Pregnancy and clear discharge

Vaginal discharge - NHS

You will always have some vaginal discharge starting a year or 2 before puberty and ending after the menopause.

How much discharge you have changes from time to time. It usually gets heavier just before your period. When you're pregnant, it's normal to have more discharge than before.

Healthy vaginal discharge is usually thin, clear or milky white, and should not smell unpleasant.

Non-urgent advice: Call your midwife if you have vaginal discharge and:

it smells unpleasant or strange
it is green or yellow
you feel itchy or sore around your vagina
you have pain when you pee

Any of these could be symptoms of a vaginal infection.

Urgent advice: Urgent

Contact your midwife or doctor immediately if you have any vaginal bleeding while you're pregnant.

Is it normal to have vaginal discharge in pregnancy?

Yes. It is normal to have more vaginal discharge in pregnancy. This helps prevent any infections travelling up from the vagina to the womb.

Towards the end of pregnancy, the amount of discharge increases further. In the last week or so of pregnancy, it may contain streaks of sticky, jelly-like pink mucus.

This is called a "show", and happens when the mucus that's been present in your cervix during pregnancy comes away.

It's a sign that the body is starting to prepare for birth. You may have a few small "shows" in the days before you go into labour.

Read more about the signs that labour has begun.

Thrush in pregnancy

Thrush is an infection that can cause unusual vaginal discharge. if you get thrush when you're pregnant, it can easily be treated - talk to your midwife or doctor.

Thrush can cause:

increased vaginal discharge which is usually white (like cottage cheese), and does not usually smell
itching and irritation around the vagina

Always talk to your doctor, pharmacist or midwife if you think you have thrush, as there are some thrush medicines you should not use while you're pregnant.

You can help prevent thrush by wearing loose cotton underwear. You may find it helps to avoid perfumed soap or perfumed bath products.

Find out more about vaginal discharge.

Page last reviewed: 31 March 2021
Next review due: 31 March 2024

Vaginal discharge during pregnancy | BabyCenter

You may notice an increase in white creamy discharge early in pregnancy, due to higher levels of estrogen. White vaginal discharge (called leucorrhea) is nothing to worry about: This early pregnancy discharge is normal and can be clear to milky white, thin or thick, and mild-smelling or odorless. Vaginal discharge that's green, smells unpleasant, causes pain or itching, or seems unusual in any other way could be a sign of infection or another problem.

Is creamy white discharge normal during pregnancy?

Yes. It's perfectly normal to have a mild-smelling creamy white discharge even before pregnancy. (It's called leukorrhea.) There's just a lot more of it during pregnancy because your body is producing more estrogen, which signals the vagina to produce more discharge.

This discharge is made up of secretions from the cervix and vagina, old cells, and normal vaginal bacteria. Healthy vaginal discharge is usually:

Clear to milky white
Thin to thick or mucus-like
Mild-smelling or odorless

You'll probably also notice more vaginal discharge as you approach labor, although it's likely to look somewhat different (more on that below).

When to call your doctor or midwife about vaginal discharge

Anything that's unlike the normal white discharge you're used to is worth mentioning to your provider. Vaginal discharge that's different – in color, smell, or amount – could be a sign of a vaginal infection or other problem. (Vaginal infections are more common during pregnancy.)

Even if you don't have other common symptoms such as irritation, itching, or burning, you could have a vaginal or sexually transmitted infection.

"Always mention discharge to your doctor, especially if there's a change," says Layan Alrahmani, ob-gyn and maternal-fetal medicine specialist in Chicago. "Chances are this is normal pregnancy discharge, but it can be a vaginal or cervical infection that requires treatment."

Call your doctor or midwife right away if:

You're not yet 37 weeks pregnant and notice an increase in the amount of discharge, or a change in the type of discharge. For example, more vaginal discharge than usual can be a sign of preterm labor. And if you're continuously leaking clear and watery fluid, this can be a sign that your water has broken.
Your vulva looks inflamed, or you have an odorless, whitish discharge that's causing pain with urination or sex, soreness, itching, or burning. This means you could have a yeast infection.
You have thin white or gray discharge with a strong fishy smell, which may be more noticeable after sex (when the discharge mixes with semen). This might be a condition called bacterial vaginosis.
Your discharge is yellow or green and frothy with an unpleasant odor. This may be a sign of trichomoniasis, a common sexually transmitted infection. Other possible symptoms of trichomoniasis (or trich) include a red, irritated, or itchy vulva or vagina and discomfort while urinating or during intercourse.
Your discharge has a strong and noticeable odor or has changed in color, amount, or consistency from your normal vaginal discharge.

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If you're having discomfort or you think you have an infection, don't try to treat yourself with over-the-counter medications or feminine hygiene products. Many of these products can aggravate an already sensitive area. Instead, see your healthcare provider.

Typically, no. Vaginal discharge is common anytime. And while many women notice an increase in vaginal discharge during pregnancy, you're not likely to spot this symptom in the week or two just after conception.

Changes in vaginal discharge isn't one of the early pregnancy symptoms that women commonly report during those first few weeks, either. If you suspect you might be pregnant, your best bet is to take a pregnancy test around the time you would expect your period.

How can I tell if this is vaginal discharge or my mucus plug?

The mucus plug is a collection of gelatinous secretions from your cervix. These secretions fill the cervical canal in early pregnancy and create a protective barrier that stays in place for most of pregnancy.

As you get closer to delivery and your cervix begins to thin out and open up (effacement and dilation), these mucus-like secretions may come out of your vagina. This can be a sign of early labor.

Rest assured, losing your mucus plug isn't like a cork popping. Labor still progresses on its own timeline, and your baby remains well protected.

Not every expecting mom experiences losing their mucus plug. If you do, it might seem like an increased amount of vaginal discharge over the course of a few days, or a glob of thickened mucus that's clear, pinkish, brownish, or tinged with a bit of blood.

How can I tell if this is vaginal discharge or amniotic fluid?

Regular discharge comes out sporadically in small amounts, but amniotic fluid leaks out continuously once your water breaks. Amniotic fluid is usually clear or slightly yellowish, watery, and odorless or slightly sweet-smelling. When your water breaks, amniotic fluid may come out as a leak or trickle, or in a big, dramatic gush. Either way, it will continue to leak out until you have your baby.

If you think it's possible you're leaking amniotic fluid, contact your provider immediately. It's important to find out if you might be going into labor.

If you're less than 34 weeks pregnant and you think your water has broken, you may need steroid shots and other medications to delay labor, speed up the development of your baby's lungs, and protect against infection.

What can I do about vaginal discharge during pregnancy?

There's nothing you need to do about your body's normal vaginal discharge. You can wear panty liners to absorb discharge if you want to, but it's definitely not necessary.

Here are some ways to keep your genital area healthy:

Always wipe from front to back.
Change out of sweaty workout clothes or wet swimsuits promptly.
If your vulva is irritated, avoid tight pants, leggings, and underwear made with synthetic materials.
Avoid bubble bath, scented pads, scented toilet paper, feminine hygiene sprays, and scented or deodorant soaps. These scents can be irritating to your sensitive areas.
Don't use tampons during pregnancy. If you're spotting or bleeding, call your provider.
Don't douche. Douching can upset the normal balance of bacteria in your vagina and increase the likelihood of infection.

Learn more:

Frequent urination during pregnancy
Pregnancy symptoms you should never ignore
Prenatal testing

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Pregnancy discharge | What are the discharge during pregnancy? | Blog

In the absence of menstruation, girls usually suspect that conception has occurred. However, during pregnancy, the female body may continue to secrete a secret of a different color and character. We recommend that you keep a close eye on everything that happens so as not to miss the development of adverse events. We will talk about how to recognize problem situations during pregnancy in the article.

What discharge can occur during conception

Many women note that immediately after the delay and in the later stages, the nature of the secretion changes. It can be:

With or without scent.
Depending on the color - transparent, white, cream, yellow, greenish, bloody.
By consistency - thick, liquid, cheesy.
As a symptom for assessing the state of health - threatening, safe.

During ovulation, the egg is released from the ovary, its membrane is deflated, a small amount of fluid is released - so it becomes ready for fertilization. At this time, the thick mucus that fills the cervical canal of the cervix becomes less viscous. This makes it easier for the spermatozoa to penetrate and move further into the tubes for fertilization. At this time, you may notice an abundance of clear mucous secretion.

After the fusion of the egg with the spermatozoon, movement into the uterus begins, which should end with implantation in the inner layer. During penetration, its slight detachment may occur - this causes damage to the blood vessels that abundantly penetrate the muscular layer of the uterus. You may see light brown discharge, which is common during pregnancy. The color is due to the fact that the blood has time to clot.

Sometimes the discharge is brightly colored and some women mistake it for a period that has started too early. But in this case, a short duration is characteristic, a different shade (dark or scarlet), a slight mark on the linen.

With some features of the structure of the female genital organs (for example, with a bicornuate uterus), after implantation of the embryo in one part, rejection of the endometrium may begin in the other, as usually occurs during menstruation. This rarely happens.

Characteristics of discharge in the event of a threatened miscarriage

Spontaneous abortion is the rejection of an embryo in the early stages after conception. If at the first signs of pregnancy, you notice spotting, there is a high probability that a miscarriage begins.

Also, miscarriage symptoms include:

pulling or pressing on the lower abdomen, sacrum, lower back;
the muscles of the uterus are tense.

The woman may feel cramps. This continues all the time or intermittently. From the vagina there are scarlet or brown discharge during pregnancy, which was previously confirmed. Sometimes the period may be still small, and the first signs did not have time to appear.

After 22 weeks, this phenomenon is called preterm labor. The child in this case is still weak, the organs are not sufficiently developed, and there is little chance of survival.

The following factors increase the risk of miscarriage:

various diseases;
progesterone deficiency;
nervous and physical overexertion;
pathologies in the genitals;
fetal developmental defects.

To confirm the diagnosis, the doctor prescribes an ultrasound scan. If it shows that the fetal heart rate is disturbed, the tone of the uterus is increased, its size differs from normal for this period, hospitalization will be recommended to maintain pregnancy.

What discharge during pregnancy is considered normal

This secretion does not pose a threat to health:

transparent;
whitish;
yellowish;
odor free;
mucous;
without itching, burning, redness of the genitals.

Clear fluid on underwear is a symptom of ovulation. During pregnancy, the activity of ongoing processes in the body increases, so the amount of secretion secreted may increase. However, a violation of the norm is the leakage of amniotic fluid. You can determine the problem with the help of special diagnostic tests that the doctor will prescribe if he has suspicions.

White color, small amount, homogeneous structure should also not cause concern. The increased volume of fluid in this case is associated with increased hormonal activity.

One of the variants of the norm is mucous discharge, which smells of slight sourness. If there is no pain, discomfort, there is nothing to worry about.

Yellow discharge, there are signs of pregnancy, there is no unpleasant odor - you are all right. Some women had this color before conception, only they did not pay attention. Now there are more of them, therefore more noticeable.

Sometimes a woman observes that the laundry gets wet and there is a smell of urine. This may indicate incontinence due to the constant pressure of the growing uterus. In this case, it is recommended to go to the toilet more often, change underpants twice a day.

What discharge during pregnancy is considered a sign of infection?

White discharge during pregnancy with a cheesy texture is a symptom of thrush (candidiasis). In pregnant women, it is diagnosed quite often - the reason is a change in hormonal levels. The disease is accompanied by itching, redness of the vulva, a strong sour smell. Sometimes external manifestations are not detected, then treatment is not carried out.

Infection is indicated by pain, pain, skin irritation, ulcers, smell of rot or fish, gray or green color, frothy discharge, increased nervousness, large inguinal lymph nodes. The reason may lie in sexually transmitted infections. This includes syphilis, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, chlamydia and others. They are dangerous because they cause premature birth and fetal developmental defects.

What kind of discharge during pregnancy should I pay special attention to and should I consult a doctor?

The following indicates that pregnancy is at risk:

Severe pain in the perineum, bleeding, difficulty defecation, convulsions - these may be injuries to the vaginal mucosa.
Nausea, profuse vomiting, edema, headaches, cough, hypertension, bright red secretion are symptoms of hydatidiform mole (abnormal development of the embryo).
A drop in blood pressure, pallor, weakness, sweating, pulling sensations, bleeding during pregnancy against the background of a lack of growth of hCG in the blood - this is how ectopic attachment manifests itself.
Isolation of clots, sharp pain, vomiting, diarrhea may indicate a frozen fetus.

If you experience any of these symptoms, contact your doctor immediately.

It is also necessary to go to the clinic if you have been physically abused, had rough sex, had an accident, fell, hit. The likelihood that the situation will be resolved successfully is much higher if you do not delay the visit, listen to the symptoms and take good care of your health.

Remember, despite the fact that pregnancy is a normal state of health of the female body, the diagnosis and treatment tactics are still different, due to the many restrictions on manipulations and medications during pregnancy. That is why diagnosis and treatment during pregnancy should take place only under the supervision of a doctor. By ignoring the symptoms or self-medicating, a pregnant woman risks not only her health, but also the health of her child.

Doctors of the Leleka maternity hospital manage pregnancies of any complexity, including those aggravated by infections, pathologies, and the threat of miscarriage. Our own diagnostic laboratory allows us to accurately and in the shortest possible time to obtain the results of the tests. Thanks to constant medical supervision throughout the entire period, the chances of a successful birth are greatly increased.

Trust the life and health of your child to Leleka doctors, and we will make sure that you are satisfied.

why they appear in the early and late periods, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimester, what to do at home

Pregnancy is an interesting and at the same time a difficult period in a woman's life. It is necessary to pay attention to the slightest changes in the body, carefully monitor your health. When any deviations appear, a lot of questions are immediately born. This also applies to discharge: they are of different types, and there are many reasons. What do clear discharge during pregnancy mean and can they indicate the presence of any disease? We deal with the gynecologist.

Abundant discharge

Most often, profuse discharge appears in the second trimester of pregnancy, their color and consistency may change. All this is due to hormonal changes in the body of a woman. The amount of discharge increases due to the growth of the uterus and increased blood flow. If this does not cause discomfort, there is most likely no cause for alarm. But it will not be superfluous to ask the doctor about this at the next appointment.

Curdled discharge

This consistency may indicate fungal growth. In a pregnant woman with cheesy discharge, candidiasis is most often found (1). In addition to a change in consistency, unpleasant symptoms appear: burning, itching, less often redness.

If you find curdled discharge, you should seek help from a specialist. Since there is a risk of infection of the child at the stage of fetal formation.

Mucous discharge

Such discharge is considered normal during pregnancy, if it is not too thick, not too much, does not cause burning and itching. Mucus appears due to an excess of the hormone estrogen. The discharge may be pale pink or milky in color. A pregnant woman develops a mucous plug that protects the uterus (respectively, the fetus) from infection. After 3 months of pregnancy, the discharge ceases to be mucous and does not contain clots.

Liquid discharge

Most often white in color, they are considered normal during pregnancy at any stage. But if such discharge is accompanied by a pungent odor, pain and itching, then this may indicate an infectious disease. The inflammatory process begins imperceptibly, while it can lead to serious consequences.

Heavy liquid discharge late in pregnancy may indicate amniotic fluid leakage. In this case, the immediate help of a specialist is required.

Photo: pixabay.com

Why there is a clear discharge during early pregnancy

The color of vaginal discharge in the first trimester can vary from clear to yellowish white. The consistency also changes: they are thick, more liquid or plentiful. Transparent discharge is not a deviation from the norm. But only if there are no other symptoms: changes in color, smell. Also, there should be no blood clots in the discharge.

— One must be prepared for the fact that during pregnancy the vaginal discharge will increase - this is the result of a change in the hormonal background. If the discharge is transparent, not abundant, does not cause discomfort, itching is the norm, - adds gynecologist, candidate of medical sciences Yuliya Shishkina . - There is no need to contact an obstetrician-gynecologist. Just pay attention to intimate hygiene, use pharmacy products to wash, change your underwear more often. Give preference to good cotton linen of the correct form. But daily pads should not be used - they give a "greenhouse effect", which disrupts the oxygen exchange in the vagina and, conversely, can aggravate the discharge.

1 trimester

Clear discharge in the first trimester is more often accompanied by mucus. This is normal, because changes begin in a woman's body: in many respects they relate to the hormonal system. Mucous transparent discharge appears due to the formation of a cork that protects the embryo from infections.

It is important that there are not too many such discharges. If they are plentiful, you should consult a doctor.

Why do clear discharge appear during late pregnancy

In the second and third trimester, clear discharge is also normal. However, in the later stages, abundant clear discharge can be easily confused with leakage of amniotic fluid.

2nd trimester

Clear, odorless, mucusless discharge is considered normal in the second trimester of pregnancy. It is necessary to ensure that there are no inclusions, blood clots and a sharp change in color.

3rd trimester

In the third trimester, clear discharge may indicate leakage of amniotic fluid and that the baby is pressed against the cervix (2). If they are accompanied by burning and itching, often redness, then a pregnant woman may have inflammation or infection. It is better to immediately seek help from a gynecologist.

From 22 weeks until the end of pregnancy, the frequency of Candida fungi also increases. This is due to changes in the hormonal background of a pregnant woman (3). It is especially important to pay attention when examining the presence of candidiasis: it can be treated even in the later stages.

How to deal with clear discharge during pregnancy at home

If there is heavy discharge, do not use panty liners, they can irritate the skin and create even more discomfort. At home, you only need to follow the basic rules of intimate hygiene.

If you experience discomfort, then you need to go to the doctor, who is likely to prescribe the necessary tests.