Should i prepare for my waters to break?

Hi Ladies,

Just wondering if you can give me some advice on if / how you prepared for your waters to break. I believe it's only 25% chance of them breaking as the first sign of labour however 1 in 4 is still quite high!

Should I be sitting on a towel when I'm at work / in the car / on the couch? I really don't want to be cleaning it up when I'll be focusing on other things...also don't want to have someone else do it for me - how embarassing! Should I get a waterproof protector for the bed or will it not come flooding out when I'm lying down? I can't imaging it being easy to get the smell out of the car...????

What was your experience? Was it a gush or a slow leak?

I never did and never really though about it either.... :dunno: I probably should have though :lol:

It's so hard to say as you will find that there are so many ways for labour to start.

With DS1 i had contractions for hours at home and then hours after arriving at the hospital they broke my waters for me. I felt a gush from this.

With DS2 my waters broke when i got out of the shower one morning. It was just a trickle of liquid that i had no control over. I put a maternity pad on inbetween appt's and getting to the hospital and it was well and truely drenched. It may have been chnaged a couple of time i really can't remember. Upon examination they found it was my hind waters that broke. Once labour was more established my waters broke and i felt a gush from this.

With DD i got through 95% of my labour at home. Upon arrival to the hospital i was told my waters were 'just there ready to go'. After a few contractions they broke which i felt a gush and a huge sense of relief only to get some pretty more full on contractions. DD was born min after my waters breaking so if this had of happened at home....

All very different experiences really, preperation is great and if it makes you feel comfortable to deal with any circumstance then do it.

ETA You having put the thought into my head it was such a huge possability with DD but it never even entered my mind.

I sat on a towel in the car and had a matress protector and towels on the bed JIC. It didn't happen to me but a gf of mine it did in bed and she was lucky to have the towels so no damage to her matress.

I was having a nap when my waters broke. when i woke up, my underwear and pants were soaked. The sheet was a little wet too,but it wasn't enough to soak through to the mattress. When i stood up, more came out. There wasn't really that much fluid. My pants got a little more wet, tiny bit on the floor too.
If you would feel more comfortable with a towel under you, then you should do it. Having a spare pair of pants/underwear and some pads with you at work might be helpful too.

I didn't expect my waters to break but I prepared anyway :D For the last week or two I sat on a towel in the car (I have leather seats & didn't want them ruined) & made a protector for my bed. I folded up a couple of towels inside a garbage bag, laid another towel on top then put the fitted sheet over the whole lot. Sounds odd but it was actually really comfy!

I had a towel on my seat in the car and towels under the sheets on the bed. My waters did break in bed but I felt it happening (it woke me from a light sleep) and I rushed to the ensuite so the big gush happened on the tiles :lol: There was a lot of fluid though and I went through a few maternity pads in the 1.5 hours before we arrived at the hossi and my tackies were still soaking on arrival.

It's good to be prepared as it really can throw you and I'm still surprised by just how much fluid the was AND how long it leaked for! Having maternity pads and a change of clothes and underware is great advice along with towels.

I was forever sitting on towels and blankets etc at home and in the car, but it never occured to me to do that outside of home :lol: Anyway when my water broke I had a sharp pain and 2 'pops', scared the crap outta me so I got outta bed and bammo it started pouring out! Just when I thought it was finished it kept coming. I'd sit or lie and it would stop and the when I stood it started again. So it didnt matter what i had under me it was soaking through :)

while i had my waters broken both times while in labour by a midwife
i slept on a cot mattress protector for the last few weeks and had towels in the car
(just be careful your waters will ROT your mattress or car if it soaks in) xoxo

Just want to point out that they don't 'smell' - if there is a smell when they break, you need to contact your care provider immediately.

The chances of you being in 'public' when they break is about 10%, so not much you can do to prepare unless you want to walk around with a towel between your legs ;p
Mine broke when I got up to go to the toilet first thing in the morning. It didn't gush and go everywhere, it leaked for the next 12 hours. I put on a mat pad and monitored it, so remember that they may very well break but not gush and lose it all at once.

Thanks for all your replies :D

I guess it's not going to hurt to sit on a few towels and be prepared JIC! I'm not a control freak so I know that anything can happen and I'm open to it...it's probably more that I feel at ease when I'm prepared so I think I'll do it all anyway. Cheezelmonster - I like your idea of the garbage bag and towels, I might do that for the car too.

Thanks again!

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My waters did break in bed but I felt it happening (it woke me from a light sleep) and I rushed to the ensuite so the big gush happened on the tiles :lol:.

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Heheh same. I felt like I wet myself and just made it to the bathroom. I wasn't expecting baby for another 4 weeks so glad I moved quick or our mattress would be ruined

I didn't prepare for it and my waters broke before contractions started, but it was a small trickle and my DH got a towel before it leaked too much in the bed. I would wear a pad in public if your worried about it...

Out of five pregnancies my waters only broke spontaeneously once. So it was more like 20% for me. :p

I was fast asleep and I felt/heard that "POP" and I flooded my bed. Called DH cause he was at work and was busy stripping the bed and putting on washing when he got home at 2 oclock in the morning.
It really was hopeless trying to soak it up too cause although I totally drenched the bed I went still through about 3 prs of pants before I had even left the house. I ended up walking into maternity with a towel between my legs (I was sitting on 3 rolled up ones in the car too) and the dippy women behind the desk said "have your waters broken?" :o "um no love towels, are the new black!!"

Good luck but I wouldnt stress too much about it, its only water it can be washed/dried out

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It really was hopeless trying to soak it up too cause although I totally drenched the bed I went still through about 3 prs of pants before I had even left the house. I ended up walking into maternity with a towel between my legs (I was sitting on 3 rolled up ones in the car too) and the dippy women behind the desk said "have your waters broken?" :o "um no love towels, are the new black!!"

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:ROFL: some people (i have said a few dippy comments but come on lol)

I was told to put a shower curtain under the sheets. I didn't for either of my pregnancies and my water broke at the start of one of my labours. In bed. But it was a trickle so it didn't go anywhere, luckily.

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Just want to point out that they don't 'smell' - if there is a smell when they break, you need to contact your care provider immediately.

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Really? Mine STANK! But I had alot of blood come out too and the waters were mec stained.. Would this explain the smell? I was also at a friends birth and distinctly remember the smell of her waters too. Can't remember whether they were mec stained or not though.

Mine smelt too like come lol

My DH smelt the wet patch to make sure I hadn't just wet myself lol

My husband has insisted on a mattress protector as he is freaking out after the midwife said amniotic fluid can ruin leather, mattresses and carpets.

I figure getting a mattress protector now will come in handy when the little one wants to sleep in our bed. I know I had a few accidents in my parents bed when I was growing up....

Out of my 4 kid's my waters only broke by themselves once i was 37 weeks and was laying on the lounge and felt and heard the POP so i got up and made it to the bathroom before any water ran down my legs and a maternity pad was enough to keep me dry until i made it to hospital but i did do the garbage bag and towel thing for my mattress.

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Really? Mine STANK! But I had alot of blood come out too and the waters were mec stained.. Would this explain the smell? I was also at a friends birth and distinctly remember the smell of her waters too. Can't remember whether they were mec stained or not though.

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That is exactly why they stank, and that is not how they should be at all. If they are mec stained then that is a problem, hence why you should contact your care provider if they break and there is an odour.
The mec can indicate fetal distress, and also poses serious risk to bubs if aspirated, it can be fatal for them.

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My DH smelt the wet patch to make sure I hadn't just wet myself lol

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I've been joking about this!!
I don't wake up to go to the loo in the middle of the night, so have been a bit worried about wetting the bed and not being sure if its my waters or not.

Friends last night said to buy a few shower curtains in preparation, which they didn't end up needing as its thought her waters broke in the bath.

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I've been joking about this!!
I don't wake up to go to the loo in the middle of the night, so have been a bit worried about wetting the bed and not being sure if its my waters or not.

Friends last night said to buy a few shower curtains in preparation, which they didn't end up needing as its thought her waters broke in the bath.

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It's quite different to wee so you'll know the difference :) It's like normal vaginal discharge - watery with white bits through it, like watery and creamy CM combined. That's how mine was at least. And it doesn't smell. A lot of women feel and hear the pop too so if it does happen, you may get that tiny bit of warning!

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That is exactly why they stank, and that is not how they should be at all. If they are mec stained then that is a problem, hence why you should contact your care provider if they break and there is an odour.
The mec can indicate fetal distress, and also poses serious risk to bubs if aspirated, it can be fatal for them.

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Ah, I was wondering why other people thought I was strange when I said mine had a bad smell! I knew about the whole mec = fetal distress thing, so we went off to the hospital immediately. Luckily baby was absolutely fine. Mum was concerned about the amount of blood though, there was ALOT. They never explained why though.

my student midwife asked for my 2 pervious birth/labour details and in my 1st birth it was noted it was blood stained
i remember at the time the tone of the midwifes voice was a little odd but when i asked they said oh nothing to worry about (my 1st didnt have any issues during labour)

You can get mattress protectors in most bed sizes quite easily - mine is a king but we have a thick cotton underlay that is also a waterproof protector on it as I don't like putting the sheet straight onto the mattress anyway.

Interesting idea about the towels for the car and everything though, I was induced when DD was born so my waters were broken at the beginning of that while already in hospital so never really thought of it.

We bought a good waterproof mattress protector when I was pregnant with my first. My waters have never broken until I got to the pushing stage (at hospital) so it was never a problem, but with the amount of milk leaking and baby perk afterwards, the protector is a good investment. I have never worried about the car before, but as we are buying a brand new car for this baby, I will be putting a towel on the seat JIC. Statistically The chances of your waters breaking before established labour is really low, so I wouldn't stress too much.

We bought a mattress protecter from Target. My waters broke in bed. I woke up at 7am feeling a little wet down there, bolted to the bathroom, just made it & gush gush gush hehe. Keep some maternity pads in your handbag in case it happens while you're out. Mine started gushing & didn't stop for hrs. I had 10hrs before CX started though so still had time to go shopping & get a few things I wanted for hospy. I also kept a towel on my car seat just in case. Better to be safe than have to buy a new mattress etc. Stock up on the pads though, if they do break you may need quite alot of them like I did, if you don't you'll use them after birth anyway.
Mine was clear and like water, alkaline smell etc.
Good luck :)

never thought of this with DS! luckily i was induced and my waters were broken about an hr b4 he was born! will prob just sleep on some towels and have a towel in the car this time

i have never thought of this either but what a great idea just in case..especially after we just bought a new car lol :lol: