Vaginal discharge in Pregnancy

Vaginal discharge in pregnancy

During pregnancy, you may notice many changes happening in your body. These are important to prepare your body for nurturing your baby and are caused by changing hormones. One such change is an increase in vaginal discharge, caused by increase in a hormone called estrogen.

The increased vaginal discharge in pregnancy is normal and is called leucorrhoea of pregnancy. Sometimes, it may be abnormal due to an underlying pathology.

It is very important for expectant mothers to understand the what is normal vaginal discharge (see Vaginal discharge), how vaginal discharge changes in pregnancy and what are abnormal vaginal discharges; so that they can differentiate normal physiological discharge of pregnancy from abnormal discharge needing medical attention. Let us first understand why discharge increases in pregnancy.

Why does discharge increase in pregnancy?

During pregnancy, the following changes happen which may contribute to increased discharge:

• An increase in total blood volume, increased blood flow to pelvic organs and increased size of pelvic organs: Because of these changes, blood flow to vagina increases, which causes increased discharge from vagina.
• Changing hormones: Increase in levels of hormone estrogen is a normal physiological change in pregnancy and it leads to increased vaginal discharge.
• Lowered immunity of genital organs: As vaginal immunity becomes lower during pregnancy, chances of developing vaginal infections increases. Infections like candidiasis, trichomoniasis and infections of mixed origin may be seen. All these changes cause increased secretions from cervix and vagina.

What does normal pregnancy discharge look like?

Normal pregnancy discharge looks clear or whitish, mucoid and is odourless. It looks just like normal vaginal discharge before pregnancy (see Vaginal discharge); only the amount of discharge increases and is called the leucorrhoea of pregnancy.

What normal pregnancy discharge should not look like?

The discharges with any of the features mentioned below are all abnormal discharges. You should seek an gynaecologist consult if you have any discharge that:

• Looks yellow, green, grey, brown
• Is curdy, cheesy, frothy, bubbly
• Has an unpleasant odour or very foul odour
• Has other associated symptoms like itching in vulval area, sore vulva, irritation, burning in vulva or vagina, lower abdominal or pelvic pain, weight sensation, fever

Complications of vaginal discharge in pregnancy

If undiagnosed or left untreated, the infections which cause abnormal vaginal discharge can adversely affect your pregnancy and increase the risk of:

• Preterm delivery: This means that labor may set in early and baby may be born before due date. Before term, the baby is not fully mature and may need admission and treatment in the neonatal intensive care unit.
• Chorioamnionitis: It means infection of the placenta and membranes. When untreated, some infections may travel up and infect the placenta and membranes. This can have an adverse effect on the pregnancy.
• Fetal infection: The infection may affect the growing fetus and put the baby’s life at risk.
• Septicemia: In extreme cases, the infection may flare up and become spread in the whole body, causing septicemia.
• Infection of both caesarean and delivery stiches may be caused by these infections.

The best part is that all these complications are easily preventable by early diagnosis and treatment.

Treatment of vaginal discharge

Normal physiological increase in vaginal discharge does not need any treatment. It is actually protective as it prevents infections from outside to reach your vagina or uterus.

However, abnormal discharges are mostly due to infections and require treatment.

• Curdy white discharge: suggests fungal infection (candidiasis). Topical antifungal ointments like clotrimazole ointment are used as a local application. Sometimes oral antifungal tablets (like fluconazole) also need to be given.
• Yellow-green discharge: A yellow-green discharge, when present, is often associated with a very foul smelling or fishy odour and itching or irritation. It suggests either an infection with a parasite called trichomonas (Trichomoniasis) or bacterial overgrowth in vagina wherein the bad anaerobic bacteria overgrow the good lactobacilli bacteria, causing imbalance (Bacterial vaginosis). Both these need treatment with antibiotics like metronidazole.
• Purulent, mucopurulent yellow, green or grey discharge with pelvic pain: These kind of discharges are associated with a group of infections called Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD’s). Treatment is different for each STD and depends on STD diagnosed.
• Red or brownish discharge: A red discharge indicates bleeding that is significant in amount to come out as red blood. Less amount of bleeding takes longer to come out and gets mixed with vaginal secretions to look like a brownish discharge. Both these are not normal during pregnancy and you must immediately consult your gynaecologist in the event of such discharge.
• Sudden large volume clear discharge in late pregnancy: It happens due to rupture of amniotic membranes (your bags) and is actually not a discharge. You should immediately report to nearest emergency or to your gynaecologist. Treatment will vary depending on the stage of pregnancy.

For more information on the treatment of various infections, please read Vaginal discharge

Carry home message

During normal pregnancy, it is common to experience an increase in vaginal discharge. It is absolutely normal as long as it is similar to normal vaginal discharge before pregnancy. It should be clear or whitish, mucoid and odourless or with mild smell.

However, any colored discharge, any discharge with a foul or unpleasant smell or any associated symptoms like itching, irritation, redness, vulval swelling, fever is abnormal. An abnormal discharge may be indicative of a mild infection or something serious enough to affect your pregnancy outcome.

So if you suspect any abnormal discharge in pregnancy, you should consult your gynaecologist or healthcare practitioner for the proper diagnosis and management of such discharge. Stay healthy!

For more such interesting information on women's health, kindly visit our website Expert Gynae Care and our YouTube channel @drnidhigarg

To consult Dr. Nidhi Garg, please visit us at Kamal Hospital, Doaba Chowk, Jalandhar-144004 or Visit our website kamal Hospital jalandhar or Expert Gynae Care