APB....Lost mucous plug

mother/babyRN, RN · Jan 19, 2003

Well, I have seen a lot of mucous in my time in labor and delivery, but never a plug...Definitely seen shreds and ALWAYS know it is a primip if she calls to tell me she passed a mucous plug. I always have to suppress the urge to say, Congratulations!

imenid37 · Jan 19, 2003

my gosh i just got a call last night that a 10 wk. pregnant pt. lost the proverbial mucous plug. she thought so because that's what all of the girls at the restaurant she worked at told her. no doubt a collection of md's,do's, and phd's. she did not want to talk to me. she wanted a doctor, so she called the answering service and woke up the happy camper herself!

nursenatalie, ADN, RN · Jan 20, 2003

ok, I had to respond...there is a such thing as a mucus plug. It may be a little misleading to call it a "plug" but it exists. It presides in the cervical os during pregnancy and may begin to leak out at the beginning of labor or even weeks or months before labor if there is a slight change in the length of the cervix. It serves as a "barrier to infection" Most women dont notice "losing it" and it is fair to say that it has no clinical signifigance related to labor.

mother/babyRN, RN · Jan 22, 2003

It just seems to me that so many patients eager to have their children place a lot of credence in the "mucous plug." For that reason, I try to gently explain what really happens, and although it has been said that there is a "mucous plug" that exists, or on some level, a cervical barrier to assist in reducing the element of infection, it is just one step toward labor and delivery, and not intended to be a hallmark symptom..We did determine that some of our lay lamaze class instructors had been dwelling on this. One of those kind (and they are neat people), had never been married or had children and had been almost to the point of insisting people stay away from pain medication. She and I had a little chat at a lunch that I arranged, because there really isn't any way to accurately assess someones progress in labor until they experience it. I try to assuage guilt my patients feel at deciding they should have some medication intervention, that "natural " is any way they get here safely....Sometimes it is seemingly the most insignificant factor, which may seem silly to us, but is all too serious to the patient, that guides them to focus on things such as the "mucous plug", to just get through or to the experience...So, while we tease here, I make it my policy to never tease the pt in a way that might make them feel foolish or misinformed. It is my hope that I can turn such experiences into learning experiences, and leave the pt with the feeling that they can trust me.....

SmilingBluEyes · Jan 22, 2003

Mother/baby, I do NOT think ANYONE here ridicules or derides patients who are uninformed or uneducated. Sometimes, we just take ourselves too damn seriously. The intent of this thread was LIGHT, for FUN, not looking for a lecture on proper patient-nurse trust-building.

ayemmeff · Jan 22, 2003

You seem such a nice person,mother/baby rn.All your posts are either kind,funny or wise,more often than not,all three!

You just gotta be my nurse if I ever have any more children!!!!

I'll pay your air fare and everything!!! Anything you want,just say the word:D

TeresaRN2b · Jan 22, 2003

OMG! That was too funny! I was in for a big surprise with my last baby. My others I lost my plug and within hours was in labor. Low and behold last one never did see that thing. I needed a good laugh! Thanks!

shay · Jan 22, 2003

Originally posted by imenid37
my gosh i just got a call last night that a 10 wk. pregnant pt. lost the proverbial mucous plug. she thought so because that's what all of the girls at the restaurant she worked at told her. no doubt a collection of md's,do's, and phd's. she did not want to talk to me. she wanted a doctor, so she called the answering service and woke up the happy camper herself!

No!!!!! OMG, I would have paid good money to be a witness to that phone call. :roll

Lawd. Someone tell all the preggos out there WE DON'T GIVE A FLYING *#@!! WHEN THE STUPID MUCOUS PLUG FALLS OUT!!

BeachNurse · Jan 23, 2003

Hee hee!! Funny stuff..

Mofe'ny · Jan 23, 2003

OK, my sis-in law just delivered her baby on 1-20-03. Yep, she told me in December that she lost her mucous plug, so he would be here any time, but "it came out in pieces and not all at once." Gee, thanks just what I wanted to know. I of course tried to explain about mucous "plugs". Well, she went in for a labor check one night in early January and stops by the NICU as she was leaving to tell me that she wasn't in labor. "Oh, my nurse said she could still feel my mucous plug and that sometimes they grow back if you lose them too early." interesting huh???!!!!

New CCU RN · Jan 23, 2003

Awe.....

bagladyrn, RN · Jan 23, 2003

Had another of these last night -17 yr. old primip came in and stated she "felt pressure down there for the last 1/2 hour" Lost that "mucus thing(!)"and, of course, IT WAS HER DUE DATE!! Thinking of this thread the whole time made keeping a straight face very difficult! Needless to say, no UC's, thick, closed and somewhere up around her tonsils! :)