What were you doing when your waters broke?

[JulesP]

With my first two babies this never happened to me - my first was born with the waters intact (!) very very early.

With my second my midwife ended up breaking the membranes as I was fully dilated, felt ready to push and they were sat there refusing to budge - I think I might be the only person on this board to have ever DEMANDED an internal If it makes any sense I *knew* baby was ready to go but something was blocking his progress, but the midwives were convinced that I couldn't possibly be fully dilated yet.

Not having experienced waters breaking (and generally being rather nosy about everything birth) I was wondering what people were doing when their waters went. Was it something strenuous? Sitting watching TV? While you were having contractions?

Here's the TMI part - Earlier today I was busy being sick (I think my morning sickness has returned for a final goodbye) and felt a trickle go down my leg. Given that I had literally *just* got up from peeing and started being sick while the loo was still flushing, it seems unlikely I wet myself, but it really didn't seem enough to be anything significant.

[seven_lux]

Pushing their heads out. Both Times

I don't believe in having my waters broken, I think I would feel like stabbing anyone in the eye who tried it. That's just me. One day if I ever have another I think having them being born in the caul would be so incredible, I would prefer to just leave it all to chance.

[sproutbabe]

I had just run a bath, then was having a pee before I got in - as I stood up I just felt a warm flood rush down my legs! The worst thing was I had been looking forward to that bath all day and then couldn't get in because of risk of infection :

[JulesP]

Originally Posted by seven_lux

I don't believe in having my waters broken, I think I would feel like stabbing anyone in the eye who tried it.

I would have said that I agreed with you 100% beforehand, but it was a very strange situation. I could *feel* that until whatever was blocking baby was gone he wasn't moving anywhere - not a sensation/emotion I can explain very clearly, but I could tell there was no way that an un-punctured amniotic sac was going to get out and somehow I knew it wasn't going to pop any time soon.

When a baby is born in the caul, doesn't the membrane usually break further up so the waters are no longer padding it out around the baby? I'm not sure what the definition is here.

However, anyone approaching me with a crochet hook thingy as a means to start labour would find themselves very rapidly leaving with a boot up their bum!

[eilonwy]

With BeanBean, I was in bed, suffering through contractions that procardia was no longer controlling. I only had slight trickling; it wasn't until three and a half days later that anyone confirmed that my water had broken. I had a real for a doctor, and she was sick and tired of seeing me and hearing from me, so when I called to tell her that I thought my water had broken, she blew me off. Three days later, I had an ultrasound which confirmed that my waters had indeed broken, and the fluid wasn't regenerating; there wasn't much left around the baby. About ten minutes after the ultrasound, I started leaking meconium. It was a real mess.

With BooBah, I was watching TV when I felt her trying to claw her way out of my uterus; she was moving from vertex to breech at nearly 39 weeks. I wasn't having contractions at all, though I did have one (probably from sheer irritation) while she was turning. When she finished, I stood up and felt a very slight dampness, not even enough to be called a trickle. I also felt and saw her big, round head at the top of my belly. Anyway, two days later I went in to attempt a version; they did an ultrasound and found that not only was she in a footling breech position, standing on her cord, but that all of the fluid had in fact drained and wasn't replenishing itself. I recieved an AFI of zero and was sent for an emergency c-section shortly thereafter.

With Bella, I was on the operating table; my water was broken by the surgeon.

[Hayes]

#1, #3, and #4 I was in the bed. Woke up to a small pop and wetness.
#2, watching chicken run at home. I had a big contraction, started to tell my DH if we have any more like that and POP huge gush of water, wet all over.

My water has broekn at the beginning of all 4 of my labors. I like to mess with the statistics of birth.

[LizaBear]

With DS, I was sleeping in bed - had JUST woke up to go pee and gone into the bathroom when POP and WOOSH - water everywhere *lol*

With DD, it broke just about a minute before I felt like pushing

[USAmma]

With dd1 I was about 7cm when it broke. With dd2 the doctor wanted to break it so the birth would go faster and I refused. I got to 10 cm and felt the need to push. I asked him to do it and she was born with three light pushes.

I always wanted internals. I just felt the need to know how I was progressing. I even did my own internals until we got to the hospital!

[eco_mama]

With my dd my water broke in my very early stage of labor but just in little gushes here and there. With my ds I was leaning on the side of my bed w/ my hands having a cntx and my mw was applying pressure to my back and right at the peak of my cntx.....POP! It all gushed out onto my bdrm floor.

[laohaire]

3am. I woke up to go pee. I hadn't even made it out of the bedroom when I felt a rush of wetness between my legs, and it definitely wasn't pee. No contractions. My midwife had done an internal less than 12 hours previously. Fortunately she saved the internal for 39 weeks 4 days. Next time I will skip the internal altogether.

[hubris]

With Griff, I had a trickle while laboring at home, but I wasn't really aware of it. My MW broke the rest sometime later, maybe around 7 cm? Don't remember.

With Reese, I was standing by the bed at 10 cm and felt a funny little popping and my body gave a little push and GUSH!!!!! all over my feet. It was very dramatic, a very stereotypical made-for-TV moment.

[dnr3301]

What was I doing when my water broke?

#1- ummmm, having sex, well, actually switching into a more comfortable position to continue having sex.

#2- sleeping (less than two hours after sex)

I'm sensing a theme for our family.

[JENinOR]

With my first, my water broke around 2am. I woke up to some mild cramping and got up to go to the bathroom. On the way to the toilet I felt something leaking down my leg. With my second, my water broke during transition.

[JamieCatheryn]

Mine broke after 15 hours of contractions, if I were to guess I'd say I was stuck at 4cm at the moment. I was getting very tired, laying on my side, and kept waking up at the peak of contractions (which sucked). Weird thing was, my husband suddenly felt an inclination to get the bible and read psalms, and as he came back as set the book on the bed was the instant it happened. I felt a pop and knew exactly what happened, I scrambled off the bed and sat on a towel asap.

[happydoulamama]

Opening a baby gift that had come in the mail that day. They were books from amazon- a pooh baby book, and "Oh the places you'll go". I felt something strange (not exactly a pop) and then liquid ran out of my vagina and soaked my pants and the couch. I laughed and laughed...excitement and nervousness at once.

But ctx didn't start. I waited 24 hours and then called the OB who told me to come in...negative ferning test and told that I must have wet myself and went home. Had her 5 days later. Water never broke again- just continued to leak throughout that 5 days.

[courtenay_e]

Originally Posted by sproutbabe

I had just run a bath, then was having a pee before I got in - as I stood up I just felt a warm flood rush down my legs! The worst thing was I had been looking forward to that bath all day and then couldn't get in because of risk of infection :

Too bad you didn't take that bath, midwives will tell you to TAKE the bath, just not to put anything PHYSICAL up your vagina once the bag has broken(ie: vag exam, monitors, etc). Germs aren't likely to climb WATER up your vvagina, as they are THINGS like fingers, etc. Stats support that, too, by the way...so you know for next time, if there is one! I spent all of my labor in a tub after water broke in the middle of the night with a small *snap* across my middle, like a rubber band had snapped, with number two.

With number one, it broke after I hit ten cm, just as I got the urge to push..."WOOSH!* The midwife had to change her scrubs quickly, as she was saturated...wet to the skin!

[elmh23]

I had a hospital birth and was stuck at 8cm. The doc broke them, so I was lying on my back. I don't really remember much of it.

This time, I'll try to avoid anyone breaking waters. Lucikly this babe will be born at a free-standing birth center, with a midwife so hopefully it won't be an issue.

[liberal_chick]

I was on my computer typing up my powerpoint lesson for the next day. It was a small gush that was followed by many bigger gushes. I was 20 weeks pregnant at the time. That sucked.

M.

[sreese68]

With my first, I had just gone to the bathroom. I stood up and felt a trickle. I wasn't sure if it was my water or more pee! I called my OB, who wanted me to go in. I started contractions in the car. When I laid down in the table to get the test to see if it was water, I had a HUGE gush all over, so no test needed! LOL! DD was born about 6 hours later.

With my second, it was an induction and had waters broken by OB.

With my third, I woke up and got out of bed and felt a trickle. I wasn't sure it if was pee or water once again (I had a FULL bladder.) I tried every position I could think of to make more water come out! LOL! Anyway, the nurse practitioner (spelling?) and I decided it was just pee, and I'd just come in for my already scheduled appointment and double check then. Well, we were both wrong!

Now every time I move around a lot or get out of bed, I wonder if it's going to happen!!

[boscopup]

I was getting up for my midnight pee, and as I stood up... WHOOSH! Ran to the bathroom and most of it ran down my legs onto the bathroom floor. got a bit of fluid on my bed and the carpet on the way to the bathroom.

I was 29 weeks, so I said "Uh oh!", and DH said "Is that a call the midwife uh oh?", and I said yes. Amazingly, I was awfully calm, given the situation. Normally I panic when stuff like that happens and I just have no clue what to do, but I just was not really all that worried. I mean, I knew it was a problem to have your water break that early, but it didn't feel like "Oh we need to get to the hospital right away" type problem. Contractions started about 10 hours later, on the way to the hospital, after having a morning appt with midwife and being sent to her unofficial backup OB for AF testing and u/s. Thankfully, baby was fine... just early.