Sometime on week 39 or close to the full term age of your pregnancy, you might lose the mucus plug. This is basically thickened secretions excreted from your cervical glands.

You should not worry if you lose the mucus plug at this week. It simply means you are about to give birth very soon.

What is the mucus plug?
It is an additional safeguard stationed in your cervix which protects your baby from outside microorganisms.

What does it look like?
Just imagine a small, disintegrated jellyfish, and you get the idea. It is usually clear or white-yellowish in color, but in time for labor it may be tinged with a little blood.

When do you lose the mucus plug?
The mucus plug develops as early as week 7, and after that it simply regenerates. You actually lose part of your mucus plug every now and then, but your cervical glands do a great job of refilling!

Those thick mucus secretions you see every once in awhile are actually bits and pieces of your mucus plug, but the big reveal comes shortly before you go into labor. If it is accompanied by regular and painful contractions, you should go to the hospital immediately.