hasn't broken and your contractions don't keep up after lying down you're still okay. :)

Ditto to Lisa K!!!!!!

I know that it's exciting & that you feel like a ticking time bomb at this stage of pregnancy.--It's like a big play-off game & you're ready to play it. But hang in there because if this is your first baby, you likely have several weeks left.
Studies have shown that most first time moms are 8 days "late", on average. But it's not at ALL uncommon for any mother to go 2 WEEKS "late", no matter what # child it is for her.

Dilation really doesn't tell you anything useful (sorry to tell you) until you're getting a strong urge to push. Prior to that, it just tends to make everyone feel anxious.

Stay home for as long as possible when you feel like the time has finally come. But until then, just lay low, RELAX and enjoy whatever time you have left as a pregnant mother-to-be. It's such a precious time.

Oh! And www.ChildbirthConnection.org has some fantastic info on it on anything & everything pregnancy & labor-related!

Hang in there! Relax! ENJOY! :-)

I lost mine about 6 weeks before my due date but had to have a c-section due to pre-eclampsia. So to set the time frame right, I lost mine (that part grossed me out more than anything else during pregnancy, it took a few days for all of it to come out) but then 3 weeks later I had my c-section without going into labor. So labor can be right around the corner or still a ways away.

congrats your in labor :) monitor yourself if u get to that oint, go in, i was laboring for about 2 days before it needed a little help and i got induced but it was super mild laboring it was like strong braxton hicks that would come every little bit till it was time, good luck