Chorevia

Day 81 of 280 · 11 weeks + 4 days

Discharge, the normal kind

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 7 sources · Plain-text version

More discharge is normal in pregnancy. Today you learn your normal, white and milky, so a change in color, smell or itch is obvious and quick to report.

Size this week
about the size of a fig
Length this week
around 41 mm from head to bottom
A woman in her thirties folding laundry on a bed beside a bright window, a stack of plain cotton underwear next to her, calm morning light, a dog asleep on the rug.

Eleven weeks and four days. Nobody puts this one on a greeting card, so here it is plainly: more discharge is normal now, and knowing your normal is what makes a change easy to spot.

Your baby

A single purple fig on a plain pale wooden table, soft window light.

Around 41mm long from head to bottom, about the size of a fig; the ears are forming, and the fingers and toes are separating (NHS).

Your body

Milky discharge is on this week's NHS list of common signs (NHS). The extra comes from more blood flow to the pelvis, and the NHS's rule is to seek advice if the color, smell or texture changes, or if you have pain when peeing, itching or soreness (NHS).

The reason to report a change, rather than wait it out, is that vaginal infections matter in pregnancy because they may cause preterm labor; contact your provider for discharge with a foul odor, a greenish color, itching, or pain (MedlinePlus). Bacterial vaginosis is the most common vaginal infection in women of reproductive age and may play a role in preterm labor, which is why the CDC recommends testing pregnant women who have symptoms, and treating if needed (NICHD). One thing never to do about any of it: douche. MedlinePlus's wording is "NEVER do this during pregnancy" (MedlinePlus).

Try today

  1. The discharge check

    Time: 2 minutes

    1. Note what your normal looks like today: white and milky, with no strong smell (NHS; MedlinePlus).

    2. Write the changes that mean a call: color, smell or texture; itching, soreness, or pain when peeing (NHS).

    3. Cross "douche" off the list of things you might try, in pregnancy or ever (MedlinePlus).

    4. If a change comes, call rather than buying something; the NHS says seek advice (NHS).

    Make it work:

    A liner is fine if the amount bothers you; the point of today is that you'd notice a change in a day, not a week.

Watch for

  • Normal

    more discharge than before, white and milky (NHS).

    Call your provider

    for discharge with a foul odor, a greenish color, itching or pain (MedlinePlus).

  • Normal

    feeling a bit damp by evening.

    Call your provider

    for lumpy white discharge with itching, or stinging when you pee or during sex, which are the signs of thrush (NHS).

  • Normal

    needing the bathroom often.

    Call your provider

    for pain when urinating, or a change in the odor or color of your urine, which may signal a bladder infection (MedlinePlus).

For you

If it looks like thrush, ask rather than self-treat: the NHS puts thrush on the list of changes to seek advice about (NHS), and MedlinePlus's rule is to consult your provider before starting any medicine, over-the-counter ones included (MedlinePlus).

While you're at it, the CDC's line is that pregnant women should ask their doctors to test for STIs as part of routine care; most STIs have no signs or symptoms, and pregnancy does not protect you or the baby from them (CDC). It's a test, not an accusation.

If you're the partner: if she's diagnosed with an STI, you get tested and treated too; the CDC says so plainly (CDC). Go without being asked twice.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

Get each day’s note the morning it applies

Add your due date to a free Chorevia household, and every morning until the birth the day's note arrives in the app and by email: what's forming, what your body is doing, one thing to try, what to watch for, and a word for you.

Create your household