In the lead-up to your birthing time, there can be a lot of weird symptoms that your care providers will let you know are normal. The good and the bad of these signs are that, yes, they tell us that your body is doing things to prepare itself for labor, but unfortunately, there are no signs that tell us exactly when labor will be. Bloody show is one of these signs and symptoms that you are nearing the end of your pregnancy, and that birth might be near.
What Is a Bloody Show?
During pregnancy, the body makes something called the mucus plug. This plug is a big gloop of mucus that blocks the entrance or opening of the cervix. Its job is to protect the uterus from infection, and it does a stellar job at that. As you get into the last days and weeks of your pregnancy, you may lose big and small chunks of this mucus plug. Most of the time, it will look like clear snot and might come out while you use the restroom or when you wipe. If there comes a time when this mucus is tinged with brown, red, or pink, we call it bloody show.
As care providers, the bloody show is much more promising than just the mucus plug, and this is because the blood that is making it this color is usually a sign of cervical dilation. When the cervix dilates, blood vessels will break, and small amounts of bleeding will occur. Usually, when we see a bloody show, it is a sign that your cervix has been dilating at least a little bit, which is a more promising sign that your body might be ready to do its thing sooner rather than later.
What Does This Mean for Labor?
Don't believe the many articles and blog posts that tell you that labor WILL start within a few hours, days, or weeks of having a bloody show. While this can be true for some individuals, it differs enormously from person to person, and there are times that bloody show occurs many times before labor starts.
When to Contact Your Care Provider
It can feel startling for someone to see the bloody show for the first time; if you feel anxious about the amount of blood, it is never a bad idea to reach out to your care provider and ask any and all questions that you have. But typically, if you have a small amount of blood with your mucus plug, it just indicates that dilation is occurring. If there is continuous bleeding or a more significant amount of blood than one might expect, reach out to your care provider so that they can check on your baby and let you know if things are okay or if you need a higher level of care.
On the other hand, if you never lose your mucus plug or bloody show, do not fret. Some people don't! We don't know why for some, this is a big sign things will be starting soon, and for others, this sign never occurs, but it is as fickle as that. For some individuals, there will never be a bloody show or a loss of the mucus plug, and even for these folks, babies are stillborn, and labor still eventually starts.
So, as with most signs and symptoms of labor at the end of pregnancy, if you have a bloody show, remember that yes, it means your body is doing the work, and no, it does not give you or your care providers any timeline on when labor will occur. Hang in there; the end is near, and remember that you can trust your body with everything it does to prepare itself for the big day.
