In early pregnancy, discharge is quite normal. In fact some women notice this discharge before they even know they are pregnant and mistakenly believe it to be a yeast infection.  Vaginal discharge is one of the early symptoms that you are pregnant even before it is possible for the pregnancy to show up in a blood or urine test or in a home pregnancy kit. While you can expect to have some vaginal discharge all the way through the pregnancy, it is more so in the early weeks. This is because the walls of the vagina are becoming thicker and so some of the mucous leaks because of the turnover in the cells of the lining.

The lining starts to thicken because the brain starts producing more of the female hormone estrogen . This causes an increased blood flow to the vagina. This cervical mucous is also a sign later in your pregnancy that you are close to delivering the baby with an increase in the discharge around this time. This may come out as one lump, often referred to as the mucous plug, or you may just notice that your have more discharge than usual.

You do have to be careful with a discharge early in the pregnancy and at all times throughout the forty weeks. If you notice that the discharge has a foul smell to it or is discoloured, rather than being white, this is a symptom of a bacterial or yeast infection. The discharge is often accompanied by itching and burning. When you see your doctor about this problem, the results of a urine test can tell whether there are any yeast cells present. The doctor will prescribe a cream for you to use externally and cream or capsules that you can use internally by means of a special applicator. You can also purchase this type of treatment over the counter without a prescription and is safe to use during pregnancy.

Although having a yeast infection while you are pregnant will not harm the baby, it will make you feel really uncomfortable, especially at night. If you scratch this area too much, this can lead to a vaginal infection, which could spread to the uterus.  Another problem that you could encounter is that if you leave the yeast infection untreated, as the baby passes through the vagina during the birthing process, it could easily pick up the infection.

One way in which you can prevent a yeast infection from developing is to always keep the genital area clean and dry. You also have to keep in mind that yeast cells occur naturally in the body and can even bloom into an infection as part of your body reaction to foods or even scented soaps and lotions. Yogurt is especially effective in helping to treat and prevent a yeast infection and is part of a healthy diet whether you are pregnant or not.

If you are not sure whether the vaginal discharge you have early in your pregnancy is actually a symptom that you are going to have a baby, you can contact your doctor for a check up just to make sure.