Watery Discharge During Pregnancy

Have you noticed that you have a watery discharge while trying to conceive or early on in pregnancy? You might wonder if this is a good sign or a bad one.

Every little sign can be nerve-wracking at the start of pregnancy, especially if you are a first-time parent. And as not every pregnancy is the same, you might find yourself dealing with things your friends didn’t experience, and that might make you nervous.

To help you understand why you may be having a watery discharge in early pregnancy, we’ll look at what it means, discuss other signs to watch for, and let you know when you should consider seeing a doctor about it.

Is Watery Discharge An Early Pregnancy Symptom?

The short answer is: It can be.

Vaginal discharge is a perfectly normal part of having a vagina. Most girls begin to experience this a few years before puberty begins, and it only ends after menopause is complete. During this time, we all experience many changes in how our discharge looks.

During pregnancy, the cervix and vaginal walls soften and discharge increases. This might not make a lot of sense on the surface, but this discharge has an essential job. It is our vagina’s self-cleaning mechanism, and the amount of discharge increases when we are pregnant to keep bacteria and viruses out.

This increase happens because, at first, the cervix is not fully plugged with a mucus plug, so there is a risk of an infection traveling into the uterus, affecting the womb, placenta, or even the baby.

For example, think about how when you ovulate, vaginal discharge increases. This is due to an increase in hormone levels and blood flow. The same process happens even more frequently during pregnancy.

For example, if you already have a minor infection or are eating better during your pregnancy, you might find you have a more watery discharge than last time.

As your pregnancy progresses, the discharge will change too, and near the end, it might become so abundant and watery that you confuse it with urine. This is all perfectly normal.

On the other hand, watery discharge doesn’t automatically mean you’re pregnant. Many more things could lead to an increase in discharge or make it more transparent or watery.

What Other Signs Do I Need To Look For?

There are many other signs of pregnancy to look out for. If you only have a watery discharge, it may not mean anything, but if you have any other symptoms, you could be onto something.

1. A missed period: The earliest sign of pregnancy for most of us is a missed period. However, if your cycles are irregular or quite prolonged, you might experience other symptoms before you even notice your period is late.
2. Slight spotting: A few drops of blood is typical in the first 4 to 12 weeks of pregnancy, as the fetus implants itself in your womb and the mucus plug finishes sealing up the cervix. Watch for heavy or continuous bleeding, as this may either be a period or a problem.
3. Nausea: For some women, the very first sign of pregnancy is nausea. Waking up feeling sick, feeling nauseous all day, or getting car sick for the first time in years could mean you’re pregnant.
4. Breast tenderness: Many women experience slight breast tenderness early in pregnancy. However, some of us get tenderness during our periods too, so it’s not a sure sign.
5. Exhaustion and fatigue: Feeling suddenly drained for no apparent reason? Growing a baby takes a lot of energy, even when the baby is smaller than a grain of rice. So you might feel tired, even after a great night’s sleep or a weekend resting.
6. Peeing frequently: This is another one of the earliest signs, and for some women it may be the first. If you feel the need to go to the toilet more often than usual, or if you wake in the night to pee, you might be pregnant.
7. Food aversions: Pregnancy cravings don’t tend to start until the second trimester, but their wicked stepsister, aversions, can happen from the first few days after conception. If certain smells or tastes have you heaving, you could be pregnant.
8. A positive pregnancy test: If you have two or more of the above symptoms, then you might want to take a pregnancy test. If it comes back positive, you are almost certainly pregnant. If it comes back negative but your symptoms continue, test again in another week or two ⁽²⁾.

Other minor signs can include frequent urination, constipation, headaches, changes in mood, and feeling dizzy or faint.

Could It Be Anything Else?

So if you have watery discharge but you’re not showing any other signs of pregnancy, what else could it be?

There are actually a few possibilities. If your discharge is still healthy — clear or white, not lumpy or foul-smelling — then it could be any of the following:

• Birth control: The pill increases the amount of estrogen in your body, and the more estrogen you have, the more natural discharge you will produce.
• A natural hormonal change: If you are still going through puberty, younger than 25, pre-menopausal, or over 45, you could be going through one of the many natural hormonal changes women experience.
• A dietary change: Some foods, such as soy, can increase the estrogen in our bodies, so a big dietary change could increase vaginal discharge.
• Ovulation: When we ovulate, our discharge will tend to be clearer and stringier, like egg whites. If you are used to thicker discharge this might be a big change for you, but it is natural.
• Arousal: When we are very aroused, we will produce more discharge. It may be stringy, like when we ovulate, or watery. It will smell stronger than usual discharge, but as long as it is clear or white and doesn’t have lumps, it’s fine.
• Menstrual cycle: An increase in discharge can also occur right before and right after your menstrual cycle.

If your discharge is accompanied by other troubling signs, such as pain, itching, a strong odor, lumps like cottage cheese, or is a yellow, gray, brown, or green color, then you probably have an infection:

• Bacterial vaginosis (BV): A bacterial infection in the vaginal walls that involves a yellow, gray, or greenish discharge which smells fish-like. BV usually tends to be more common in pregnant women.
• Candida albicans: A yeast infection in the vaginal walls that makes your discharge appear lumpy and smell sour. The texture will resemble cottage cheese and may look yellow.
• Chlamydia: Yellow or green discharge could signal a chlamydia infection.
• Gonorrhea: Creamy, watery, or green discharge can be a sign of gonorrhea.
• Another sexually transmitted infection (STI): We all react differently to STIs, so if your discharge isn’t normal for you and an STI is a possibility, visit your doctor to get tested.
• Interrupted period: If you have clumpy and brown discharge accompanied by cramping, this could be an interrupted period. The brown, smelly discharge is our body getting rid of the old blood. Normal bleeding should begin soon after ⁽³⁾.

Avoid douching or using wipes that contain alcohol or perfume to clean your vaginal area. This can kill the healthy bacteria that protect you from an infection.

What Is Normal in Early Pregnancy Discharge?

If you are sure you are pregnant, then you probably want to know if your discharge is normal. Watery discharge, especially with a few specks of blood, is perfectly normal for the first 4 to 12 weeks of pregnancy.

In fact, you might experience watery discharge your whole pregnancy, with a spot of blood a couple of times a week. It is very normal. It is also normal for it to literally gush out suddenly, even if it feels gross.

It can be anywhere from clear to white, and from almost-liquid to egg white consistency. For those first few weeks, it may be a tiny bit brown or pink from spotting.

It also might not even be at its worst yet, I’m sorry to say. Some women find that their watery discharge reduces during their second trimester and comes back during the third.

Other women find it just gets heavier and heavier as time goes on. There is no magical formula for how it should be ⁽⁴⁾.

When Should I Get A Doctor Involved?

Naturally, there are many situations when your discharge might not be normal. So when do we need to see a medical professional about watery discharge during pregnancy?

• Strongly-colored discharge: Normal vaginal discharge is clear or white, and off-white is completely normal too. But if you find it is a bolder tone of yellow, green, brown, grey, pink, or red, then you might have a serious problem that needs checking.
• Strong-smelling discharge: Vaginal discharge naturally has a slight sea-salt or sour smell to it. This is normal because it needs to be acidic to help fight infections. But if the smell is strong and fishy or smells rotten or like sulfur, you should see a doctor in case of an infection. Douching is never recommended to treat vaginal odors, but when you are pregnant, it can be especially dangerous. Talk to your doctor if the odor is too unpleasant for you.
• Itching, soreness: Itching and soreness are a sure sign of a fungal or bacterial infection. Because some infections can affect your baby and not all remedies work for all infections or are safe during pregnancy, you need to see a doctor if you think you have an infection.
• A popping sensation and/or a gush of water: When your water breaks, you will feel a popping sensation and the water rushing out. If this happens at or after 37 weeks, you need to contact your medical team as it means you are entering labor. If it happens before 37 weeks, you need to go to the hospital as this is not normal.
• Heavy bleeding: Heavy bleeding, especially sudden bleeding when you suspect or know you are pregnant, can be a sign of a miscarriage or another serious problem. A few blood spots at first are no problem, but if you have a heavy bleed like a period but believe you are pregnant, you need to get to an emergency room as soon as possible.
• Persistent bleeding: If you have minor bleeding that looks like spotting but doesn’t go away, you might be having problems with your placenta, or you may be experiencing a miscarriage. If you are having cramping and pain and your bleeding goes on for a day or more along with brown or red stringy clots, you may be having a miscarriage. If you suspect a miscarriage at all, you need to get to the emergency room as soon as possible.

If you have pregnancy symptoms but are having minor and persistent bleeding accompanied by ongoing severe pain on one side — you could be experiencing an ectopic pregnancy. This is a pregnancy that occurs outside the womb and can be a life-threatening condition if not treated immediately ⁽⁵⁾.

Do not wait if you have any of these worrying signs as infection can easily spread to other organs and your baby. If an infection stays untreated, it can even spread to the blood and cause sepsis — a dangerous, life-threatening condition that requires immediate treatment.

Editor's Note:

Dr. Njoud Jweihan, MD

My Discharge Is Unpleasant, What Can I Do?

However reassuring it is to know that it’s normal during early pregnancy, you might still feel a bit gross when your panties feel cold and damp because of watery discharge. Besides that, the dampness can also invite bacteria and yeasts to breed, causing real problems for you.

So what do we do when we have watery discharge in early pregnancy?

1. Use breathable pads to absorb the excess. This will keep your underwear dry.
2. Wear breathable 100% cotton underwear, and change your underwear often. Carry a spare pair or two for bad days.
3. Shower often, and use fragrance- and alcohol-free wipes to reduce bacteria.
4. Boost your immune system to protect against infections. Your prenatal vitamins should have you mostly covered there.
5. When using the restroom, always wipe from front to back. Doing otherwise can spread bacteria in the rectal area and increase the chance of infection.

FAQs

In Summary

Whether you are pregnant or not, a clear or whitish watery discharge is very rarely a sign of any significant health concern. If you are not sure whether you are pregnant, it might be your first pregnancy sign.

But if you see anything particularly weird, make sure to talk to your doctor to rule out the risk of an infection or a serious medical condition.