Backache and period pain
Mucous plug or bloody show
Vomiting / feeling nauseous
Diarrhoea
Cervix ripening, thinning, opening
Waters breaking
Backache and period pain. Many women will feel lower backache, or a dull throbbing pain, similar to period cramping. It can come and go, or it may be there all the time.
Mucous plug or bloody show. Towards the end of the pregnancy, the cervix usually starts to thin and soften, sometimes releasing the mucus plug (also known as a 'show'). A show may come away before labour starts, or during prelabour but more often than not, it will come away when the woman is in strong labour, or when the cervix is fully dilated before pushing her baby out.
A show may present itself as:
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A neat plug, similar in shape to a tampon. |
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A large blob, big enough to fill your hand. |
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Small dribs and drabs of mucous coming away over days. Only noticed when you wipe yourself after going to the toilet. (This can look like a thick mucous discharge.) |
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Something that comes away when you go to the toilet, which you may, or may, not notice. |
A show can vary in colour from being:
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Clear, or |
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Yellow cream, or |
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Greyish, or |
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More commonly blood stained which can be bright red, pink or dark brown. |
If you do notice the mucus plug, but you have no contractions, it is an encouraging sign, but it is just that - a sign. It is best to just carry on as normal, as for many women the show will come away days, or even a week or so before they actually go into labour.