It’s show time! What causes the bloody show during pregnancy and what passing your mucous plug really means.
What it is: ”Bloody show,” a pink- or brown-tinged stringy mucus discharge, is a sign that your cervix is dilating and/or effacing. This is a definite signal that you’re well on your way toward labor and delivery.
What causes it: This “passage” means the blood vessels in the cervix are rupturing as the cervix begins to open up. (This is a good, normal thing.)
What you need to know about it: If you’ve experienced the bloody show, you can usually expect to go into labor within the next several days — unless you’re a fast starter, in which case you could be going into labor within the next several hours. (Nice and predictable, right?) In general, though, bloody show means you can hurry up and wait. And you won’t know for sure that labor has arrived until you feel those first real contractions. So when you see that bloody show, get ready — but don’t head out the door just yet.
What to do about the bloody show:
