This may be ridiculous.....

[berryblue290]

But I have no idea what it means when your water breaks. Yes I understand water must break in order for labor to start and it's amniotic fluid but why does some womens go at 35 weeks some 38 some 49? What exactly is happening/causing it to go?

 

[lizardbreath]

My water never broke they had to break it at the hospital. so im not really sure

 

[goddess25]

I just always though it broke when it was no longer needed (although not always)

 

[Hunnybear]

It breaks due to various reasons depending on when it happens. Could br contractions, baby movement, infection or weakness of membranes (as in PROM), etc. And yes some womens waters never break independently!

 

[minkymoo]

This isn't strictly true. Labour can start without the waters breaking and in fact some babies are born still in their amniotic sac. Some membranes on the outside of the sac are much thicker than others, some break water then labour starts, some women have theirs broken, some go right at the end. It really does vary.

Despite many many years of research it would appear that nobody actually knows exactly what triggers labour! As somebody else mentioned waters breaking can be weak membranes, pressure from baby, irritation from the uterus, lots of things.

 

[87lianne]

My waters didnt break untill i was 10cm dilated and ready to push. As soon as my waters broke i felt the urge to push

 

[kazharry]

They broke my waters just before my last baby was born at 10cm

 

[Cat_pj]

My waters gushed before labour started. Bubs was back to back and apparently spontaneous rupture of the membranes is more common when the baby is posterior. Something to do with the head's position I think.

 

[scrumpy78]

I heard a pop which woke me up there was no gushing just a slow trickle over couple hours. Contractions started 1 hour after theybroke, baby born 7 hours after they broke.

 

[Emmie M]

My waters didnt go,all the fluid was behind DS and came gushing out after his feet,got the midwife soaked!

 

[newmommy23]

I believe they break because baby is grinding their head on the cervix...?
Mine didn't break, they had to break it.

 

[tommyg]

They don't really know what triggers the homone changes that cause labour to start. But when your waters go you should inform your midwife as there is a risk of infection to the baby if labour doesn't start or stops.

My sis had her waters started to leak and they ended up inducing her because of concerns about the baby getting an infection.
But I have a friend who ended up delivering her baby with the waters when the MW broke them for her.

 

[Gen79]

See? Isn't that silly? They'll break you waters to start contractions but if your waters break on their own and contractions don't start they'll have to induce you?

The truth is they don't have to break the waters and they don't have to induce you. As was said, the baby can be born in the sac and breaking the waters only works to start contractions occasionally (and actually can cause infection). Also, they don't have to induce you if contractions don't start right away. They can put you on antibiotics instead. But they won't tell us that, because they just want to get the baby born and get on to the next pregnant woman.

I won't be letting anyone break my waters. I also won't be letting anyone check to see how dialated I am, I don't think. And I'll have to be way late to let them induce me at all...

 

[minkymoo]

See? Isn't that silly? They'll break you waters to start contractions but if your waters break on their own and contractions don't start they'll have to induce you?

The truth is they don't have to break the waters and they don't have to induce you. As was said, the baby can be born in the sac and breaking the waters only works to start contractions occasionally (and actually can cause infection). Also, they don't have to induce you if contractions don't start right away. They can put you on antibiotics instead. But they won't tell us that, because they just want to get the baby born and get on to the next pregnant woman.

I won't be letting anyone break my waters. I also won't be letting anyone check to see how dialated I am, I don't think. And I'll have to be way late to let them induce me at all...

See, I would love to be able to do/think like that but I have an enormous fear of placental maturity/failure so I will be taking an induction as soon as they offer it to me and demanding regular scanning/monitoring once I get past 40 weeks. Some may think it's neurotic/OTT but it will keep me calm.

 

[whoops]

See? Isn't that silly? They'll break you waters to start contractions but if your waters break on their own and contractions don't start they'll have to induce you?

The truth is they don't have to break the waters and they don't have to induce you. As was said, the baby can be born in the sac and breaking the waters only works to start contractions occasionally (and actually can cause infection). Also, they don't have to induce you if contractions don't start right away. They can put you on antibiotics instead. But they won't tell us that, because they just want to get the baby born and get on to the next pregnant woman.

I won't be letting anyone break my waters. I also won't be letting anyone check to see how dialated I am, I don't think. And I'll have to be way late to let them induce me at all...

I love structure and progress reports so I think I'll need to know how dilated I am to encourage me to keep on going... if I know 'X hours of pain means I've dilated X cm' then at least I'll feel like the pain up until then has been worth it. Otherwise, I'll probably end up panicking.

Each to their own though...

 

[Beadette]

See, I would love to be able to do/think like that but I have an enormous fear of placental maturity/failure so I will be taking an induction as soon as they offer it to me and demanding regular scanning/monitoring once I get past 40 weeks. Some may think it's neurotic/OTT but it will keep me calm.

^Yes I too have this fear. My sister in law was overdue (although she did end up going into spontaneous labour) and when her placenta was born it was over half dead and black. I only thought this happened with some people who smoke during pregnancy but she hasn't ever touched a fag in her life. May be completely unrelated to her being overdue but it has stuck with me!!

I love structure and progress reports so I think I'll need to know how dilated I am to encourage me to keep on going... if I know 'X hours of pain means I've dilated X cm' then at least I'll feel like the pain up until then has been worth it. Otherwise, I'll probably end up panicking.

Each to their own though...

I also agree with this............ I will need to know because knowing me i'll think i'm about ready to push and will only be about 2cm. I'll need to know where I am and how far i've come

 

[PeanutBean]

My waters went and I am pretty confident that it was because of a combination of reasons.
I am short waisted so there was no room left.
I had a LOT of water.
I had a chest infection and had spent the whole night before coughing intensely.
I'd been sanding and painting skirting board of all fours a few days before.
DH said "well maybe we'll get some sleep tonight as long as you don't go into labour" when we went to bed that night.

It led to a lot of complications for me because of hospital policy so I agree with those who say it's best to leave things well alone and let your waters do what they want to do!

Mine started as a tiny trickle that woke me, then proceeded to gush for a good hour or two before beginning to slow down and I had an extremely irritating string of membrane hanging down I couldn't pull out!!

 

[jackiea85]

I'm not sure what causes them to go but mine went before I had any contractions (with my 1st). They went about 2am ish and my contractions didn't start til 5:30am ish x

 

[Gen79]

See, I would love to be able to do/think like that but I have an enormous fear of placental maturity/failure so I will be taking an induction as soon as they offer it to me and demanding regular scanning/monitoring once I get past 40 weeks. Some may think it's neurotic/OTT but it will keep me calm.

That's understandable, and I think if you know you won't be calm then you may as well anyway. I'm pretty convinced at this point that being calm and relaxed is the answer (I've been doing a hypnobirthing class)

I also read an exercise in pregnancy book that said that women who exercise at a moderate to intense level all the way to the end, on average, give birth 5 days earlier than their due date. I think its all the endorphins. So I plan on being an endorphin junkie at 37/38 weeks! lol

And I will also want regular monitoring after 40 weeks. I'm no less neurotic about the health of my baby, I just have been convinced of the evils of unneccessary intervention. (Not that all intervention is unneccessary or evil; just that unneccessary intervention is bad.)

I love structure and progress reports so I think I'll need to know how dilated I am to encourage me to keep on going... if I know 'X hours of pain means I've dilated X cm' then at least I'll feel like the pain up until then has been worth it. Otherwise, I'll probably end up panicking.

Each to their own though...

Oh, definitely! And I understand what you mean. When I run, I prefer the treadmill so I know how far I've gone and how much longer I have left. I just think that having regular internal exams will not help me stay relaxed at all. And relaxation is the name of the game.

 

[spring_baby]

My waters didnt break untill i was 10cm dilated and ready to push. As soon as my waters broke i felt the urge to push

So far I have been exactly the same with my 3 so i assume it will be the same for number 4, the feeling is just a wet gush of warm fluid and can happen at the onset of labour or anywhere inbetween, so dont panic if yr waters break and at the start it doesnt mean baby will arrive 5 mins later, xx