The mucus plug myth?

database6

I went to the doctor yesterday and told her that I thought little pieces of my mucus plug were coming out, and she hit me with the bombshell that there is no such thing as a mucus plug.  She said there is always discharge and that it keeps bacterial from entering the cervix, and sometimes the hormones make it more mucusy (is that a word) and when a lot comes out at once some people think that is their plug, when in reality it is just your normal discharge (well, normal but just looking different).  So this was news.  I then hit the computer researching, and have found that nearly every pregnant woman believes that there is a mucus plug, and the scientific community pretty much backs my doctor up.  *Mind Blown*  I still am not sure what I think, and will ask another doctor about this, but I was wondering what you ladies thought about this, especially BTDT moms?

princessvespa1

I never noticed "losing" mine last time, so who knows. 

redfallon

Maybe she's just describing it differently?

https://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=109852

Mucus plug: An accumulation of mucus and thick fluid that blocks the opening of the cervix (the opening from the uterus to the vagina) during pregnancy. The mucus plug serves to protect the uterus and the fetus by preventing bacteria from entering the uterus. The mucus plus can be clear or slightly pink in color and can be tinged with brown or red blood. As the cervix slowly begins to dilate prior to the onset of labor, the mucus plug is expelled. When expelled, the mucus plug has been referred to as "bloody show." When the mucus plug is expelled, it may be noticed by the woman as a solid mass or as increased vaginal discharge over a few days. Sometimes the woman may not notice passage of the mucus plug since it can occur gradually. Also spelled mucous plug.

Last Editorial Review: 10/9/2012

database6

redfallon said:

Mucus plug: An accumulation of mucus and thick fluid that blocks the opening of the cervix (the opening from the uterus to the vagina) during pregnancy. The mucus plug serves to protect the uterus and the fetus by preventing bacteria from entering the uterus. The mucus plus can be clear or slightly pink in color and can be tinged with brown or red blood. As the cervix slowly begins to dilate prior to the onset of labor, the mucus plug is expelled. When expelled, the mucus plug has been referred to as "bloody show." When the mucus plug is expelled, it may be noticed by the woman as a solid mass or as increased vaginal discharge over a few days. Sometimes the woman may not notice passage of the mucus plug since it can occur gradually. Also spelled mucous plug.

Last Editorial Review: 10/9/2012

This is the part she disagrees with, but yeah, I think the rest may be semantics.  I had a friend that lost hers and she was 0 dialated, so you don't have to be dialated to "lose it". 

Also, I think it is mucus, the noun.  Mucous would be the adjective, and there is a term for this (see definition you quoted).

kje120

I never saw any sort of mucus plug with DS. Not saying it's a myth, but I never saw it.

database6

@redfallon just realized that the mucus vs mucous was in the definition, not your words, oops.

redfallon

mewebster59 said:

@redfallon just realized that the mucus vs mucous was in the definition, not your words, oops.

LOL Yeah, I just took that straight from the medterms site.

I've seen some animals give birth and they definitely had a mucus plug that they lost. If you ever want to lose your lunch, watch a goat giving birth.

RedDDD

not sure what the hell it is but I saw what I thought was signs of it two weeks before my son was born....it was a lot of mucus, bloody and gross....much different then the daily average discharge

RoosterWrangler

LOL. The gif cracked me up.

Zmommy2

Either way... Mucus plug... Bloody show... Discharge.. Man, giving birth is glamoros @-)

Gcrebel2006

My doctor told me the exact thing a few weeks ago! I just went with it since he's the one who went to school for years to learn this stuff. 

blonde151188

Weird. I very obviously lost it with my son, can't remember with my daughter, and I have been losing mine for a bit now. Even when I went to L&D Tuesday, the dr asked how my discharge was, I told him and he said it was probably my mucous plug.

Jason&Erin82507

I clearly lost mine with my dd...

abell77

I've never been told that it was a myth, but I never noticed losing anything like what others have described with either of my last two pregnancies.

xxpairofmedicsxx

Google image doesn't think it's a myth!

JocelynB0911

I dont recall any increased  with my first pregnancy but with my second I noticed a definite change the week before I was induced. I had large clumps that were often blood tinged and the day I went in to be induced they checked my before hooking me up to any IVs and I was 4cm dilated. Either way, as a PP said, pregnancy and labor is glamorous./

SweetPeaK26

I was 0 when I started my induction. High, hard, long, and zero. Once things got going and I started to dilate, I got up to use the toilet and there were this small clots (I think that's the best way to describe them) on the pad I'd been sitting on. They were tiny, brown, and pobably half a dozen or so. I asked what it was and te nurse just said 'pieces of your plug'.

Never saw anything like this with my second though.

CutieBean79

Hmmm. I never noticed one with DD, or any discharge or bloody show. My water broke spontaneously and contractions started a couple hours later. By then, the nurses were all up in my business so who knows. Maybe it's just one of those things that differ from woman to woman?

maiganlynn

xxpairofmedicsxx said:

Google image doesn't think it's a myth!

lmao! WHY would you do that to yourself? haha!

msronzio

maiganlynn said:

xxpairofmedicsxx said:

Google image doesn't think it's a myth!

lmao! WHY would you do that to yourself? haha!

curiosity. I have curiosity too but what has been seen cannot be unseen so I'm just gonna not google it

WhitneySherwood

I'm dying laughing over here!

Birthing a jellyfish...hahaha!!!

BabyMorrissey

Would any increase in discharge same color range be what is being described or is this solely for "bloody" mucus?

WhitneySherwood

I'm no expert, but I think the blood/pink is part of the plug/bloody show concept. My doctor wasn't at all surprised when I told him about an increase of discharge.

I've only passed a MP in 1 of 3 pregnancies. I wonder if its like how only 15% of pregnancies will have their water break?

EmmaNut

I definitely lost my "plug" with DD1. It was like a little clump of jellyfish in my underwear about the size of a half dollar. Sorry to be graphic, but it had more of a shape and was thicker than just a lot of discharge.