How to Know When You've Lost Your Mucus Plug
When a woman becomes pregnant, her body creates a mucus plug near the opening of the cervix. This mucus plug's purpose is to keep germs and bacteria from entering the cervix and harming the unborn baby. When a woman is getting close to delivery, she often loses her mucus plug. This can happen several weeks before delivery or during labor itself.
Instructions
Check the consistency of the mucus. Normal vaginal discharge during pregnancy is thin. Mucus plugs have thick, stringy mucus. The consistency itself will be a dead give-away as to whether you are seeing your mucus plug or just your regular discharge. Observe the color of the mucus. The color of a mucus plug is much darker than your normal discharge. It may look like the mucus from your nose. It can also be brownish or reddish in color. See if any blood is around the mucus. Normal discharge will not contain blood. The closer you are to your due date when you lose the mucus plug, the higher your chance of having some blood surround the outer layers of the mucus plug. Compare the date you think you lost your mucus plug with your due date. If it is a few weeks away or less, it is most likely your mucus plug. Also, a mucus plug does not always come out all at once. You may lose a little of it at a time.
