Pregnancy: Water Breaks
Your bag of waters is the amniotic sac that surrounds and protects your baby during pregnancy. Your baby grows within the amniotic sac in the uterus. The amniotic sac is full of clear fluid, known as the amniotic fluid that surrounds and cushions the fetus. It allows the fetus to move freely within the walls of the uterus. The baby is attached to the uterus by the placenta through the umbilical cord. The sac actually comprises two tough but thin transparent layers of membrane called the chorion and amnion (which together are known as the membranes). When people talk about “water breaking,” they’re referring to the rupturing of those membranes that line the uterus’s inner walls.
Breaking of water membranes usually happens before labor starts before contractions begin or early in labor. When you’re pregnant one of your biggest concerns might be that your water will break in a less than desirable situation, sending amniotic fluid gushing out. Only about 13% of the time your water will break prior to the onset of labor. More than 75% of the time your water won’t break until you’re well into labor and more than 9 centimeters dilated. It can happen at any time when you are anywhere or while your asleep.
When it happens you may not know the difference between amniotic fluid and urine. You won’t normally experience a huge gush it will just be a matter of your underwear being wet. If you are standing or sitting up you may not experience a gush as the baby’s head blocks the opening when the mother is in this position.
Don’t panic as it won’t help if you think your water has broken. There are simple steps that can help you determine if your bag of water has broken or if you’re having bladder trouble. Simply find the closest bathroom and make your way there. The easiest thing to do to tell if it is your water or urine is to put on clean, dry underwear and a pad or panty liner. Then lay down for about half an hour. If the fluid is amniotic fluid, it will pool or gather in the vagina while you lay down.
During this half an hour, spend time gathering your thoughts. Try to do a fetal kick count or make note of your baby’s movements as well. Call anyone like your husband. After half an hour get up and go back to the bathroom. Do this quick check to know.
Signs of Water Breaking During Pregnancy
Is your pad wet? If the pad is wet, your water bag still might not have broken. A dry pad means that it is not likely that your water is broken. What you experienced could have been an increase in mucus discharge, a small leak from your bladder or other common late pregnancy.
What is the colour of the fluid? Look at the colour of the fluid. Urine is usually colored. Amniotic fluid is usually colored. Amniotic fluid is clear though it can be light yellow colored (lighter than urine).
Does it smell like urine? Smell the fluid. If it smells like urine, it probably is urine. Bladder control issues are not uncommon during pregnancy. If it smells like bleach, it is more likely to be amniotic fluid.
Rate of Leakage: Amniotic fluid leaks continuously. It does not stop.
Pain: There is no pain associated with water breaking. It feels more like a water balloon popping.
Contractions: You may not feel contractions right away. Most women have contractions between 12 and 24 hours after their water breaks.
Confirming its your water:
If you are still unsure about whether it was your amniotic sac breaking or urine leaking, call your doctor. They may advise you of other simple ways to test if it is amniotic fluid.
Doctor may ask you to come to hospital to perform a small test on the fluid. If you are asked to go in, bring everything you’d need to give birth with you in case they tell you to stay.
Your doctor or midwife will use one of two common tests to see if the fluid leaking is your water or not. One simply involves a vaginal exam. During the vaginal exam, the doctor, midwife or nurse will introduce a small piece of paper, called litmus paper. This paper reacts by changing color when it is exposed to amniotic fluid. If the paper doesn’t react, your water is not broken.
The other test is to take a small sample of fluid and look at it under a microscope. When amniotic fluid is dry the pattern it makes on the microscope slide looks like a fern plant and is therefore called ferning. So if they see ferning, your water has broken.
If your water has not broken you will be sent home to await the start of labor. If your water has broken, what happens next is dependent upon the protocols of your doctor or midwife.
How does it feel like when your water breaks?
Breaking of your water might be a pre-labor surprise gush. Some moms-to-be notice a slow leaking or trickling before labor, but most are already firmly in labor when their water breaks or is broken by a care provider. Different women experience differently. Here’s what you might experience:
The gush/splash
For some moms-to-be, the water does gush out. An extreme gush, nothing like urinating. It won’t stop or slow down.
The trickle
Many women have a trickling or leaking instead of the more dramatic gushing. It might be a warm trickle of fluid down your legs so slow that like it may feel like sweat or normal discharge. Over time, it might begin to leak more and more until it starts gushing.
Unstoppable
A sure sign that your water has broken is that once it starts, you can’t stop it. It may feel like urine coming out but it won’t stop. That’s when you know it is your water. Or it may feel like a gush similar to a period. It will seem uncontrollable.
Pop goes the water
Many women feel a popping sensation when their water breaks and for some there’s an audible pop, like someone cracking a knuckle and then a gush. A little can leak out every time you move. It’s like a water balloon popping but it won’t hurt; it just makes you very wet.
The feel-nothing break
Some women aren’t aware of their water breaking. You may not feel it. You may not even know it broke until you realized you were wet. Or you may not feel it because your baby was crowning.
Rude awakening
Water may not always choose to break during civilized hours. Your water may break, when you are asleep in bed. The initial little gush may wake you up if not you’ll find yourself in a puddle when you wake up.
The in-betweener
For some women it might be middle ground, not a dramatic gush and not just a little trickle. It may feel like small gushes, like when you first start your period. Just like a heavy period dripping down your leg.
Relief
If your already in labor and lying on the hospital bed you’ll feel a sense of relief when their water breaks as it’s a sign that the wait is over and its time to push. Labor then gets more intense. It’s a relief only for a brief while then the pains begin. With lot of intensity your baby will come out. It will first feel like water leaking, as though you were sweating. Then a gush and the pressure inside you will be released for a while before the pain starts again. Your water may gush out when you push like warm water pouring out of your body. It will be pleasant, compared with all the pain.