During pregnancy, a woman’s body goes through a multitude of changes, including vaginal discharges. It is an exciting, yet scary experience but the more knowledgeable you are, the less you will worry.
With this in mind, it is important for you to be able to distinguish between normal and abnormal changes during your pregnancy. If you ever have any questions, you should call your doctor.
Is Green Discharge While Pregnant Normal?
No, it’s not normal. You will most likely have some type of discharge during pregnancy but it should be thin, milky and white in color with a very mild odor. It is referred to as leukorrhea and is perfectly normal, so you should not worry about it.
However, if you experience a green-colored discharge, you should contact your doctor as it may indicate an issue with your pregnancy or an underlying medical condition.
What Could It Possibly Indicate?
1. Urinary Tract Infection. Often a green discharge while pregnant is an indication of a urinary tract infection. When you are pregnant, you are more susceptible to these types of infections because as your uterus grows larger, it presses on the ureters.
This causes urine to gather in your bladder, often leading to a urinary tract or bladder infection. Symptoms include green discharge, an unpleasant odor and/or a burning sensation when urinating.
What to do: If you are experiencing a urinary tract infection, do not fret. If you treat it right away, it should not affect your pregnancy.
Often you can clear it up by drinking a lot of water to flush the germs from your body.
You should always try and use the bathroom as often as you can so that your urine does not stay in your bladder too long. When you do urinate, take your time and release all of your urine. Tilting forward while sitting on the toilet can help squeeze out every last bit.
2. STDs. Yellow or green discharge while pregnant with a strong, unpleasant odor might indicate you have a sexually transmitted infection. A common infection is trichomoniasis, which is very uncomfortable while pregnant and during urinating and intercourse.
Often, your vulva will become red and itchy. Even if you do not have all the symptoms and only the green discharge, you should see your doctor to rule it out. There is the possibility you may only have a yeast infection, which is very common during pregnancy.
What to Do: No matter the case, you should see your doctor as soon as you can. Sexually transmitted diseases can adversely affect your pregnancy and hurt your unborn child. Some of these diseases can lead to a uterine infection or cause early labor. Sometimes the infections can cause birth defects and even death.
Only a doctor can properly treat you, so do not try to self-diagnose your ailment and attempt to treat with over the counter medications.
3. Amniotic Fluid. On occasion, a women leaks amniotic fluid before she goes into labor. While the fluid should be clear, sometimes it is yellow, green, brown or pink-tinged. It is also a constant leak. To check, you can lie down on a pad for half an hour. If you experience a gush when you stand up, it might be amniotic fluid leaking from ruptured membranes.
What to do: In this situation, you should call your doctor right away. You should not leak amniotic fluid until you go into labor.
What You Should Do About Vaginal Discharge During Pregnancy?
If it is determined that your green discharge while pregnant is not caused by an infection or leaking amniotic fluid, you really can’t do anything to stop it. You can use thin pads or panty liners to make things more comfortable. However, avoid using tampons to absorb the discharge. You should never use tampons during pregnancy.
- Continue to practice proper hygiene. Wipe from front to back, keep the area clean and wear breathable cotton underwear. Do not use scented menstrual pads, soaps, toilet paper or feminine sprays. Avoid wearing panty hose or tight pants and taking bubble baths.
- More importantly, do not douche. Doing so can increase your chances of a vaginal infection. It can disrupt your natural pH balance and, in rare instances, can lead air through your vagina into your circulatory system. This can cause very serious complications to your pregnancy.
Other Occasions to Call Your Doctor
Apart from green discharge while pregnant, there’re other occasions that require medical treatment. If you have any of these symptoms, call your doctor or a health professional immediately:
- If you experience a white, odorless discharge that causes pain with intercourse or urination, burning or itching and an inflamed vulva, you may have a yeast infection. Your doctor will have to diagnosis the issue and determine the right course of treatment.
- If you notice a change in the type of discharge you have or an increase in discharge output, you should call your doctor. Changes to look for include the discharge becoming bloody, watery or mucus-like. If you have not hit 37 weeks of pregnancy yet, this may be an indication of premature labor.
- If your discharge is white or grey and has a strong fishy smell after you have intercourse, you should contact your doctor. This may be an indication you have an infection called bacterial vaginosis, which must be treated by a specific medication.
