{"id":23650,"date":"2024-03-26T18:00:39","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T18:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.may.app\/?p=23650"},"modified":"2025-06-18T10:06:20","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T10:06:20","slug":"vaginal-discharge-during-pregnancy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.may.app\/en\/blog\/pregnancy\/vaginal-discharge-during-pregnancy\/","title":{"rendered":"Vaginal discharge during pregnancy: is it normal?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Pregnant (or not), it&#8217;s important to pay attention to your vaginal discharge, commonly called white discharge. This discharge can indicate various things happening in your body. May takes a closer look at the different types of fluid discharge during pregnancy.<\/p>\n<h2>Is it normal to have white vaginal discharge during pregnancy?<\/h2>\n<p>Pregnancy leads to <strong>numerous gynecological changes<\/strong>, including a physiological increase in vaginal discharge due to hormonal changes. This discharge is therefore completely normal and not dirty. It&#8217;s part of the vagina&#8217;s self-cleaning system. In fact, the discharge, mixed with cervical mucus, <strong>cleans<\/strong> the vagina and protects it from \u201cbad bacteria.\u201d As a bonus, vaginal discharge also helps with lubrication!<\/p>\n<p>Many pregnant women notice changes in their vaginal discharge. While some types of discharge are nothing to worry about, others warrant a medical consultation \u2014 here\u2019s what you need to know.<\/p>\n<h2>What does white discharge look like during pregnancy? Does it have a smell?<\/h2>\n<p>Here\u2019s an overview of what you might notice in your underwear during pregnancy.<\/p>\n<h3>\u2705 Everything is normal<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The discharge is white and watery.<\/li>\n<li>The discharge is translucent, stretchy, or even sticky.<\/li>\n<li>The discharge contains traces of blood (early in pregnancy).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>\ud83e\uddd1\u200d\u2695\ufe0f It\u2019s best to consult<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The discharge is white and lumpy.<\/li>\n<li>The discharge is green and foul-smelling.<\/li>\n<li>The discharge contains traces of blood (if not early in pregnancy).<\/li>\n<li>The discharge is yellow and associated with pelvic pain.<\/li>\n<li>The discharge is yellowish, off-white, or excessive.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Good to know: it\u2019s helpful to <strong>change your underwear<\/strong> regularly to avoid feeling too damp due to vaginal secretions. Using panty liners is not recommended if they are scented. Regarding hygiene, it is not advised to wash the vagina all the time as this can disrupt the vaginal flora. Instead, opt for gentle intimate hygiene with <strong>a mild soap<\/strong> and you&#8217;ll be just fine!<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Want to learn more? Feel free to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/app.adjust.com\/1pblulz8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">download the May app<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, where you&#8217;ll find plenty of resources to support and guide you throughout your pregnancy.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Is white discharge during pregnancy a sign of complications?<\/h2>\n<p>As you&#8217;ve understood, vaginal discharge is generally completely normal during pregnancy \u2014 except when it has <strong>certain characteristics<\/strong> that require medical attention. Here&#8217;s why:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The discharge is white and lumpy: this could indicate a <strong>yeast infection<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The discharge is gray with a fishy smell: it could be <strong>gardnerella vaginalis<\/strong>. This is not a sexually transmitted infection (STI), but a bacterium associated with a disrupted vaginal flora and deserves particular attention.<\/li>\n<li>The discharge smells bad and is green in color: it could be an STI, <strong>trichomonas vaginalis<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The discharge is abundant, yellowish, and\/or off-white: this may simply indicate an imbalanced flora. <strong>Mycoplasmas<\/strong> are bacteria often found in the flora \u2014 not all are dangerous. A rebalancing (with probiotics) is often enough.<\/li>\n<li>The discharge contains <strong>blood traces<\/strong> (not early in pregnancy): this may be linked to an STI, such as <strong>chlamydia<\/strong>. This bacterium is often asymptomatic, making it harder to diagnose without a vaginal swab. That\u2019s why screening is essential. If untreated, chlamydia can lead to complications \u2014 but a simple antibiotic treatment can resolve it.<\/li>\n<li>The discharge is yellow and accompanied by pelvic pain: this could indicate <strong>gonorrhea<\/strong>. This is an emergency \u2014 you should seek treatment quickly as your fallopian tubes may be at risk of infection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The goal isn&#8217;t to worry you but <strong>to encourage you<\/strong> to consult a midwife or doctor as soon as possible so you can feel at ease and get rid of unpleasant symptoms if needed.<\/p>\n<h2>How can you tell the difference between normal and abnormal discharge during pregnancy?<\/h2>\n<p>To distinguish <strong>normal from abnormal white discharge<\/strong> during pregnancy, pay close attention to its color and appearance each day. Based on all the information shared above, you\u2019ll be able to tell whether your discharge is normal or not.<\/p>\n<p>Trust yourself and don\u2019t hesitate to consult a healthcare professional if you have the slightest doubt about the appearance of your discharge \u2014 they&#8217;re there to help, and there are no \u201cstupid\u201d questions!<\/p>\n<h2>I&#8217;m pregnant and have watery discharge: could it be my water breaking?<\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s possible that this is <strong>amniotic fluid leakage<\/strong>. To identify it, this discharge is usually <strong>clear and odorless<\/strong>. In most cases, this watery discharge happens at term and corresponds to the rupture or leaking of the amniotic sac, which <strong>signals the start of labor<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>\u2757If you notice this kind of discharge <strong>before 37 weeks of gestation<\/strong>, you should <strong>go to your maternity ward immediately<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t hesitate to ask your midwife whether it is indeed your water breaking.<\/p>\n<h2>Do discharges vary depending on the stage of pregnancy?<\/h2>\n<p>Vaginal discharge during pregnancy <strong>varies greatly<\/strong> from one woman to another. So, it\u2019s hard to make a blanket statement about how discharge changes depending on the stage of pregnancy \u2014 every pregnancy experience is unique (this is true for discharge and everything else).<\/p>\n<p>That said, it&#8217;s common to see more abundant and watery white discharge <strong>towards the end of pregnancy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>When should I see a healthcare professional about white discharge?<\/h2>\n<p>We\u2019re repeating it because it\u2019s important: don\u2019t hesitate to consult a healthcare professional if your white discharge <strong>seems abnormal<\/strong>, especially based on the signs we&#8217;ve described in this article.<\/p>\n<p>White discharge \u2014 just like the rest of your body \u2014 changes during pregnancy, and that\u2019s completely normal! Just pay attention to the signals your body sends during this special time, and get used to checking your underwear so you can seek help at the slightest concern \u2763\ufe0f.<\/p>\n<p>\u2013<\/p>\n<p>Photo: Envato<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pregnant (or not), it&#8217;s important to pay attention to your vaginal discharge, commonly called white discharge. This discharge can indicate various things happening in your body. May takes a closer look at the different types of fluid discharge during pregnancy. Is it normal to have white vaginal discharge during pregnancy? Pregnancy leads to numerous gynecological [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":6749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[186],"tags":[148,203],"class_list":["post-23650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pregnancy","tag-early-pregnancy","tag-pregnacy-timeline"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.may.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.may.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.may.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.may.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.may.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23650"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.may.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23650\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23653,"href":"https:\/\/www.may.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23650\/revisions\/23653"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.may.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.may.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.may.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.may.app\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}