Your amniotic sac breaking and water leaking all over you/your environment has a lot of stress around it. This is the post that covers EVERYTHING you need to know about breaking your water. It should ease many fears and share some good information to keep both you and your baby healthy.
Before we start this is exactly a VERY tiny part of pregnancy and birth — I recommend it to prepare from tee to green.
When will your water break?
That’s the big question. You’d really rather it breaks in the toilet than when you’re out with friends, shopping or at work.
The good news is that most people’s water breaks when they’re in active labor — which, for most people, is when you’re in the hospital. Only 15% of people’s water breaks before the hospital.
Surprisingly, many people feel that their water breaks while they are peeing. I guess you are relaxed and this makes your body think – let’s do it NOW!
What will My Water Breaking look like?
The bad news, it’s different than you think it will be. Many people only feel a trickle of liquid coming out, versus the “gush” we always see in the movies. I have a whole post on What does breaking water look like?
How will my water break feel?
Great question – because I think a lot of people are worried it will be very painful. Honestly, it’s not like that. While water breaking can make labor more intense (more on this to come) the amniotic sac actually has no neurons attached to it.
Most people feel a pop and leakage of some liquid. Many people have compared to having a water balloon pop inside you, that makes sense!
I polled a lot of people to ask what they felt — check out my post on what it’s like to break your water.
Many people say it feels like peeing, except you can’t make it stop. This can make it hard to tell if you peed or if your water broke.
How much water will come out?
Will it be a trickle, or a gush? Honestly, it’s very hard to know.
You need to think of your baby’s head as a cork in your “bottle” of water — depending on how high or low in your uterus the amniotic sac breaks depends on how much liquid comes out.
And just because your friend had a giant splash and soaked her mattress doesn’t mean you will!
Of course, all of this makes slow leaks very difficult to detect if you only get a small piece every time you move.
Are there any signs that it is about to break?
The biggest sign is your provider asking if they can break it (because the vast majority are broken in the hospital by a provider). However, the next biggest sign is childbirth, because most of the time that’s what breaks it. I’m sharing a few more << signs in that post.
Can I test myself for amniotic fluid leakage?
THERE IS a test we use at the hospital called amnisure. It’s a pretty straightforward (though not entirely) way to tell if your water has broken. But there are a few ways you can try at home.
I have a whole post about an amniotic fluid leak test at home that talks about ways you can test at home.
The extra confusing news is that discharge often changes as you get closer to labor – meaning it can be hard to tell if it’s a discharge or your water breaking.
I also have a whole post with a quiz if you’re really wondering if your water broke.
What makes it break?
Ugh, it sure can feel that way when you have a little karate artist in your belly! While we don’t actually know what causes your water to break all the time – we do know that a few things can cause your water to break.
The good news for worried moms – studies don’t actually prove that baby’s movements cause it to break.
While we’re here, let’s answer some important questions about water breaking:
Should you let your provider break your water?
It’s a great question — and it’s quite varied and has many aspects to think about. I would encourage you to read my entire post if you have to let your provider break your water.
Will work become harder when it breaks?
Most people describe it that way. It’s one of the reasons I say wait if you are hoping to have a “natural” birth.
However, sometimes it needs to be broken to speed things up – that’s why I’m answering the question you need to epidural before it ruptures.
In summary…
Here are 3 things you need to know:
1️⃣ It is very important that if you think your water has broken, you call your provider. If it breaks for too long, there is increased infection in your uterus, which can be harmful to both you and the baby.
2️⃣ If you think they’re broken, note the time — also take a look to see if they’re clear, yellow (most likely urine), or green. Your providers will want to know this when you contact them.
3️⃣ While it may be normal to obsess over it a bit, this is only a very small part of pregnancy and birth, so I highly recommend you prepare for EVERYTHING in here.
In fact, in our Online Prenatal Course for Couples we talk about tough topics like this and how to know if you’re going into labor. You might think it’s too late to take a birth class, but the good news is that it only takes about 3 hours to complete. Using an expert to get the information you need about something is one of the smartest things you can do.
Not sure we’re a good fit, check out my free course — It’s your first step to becoming your own boss.
