Water breaking/leaking?

[Annie Mac]

The night before last, we thought I was in labour. We went to the hospital, where the nurse examined me internally to check. She was not gentle with me, couldn't find my cervix, had to dig around a bit. I wasn't dilated, they told me to go home. Yesterday, I had two fluid leaks. Not gushes, but enough to fill and spill over a bit on a cotton panty liner (so there was a bit of bulk to the liner). I'd say maybe a couple tbsp of liquid each time. There has been nothing since then, as far as more fluid leakage goes. I have had so many false alarms, I did not want to call the doctor AGAIN for nothing, but I am GBS+, so they did say if my water breaks, go in. On the other hand, I won't be heartbroken if they dont' have time to give me IV antibiotics (still, if something happened to my baby as a result of my reticence, I would never forgive myself).

So, opinions? Could this have been an amniotic fluid leak? Do I have to be dilated to leak? And wouldn't I be continuing to leak if it was?

[RedOakMomma]

If you need antibiotics, they'll find the time to do it!

Last time I was in labor I stayed at home until my contractions were 3 min. apart. By the time I was at the hospital, I was in transition. By the time I was out of my clothes, baby was crowning. They STILL were able to get two doses of antibiotic into me! In the 20 minutes or so it took to push the baby out, the forced it in (kindly...the language "forced" sounds too strong).

Are you SURE it's not pee? In those small amounts, with those small gushes, it really could be.

If you do think your water broke, I would delay telling the dr. until you decide to ask your dr. about coming in (whenever you're comfortable with doing that). You might not want your clock, if your dr. has that kind of policy, to be set as of yesterday. In the meantime, I'd try really hard to determine on your own if it's a.f., or if it's pee. If it is fluid, then I'd start trying to get labor going. Walk, walk, walk!

[Annie Mac]

I'm pretty confident that it wasn't pee. I've had enough "little accidents" lately to tell Yay, pregnancy!

[GOPLawyer]

If you are GBS+, why are you allowing internal checks?

Also, if you don't want antibiotics, have you considered garlic or a hibiclens instead?

[emnic77]

Originally Posted by GOPLawyer

If you are GBS+, why are you allowing internal checks?

ditto this!! This is the worst thing to do, since you can introduce bacteria this way - everyone needs to keep their hands out of there. Especially if your water is broken.

hope you go into labor soon!

[Annie Mac]

I feel so naive...other than an internal exam, how do they (they being the hospital/doctor) know if there's any dilation? I doubt garlic is an option in the hospital, but hibiclens sounds pretty medical...what is this? The choices given to me re GBS positive status were to either allow or decline the antibiotics. However, my doctor is very patient-centred, and I'm sure if I brought something to her, it would at least be considered with an open mind and not dismissed out of hand.

[Kelly1101]

One of the reasons they want you to call when your water breaks is that the longer you go with broken water, the greater the risk of infection.

As far as the GBS, I did the antibiotics (just because the risk is small but it IS there), but like RedOak said if it's your first baby I don't think you need to worry about them not having time to give them to you.

Calling and going in and telling them when your water broke DOES put you on the "clock" (because of risk of infection) where if you still haven't delivered and/or are not close to delivering within 24 hours, people are going to start talking c-section. Because of this it is likely for your OB to suggest Pitocin. However, Pitocin may not work well if you are not dilated. However again, just because you weren't dilated the other day does not mean you are not dilated now. It can happen quickly.


Now, another thing-- it sounds like your water has resealed itself. This does happen, and it's fine. In which case, you would NOT be "on the clock" and you wouldn't have pressure to deliver within 24 hours. How far along are you?

If your water bag has resealed, then if the OB checks likely they will find no amniotic fluid.

[Plummeting]

Just to answer your one question, yes, you can leak amniotic fluid if you're not at all dilated. I did.

[Annie Mac]

Thanks for the input. I'm 37 weeks & believe it or not, it's my second. My first, however, was 20 years ago, and a lot has changed -- they didn't even test for GBS then. Also, my first pregnancy was completely uneventful. Except for horrible morning sickness throughout, I was just pregnant until one night when i thought I might be in labour, and I was. Five hours later, my daughter was born. But this time -- I've been having contractions for the past 8 weeks and was put on house rest (with the possibility of bed rest looming in the background) until recently, plus it's just been very uncomfortable. However, it's been fascinating. I've been learning so much!

[Kelly1101]

How are you feeling today? Still no more leaking?

[Annie Mac]

Nope, no more leaking. Some cramping, some back pain, but that's nothing new.