More discharge in pregnancy is normal, but these colors, smells and symptoms mean you should tell your doctor

Ever since you got pregnant, your underwear has been damp so often that you carry panty liners in your bag. Some days you wonder, “Is this too much? Do I have an infection?” No need to feel embarrassed. Almost everyone goes through this. It’s just that hardly anyone talks about it.

Most of the time, increased discharge is normal. Let’s sort out which colors, smells and symptoms you can handle yourself, which ones you should tell your doctor about, and which may not be discharge at all, but leaking amniotic fluid that needs a quick trip to the hospital.

Why does discharge increase in pregnancy?

Quick Answer: Because female hormones rise a lot during pregnancy, and discharge helps stop germs from traveling up to the uterus.

A doctor from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, explains that changing hormones make you produce more discharge than before, which is normal and doesn’t mean you have an infection. The NHS says the extra discharge helps prevent infections from traveling up from the vagina to the uterus.

So it’s not surprising that discharge keeps increasing throughout pregnancy, and there’s especially a lot close to the due date.

What does normal pregnancy discharge look like?

Quick Answer: Clear, or cloudy white like wet flour paste, thin or mucus-like, with no bad smell, and it doesn’t make you itch or burn.

This is considered normal:

• Clear, or cloudy white like milk
• No smell, or a mild smell that isn’t unpleasant
• No itching, no burning, no pain when you pee
• More than when you’re not pregnant, enough that you need a thin panty liner

Toward the end of pregnancy, sticky pink jelly-like mucus may come out. The NHS explains that this is the mucus plug that sealed your cervix coming out, a sign your body is starting to get ready for birth.

Which colors, smells and symptoms should you tell your doctor about?

Quick Answer: Yellow or green, a bad or unusual smell, lumpy white like curdled milk, itching or burning around the vagina, and pain when you pee.

What you see	What it might be related to
Thick, white and lumpy like curdled milk, very itchy	Yeast infection (common in pregnancy)
Yellowish-green, maybe frothy, very itchy	A vaginal parasite (trichomonas)
Yellowish-gray with a fishy smell	Bacterial infection
Mixed with blood, or brown	Needs a doctor to check (see the “Go to the hospital right away if” section)

This table is to help you describe your symptoms to your doctor more clearly, not to diagnose yourself, because each type of infection is treated differently. The Siriraj doctor stresses that you must be examined by a doctor first and shouldn’t buy medicine to use on your own, which matches the NHS advice that some antifungal medicines shouldn’t be used during pregnancy.

Sriphat Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, also lists “unusually heavy discharge” as a symptom you should see a doctor about before your scheduled appointment.

Clear fluid that keeps leaking: is it discharge or your waters?

Quick Answer: If it’s clear fluid that leaks steadily or gushes out and you can’t control it, it may be amniotic fluid. Put on a pad and call the hospital immediately, no matter how many weeks pregnant you are.

The NHS explains that when the amniotic sac breaks, some people feel a slow trickle and others a gush they can’t control. Amniotic fluid is usually clear or pale, and sometimes it’s very hard to tell apart from pee.

Here’s a rough way to tell them apart:

• Discharge is usually sticky or mucus-like and comes out now and then
• Leaking pee usually happens when you cough, sneeze or laugh, and smells like urine
• Amniotic fluid is clear fluid that leaks continuously, or comes out again when you stand up or change position

If you think it might be your waters, do this right away:

1. Put on a pad, not a tampon, so you can see the color and amount
2. Notice the color of the fluid: clear, green, brown, mixed with blood, or whether it has a smell
3. Call the hospital looking after your pregnancy and get ready to go

If you’re not yet 37 weeks, it’s even more urgent. The NHS says that if you’re less than 37 weeks pregnant and think you may be in labor, contact the hospital urgently. If you’re close to your due date and also have tightenings, read how to tell them apart in False labor vs. real labor

Go to the hospital right away if…

Quick Answer: You have fluid leaking from your vagina that you suspect is amniotic fluid, the fluid is green or brown or has a smell, or you’re bleeding from the vagina.

• Clear fluid trickling or gushing, especially before 37 weeks
• Amniotic fluid that’s green, brown or has a bad smell
• Bleeding from the vagina, whether heavy or light (in early pregnancy, read more: Light bleeding in early pregnancy)
• Abnormal discharge along with a fever, lower abdominal pain, or rhythmic tightening of your belly (read Lower abdominal cramping in early pregnancy)
• Your baby is also moving less

How to take care of yourself, stay comfortable and lower the chance of infection

Quick Answer: Wash the outside with clean water, wear loose cotton underwear, change panty liners often, and don’t douche.

• Wash only the outside with clean water. There’s no need to wash inside. The Siriraj doctor warns that douching solutions may cause allergic reactions and irritation
• Avoid soaps or scented products around your intimate area
• Wear cotton underwear that isn’t tight, to help with dampness. In hot weather like ours in Thailand, this matters even more
• Change panty liners often. Don’t leave one on and damp all day

Some older relatives may suggest washing with boiled guava leaf water or other herbs. They mean well, but during pregnancy, plain clean water is best. And if you have any unusual symptoms, have your doctor examine you before you try anything yourself.

More discharge is your body working to protect your baby. Just keep an eye on the color, the smell and how you feel, and don’t be shy about telling your doctor. Doctors deal with this every day.