Losing Part of Mucous Plug in Second Trimester
By Barbara Parker, RN, ARNP, CNM

Q. When I was 16w4d, I lost a strand of my mucous plug. I called the doctor and went into labor and delivery. He confirmed the fact that it was definitely part of my plug (a big thick strand came out on the glove and he put it under a microscope). The baby looks great via ultrasound, placenta is high, cervical exam showed the tip of my cervix to be thinned thus allowing part of the plug to come out. This is my seventh pregnancy; I have five living children and a set of twins that I miscarried. Today I have had very minimal amount of mucous . . . more like the normal second trimester discharge. Will I end up having problems carrying to term?

A. This is NOT a problem!! I know lots of books and other sources say that when you lose your mucous plug you are in labor, but it's just NOT true. Women, especially when they've had babies before, will dilate VERY early and just walk around that way. If any of your babies were preterm, it may be a slightly greater concern, but they won't do anything about it, other than tell you to get off your feet and monitor for contractions.