Um, I know this might sound gross, but someone please respond! lol! I am 31 weeks pregnant, I've already been admitted once for signs of pre-term labor and was given a shot to stop it, and now the other day I passed some kind of thick mucusy discharge. It was a brownish & yellowish color and totally disgusting. It was just a huge clump of it. Ever since, I have been having severe lower back pain, and my baby has dropped some, I was carrying high near my ribcage, now it seems to be as far down there as it can get. But the back pain feels like I am having menstrual cramps in my back. I called my midwife, she says I complain too much, that everyone gets backaches in pregnancy, but it's not a normal backache! I feel like I'm having a period in my back! It's a lot of pressure, the only thing that relieves it is to lean forward on something. But I've been kinda worried because my husband's boss said his wife had back pain for about 2 weeks like that when she passed her mucus plug, and then ended up having a really bad back labor & gave birth to their son prematurely... Do you think that was my mucus plug I passed?? What does it look like when you pass it, and does it sound like I might be having pre-term labor symptoms again??

I'm on medicaid, and I'm only 17, so the nurses at my doctor's office don't treat me that great when I call. I have done called for 3 days, and they say they'll have my midwife call me, but she never calls. And they always say I complain too much when I ask questions about if things or normal or not. It's like they take advantage of the fact that I'm a teenager and just don't want to deal with me or something. I tried to switch doctor's, but medicaid won't let me now, they say it's too late in my pregnancy!!!

-kristin

Hi-- This is knid of gross, but when I lost my mucus plug, it was like snot with some red & yellowish/whiteish hints of color. I passed mine in 30 minutes or so. I also had back labor. It would feel like someone was shoving something sharp up my rectum. The contractions were very sharp, you would not miss them. I think if your back is still uncomfortable you should be checked. I hope this has not scared you, but I would always rather than be informed, than just scared. Good Luck!-- Carrie

Hi, I am 29 weeks pregnant and 25. I am also treated as if I complain too much. But it does sound like you might have started back labor and possibly lost your mucus plug. If I were you I would go to the emergency room (don't even call your midwife) and tell them that you need your cervix to be checked right now. You tell THEM that you need to make sure you are not in real labor because if your baby is born too early, you risk the possibilty of blindness, lung problems, and brain bleeds which can cause your child to be slow. You should call the hospital and make sure they deal with deliveries and if there is a children's hospital close to you, I would just go there. You give them a sense of urgency and demand respect. I will pray for you. Good luck.

Kristin,

Hi, my name is Lorraine, and I am 6 weeks pregnant with my third child. Like you, I had my first child very young...(at 15), and felt as though I was not given the same respect and comfort I needed, simply becasue my pregnancy was not \"accepted\". I was on bed rest for the last four months of my pregnancy, and went into pre-term labor three times. When I passed my mucus plug, I felt the WORST pain in my lower back and thighs that I have ever felt before. The pain continued for three weeks, and I delivered my son at 34 weeks. He was perfect, healthy, and the pain stopped once I saw his face. I know you may be scared, and worried, but it will be ok. You are no longer a child. You are a mother. Once that maternal instinct has kicked in, you will make the right decisions for you and your baby. And if you feel as a new mother that this pain you are experiencing is unbareable, go to the hospital immediately. Don't wait for the midwife...just go. This is not about you anymore, it's about the life of the baby inside you. Keep your head up, don't let what anyone says about you bring you down, because there are MANY of us out here who know exactly what you are going through, and can surely say that everything happens for a reason. God makes NO mistakes, and you and your baby are as precious to Him as anyone else. I wish you and your baby great joy, and will be praying for you both. Good luck!

Sincerely,

Lorraine

Kristin,

I'm sure you have had your baby by now since you wrote this 6 days ago. Congratulations! That disgusting thing was your mucus plug and those back pains were back labor. Fun..fun. Anyway, hopefully the worst is over and you have a wonderful baby at home now.

well, i went to the doctor on monday. they said my cervix is not dilating, but it is starting to soften... ??? then i asked them what would happen if i were to have the baby now, and did they think the baby would be born prematurely, and the doctor was like , 'well, i can't say anything about you going into pre-term until you start dilating for legal reasons. i will tell you to stay off your feet and dont travel any further than 45 mintues from the hospital. and if your baby were born now, well, we have such good incubators these days that she would survive, she just might stay in the hospital a few weeks, but it's best she stay in there as long as possible because anything before 37 weeks is considered preterm.' so... i am kind of taking it that he does think im going to have the baby early... (i asked to see a doctor this time instead of a midwife) why else would he have been so stern about staying off my feet and not going to far from home & staying close the hospital?? i had an ultrasound the same day to check on the baby's well-being. the ultrasound tech and doc said she weighs around 4 lbs., and that her kidneys are developed and functioning or something like that, and that her bladder, brain, heart, etc. looked great. i had just had a 4-d ultrasound the saturday before that (august 6) and by the way, she's a girl! we're naming her Laelynn. and they said she has a head full of hair LOL but i had a head full of dark hair when i was born, so that was kind of expected. other than that, she looks just like her daddy! and she is so chubby, her little hands have rolls of fat on them and around her fingers LOL and she has chubby cheeks, she's precious. i have 22 pics on my computer, so if anyone wants to see her, e-mail me! but anyways, i told the doctor that i thought i might have passed my mucus plug, he was just like, yes, that sounds like it might have been that.' and then he did some kind of culture where he swabbed my cervix to check and see if there was any amniotic fluid present, to see if that was my mucus plug, and if in fact it was, to make sure i hadn't gotten any infections from taking hot baths and stuff after losing it. but they still havent called me with the results or anything, and that was monday, the 8th. would they have called me by now if anything was wrong you think??? about the back pain-- im still having the back pain and it shoots down into my legs, and the past few days, ive started hurting under my ribcage. i dont know how to explain it really, it just feels like there is a knife stuck there in the same place on both sides. other than that, my belly isnt actually hurting or anything. but ive been getting dizzy and stuff, and throwing up, and just not feeling very well, and i read in a book that signs of preeclampsia are sharp pain under your right rib cage, dizziness, vomiting, a high fever, and some other stuff, so im going to call the doctor and see if theyll make sure i dont have that, my mom is bugging me to call because she said thats not good if that happens.

well, no baby as of now... i guess she might be coming soon though. i have a pregnancy calendar counting down the days, and it says im on day 223, and that i have i think 54 days to go or something like that, and that's if i go to 40 weeks, so either way, she's coming soon!

ill keep everyone posted.

one more question: how long do you usually go after losing your mucus plug?? some people are telling me they had their baby the same night, and then some of my friends say they had theirs 2 weeks later, and then the doctor said he's seen women who lose their mucus plug, and still don't have their baby for another month to month in a half, that everyone's different...

thanks for replying!

-kristin