Many pregnant women believe that the discharge of the mucous plug is a sure sign of the onset of labor, and therefore they begin to hastily gather to the hospital if she left, or fall into prostration if the date of birth came up, and the cork never left its place.
In this article, we will look at whether there is a relationship between the passage of the plug and subsequent labor pains.
Features:
The plug forms immediately after conception. The thin discharge that was observed during ovulation becomes thicker under the action of progesterone, and the cervical canal inside the cervix (the transition between the vagina and the uterine cavity) narrows. It opened slightly to allow sperm to pass through, but after conception, the uterine cavity needs additional protection from any penetration from the outside. The canal is closed and reliably clogged with a mucous substance - a plug.
In a normal pregnancy, the plug protects the baby throughout the pregnancy and leaves only when the need for it disappears, when there is no physiological ability to stay inside the canal. This happens during the preparation of the cervix for childbirth, because before the contractions, the cervix should soften enough.
In the third trimester, about 4-6 weeks before delivery, the lower uterine segment becomes softer and the bottom of the uterus (its upper part) is denser.
The baby changes position in the womb - his head is installed above the entrance to the small pelvis. He prepares to go outside. The stomach sinks. From this moment, the cervix usually begins to prepare, which, as a part of the female reproductive organ, cannot stand aside.
Neck - The muscle is round and rather stiff. Preparation consists in softening it. It occurs under the influence of a certain ratio of hormones. The hormonal background is rapidly changing, the production of relaxin begins, which relaxes the cervix and ligamentous apparatus of the uterus. A few days before giving birth, the pituitary gland and the placenta will begin to actively produce oxytocin, this hormone will set the uterus in motion, stimulate its contractions.
As it softens, the cervical canal also opens slightly. Depending on the pace of preparation of the cervix, the canal can open quickly or very slowly. In the first case, the mucous plug, which can no longer be kept inside the canal, comes out entirely and looks like a glandular clot of yellowish, transparent, pink, brownish color with or without blood streaks.
With a gradual withdrawal, a woman may notice the presence of mucous fragments in the vaginal discharge for quite a long time.
Contractions can begin only when a sufficient amount of the protein actomyosin has accumulated in the cells of the uterus in myocytes. And this process is not directly related to the expansion of the cervical canal.
In this way, the plug can come off long before the onset of contractions or during their process. The contractions, accordingly, can begin without breaking the plug.
Sometimes the discharge of the cork generally proceeds unnoticed for a woman. In some cases, the jelly-like substance leaves the cervical canal at the same time as the amniotic fluid when it flows out.
When to give birth?
In medicine, there is no single standard that would regulate the normal or pathological timing of the discharge of the mucous plug. Thus, by default, it is considered permissible to leave it 7-14 days before delivery (gradual) or 3-7 days before PDR (one-time). It is also completely normal to start contractions without breaking the plug.
According to women, the cork often leaves its place in the cervical canal a couple of days before childbirth. With repeated childbirth, this process usually occurs a little more rapidly - the plug can move away in 4-5 days. This is due to the fact that with repeated births, the cervix is prepared faster, softens and smoothes more intensely and less painfully.
It is rather difficult to answer exactly the question of when the contractions will begin after the cork comes off. How long it takes for true labor pains to start depends not only on the preparedness of the cervix, but also on the mass of other starting factors - hormonal level, oxytocin concentration, actomyosin accumulation, the psychological state of the pregnant woman, the duration, and the characteristics of the current pregnancy.
Therefore, sometimes the contractions begin within 30-50 minutes after the cork leaves, and sometimes it departs at 38 weeks, and labor begins only at 40 weeks. From this point of view, it is rather difficult to navigate the discharge of a mucous jelly-like plug, as a harbinger of childbirth. Much more informative will be a gynecological examination of the cervix for maturity.
What if the traffic jam is out?
The mucus released from the cervical canal is not a reason to immediately call an ambulance, but it is a very good reason to call your doctor or visit him unscheduled to discuss a further plan of action. The doctor will assess the degree of maturation of the cervix and tell you when you should approximately expect the onset of labor.
From the moment the plug comes off, a woman must remember that now the baby is protected from viruses and bacteria, from fungi and other microorganisms that inhabit our world, only the fetal bladder and amniotic fluid.
In principle, protection is powerful, but unreliable, since the same viruses and bacteria easily thin the membranes of the fetal sac, as a result of which it can become infected, premature outpouring of water and infection of the fetus, which will remain without protection at all.
Therefore, from the moment the plug comes out, you need to completely limit your sex life - no sexual contacts, petting.
Hygiene procedures will require special attention. Toilet paper after defecation can be used in the direction from the pubis to the coccyx, and in no case vice versa, so as not to bring intestinal flora into the vagina.
It is impossible to wash in the bathroom, lie in the water, swim in the pool, in stagnant bodies of water, in the sea from the moment the plug comes out. Microorganisms from water can enter the reproductive tract.
It is necessary to wear cotton underwear that does not squeeze the genitals, change the daily sanitary napkin every 2-3 hours, no later. This will create the most favorable, but alas, not sterile conditions.
In addition, after the cork is released, a woman should not lift weights, run up and down stairs (some try to bring contractions closer this way), squat.
If the plug has come out, and the degree of cervical maturity raises questions from the doctor, the woman can be hospitalized and prescribed medication to accelerate cervical maturation - the introduction of kelp, hormonal drugs.
At the same time, you need to understand that the main task is not to speed up the delivery directly for the sake of childbirth, but to reduce the period of the baby's stay in the womb with an increased risk of infection. The more time has passed from the moment the plug came off, the higher this risk.
If you have not moved away
There may be two options. Either the plug came off, the woman simply did not notice it, or she remains in the cervical canal due to the slow softening of the uterus, high levels of progesterone and low levels of estrogen.
Don't panic. If the grasping starts with a cork, nothing terrible will happen, because it will come out as the neck opens, usually this happens within the first 1-3 hours from the moment the latent (hidden) period of contractions begins.
If by some miracle the cork remains in the canal, then it will definitely leave it when the amniotic fluid is poured out under the pressure of the amniotic fluid itself. You do not need to do anything in this case. Just wait.
Some women are successfully treated with "muzherapy", because the semen of men contains prostaglandins, which help to soften the uterus. If there are no contraindications to intimate life, this method may well be applied.
Some are helped by increased activity right up to childbirth - women wash the floors, clean, and polish and beauty the children's room, where a new family member will soon arrive. Any feasible work is welcome, the main thing is not to move the cabinet and not move the piano to the next room.
If the plug does not go away before 41 weeks and labor does not begin, the woman is hospitalized, examined and a decision is made to stimulate labor at 41-42 weeks. After this period, according to existing standards, pregnancy is considered post-term.
Against the background of preparation in the hospital, aimed at a faster ripening of the cervix, if for some reason it is "late", many note that the mucous plug leaves literally a day after the start of therapy.
At the same time, childbirth can begin on its own in 1-3 days. Otherwise, they are stimulated by the introduction of hormonal agents intravenously.
You will find out the opinion of experts about when it is time to go to the maternity hospital from the following video.
