Having a baby is one of life’s miracles. Once the baby is born, you can reflect back on your pregnancy and gaze upon your beautiful child that you just brought into the world. But you know what’s not beautiful? Labor. Sure, there are people who will gush over the glory of hard work and blood, sweat and tears. But let’s be real and say a lot of stuff goes down, down there and you need to be prepared. Here’s a quick list of gross things you need to know about labor that can happen in the delivery room.
1. Mucus Plug
A mucus plug (also called a bloody show) is normally covering your cervix during pregnancy to protect your growing baby from bacteria. You can lose your mucus plug anywhere from several weeks before going in to labor, or in the delivery room if you are getting induced. It’s basically a clear or light pink, stringy glob of mucus and its pretty disgusting. Don’t even THINK about googling it, because you’re going to get a ton of amateur pictures guaranteed to give you nightmares. Many women don’t ever see their mucus plug discharge because theres so much going on down there. Just remember you heard about it here, and move on.
2. Poop (yours)
Yes, it’s true. Women in labor poop on the delivery table. There’s so much pushing going on that you are bound to push whatever’s in your intestines out. The good part? Doctors and nurses are so used to it, and professionals to say the least, they just scoop it away and usually don’t even say anything to you. Ignorance is bliss, ladies!
3. Vomiting
Contractions are hard. They are literally squeezing every part of your innards, and that includes your stomach. If you couple that with the intense pain, you will see why many women end up vomiting during labor and why you aren’t allowed to eat (less to throw up!). Just make sure your spouse is ready with the barf bowl by your side.