What do you do/did you do if your waters broke in public?

Seriously, I've always wondered this. What do you do if your waters break while you're out? If it happened to you, what did you do. It's hard for me to imagine, because my only experience was waters breaking after 2 hours of regular contractions, so I can't really visualise the whole unexpected rupture scenario. Do you offer to clean it up, or at least help? Like, if you're at a shopping centre, do you just leave it? Find someone to clean it? Do they even clean that sort of mess? What if it's on the footpath? Just leave it, attempt in futility to clean up with a spare nappy or some wipes? :rofl:

Blame the toddler. By the time they realise it wasn't her you will have waddled away.

^^^^^hahaha genius! :thumbsup:

Mine were both spontaneous but at home. Made DH clean it up.
My mum's broke in the elevator at the shops when she was having my sister. Thankfully it was only her and her sister in the elevator. She said she just got out and went straight home. She was in a dress, so not too obvious. She had quick deliveries. So no time to tell people that there was a 'spill'

My friend's broke when she was buying a doughnut at Donut King :rofl: She said she just walked to her car and pretended it didn't happen.

My mum was at Witches in Britches when her waters went with my first brother :rofl: As far as I know she just left it so she could find a phone to call my dad :lol:

My FamilyDay carer's broke in medicare all over their chair and floor - she was scooted away in an ambulance and they cleaned it.

I love Onyx's idea ;D

you getting prepared for you Christmas in the CBD :P

Hahaha that's right Cat ;)

Well it seems the majority rule is to leave it, cool. I'd feel so...awkward. I'd probably get down and start wiping it up or something stupid. Maybe I should carry a towel with me everywhere. Douglas Adams was right!! :rofl:

One of the girls in my MG had hers break when she was out for dinner, sitting right at the back of a restaurant. Luckily it had a concrete floor. She said they just followed her to the exit with a mop :)

I have never had it happen.. Both times I was in hpspital..I would think leaving it would be a slip hazard for some unsuspecting person!! I wouldn't clean it, but let someone know it was there.. So if they didn't clean it and someone slipped it would be their fault not mine!

My waters broke at home, but in a kind of similar (ie: couldn't be helped) scenario, I have more than one spewed all over the place, including at train stations ...

I have just let them station guard know, and kept going, to get home / to the Dr. I'e let someone know so it can be cleaned up and not slipped on, but as you'd be likely to continue spewing / leaking / etc if you hung about to clean it up, best you get waddling along, and just flag the situation for someone else.

Accountability and all that is to the baby at that stage! Let someone with access to a mop and one of those: "Oi! Slippery zone here! Amniotic fluid ahoy!" signs assist.

Dad used to run a second hand shop for work and a lady had her waters break in the shop. He told her (jokingly) to leave quickly so yet couldn't charge for the baby. She was relieved by the light humor. Dad just got a bucket and mop and cleaned up. He also gave them a clean towel for the trip home.

I wouldn't worry about it. Although I have started to carry a towel in the car so I don't mess my car! Rofl

I felt the trickle, left the restaurant, took my Italian purple suede shoes off and left footprints down Victoria street in Richmond! So no need to clean it up. A Huggies nappy in the car was nice and absorbent to use as a pad and a great addition to the usual towel.

If i was at the supermarket i'd stand over it (in a dress) and ask for some one to put over the PA "clean up is Isle ...." cus that would be amauseing.

...but both my waters broke in hospital, one after 28hrs of labour and the other as vic was shooting out lol so if my waters broke in public i'd be panicing thinking id be stopping, dropping and popping a baby out...could work for "home birth IS SAFE...and more private then this"

Oh gosh that would be interesting I'd prob just run out the thought has crossed my mind as my waters broke with ds at home at there was so much fluid I'd prob run to bathroom and put on a mat pad and go home

I wore pads every time I went out after 39 weeks :)

I avoid going out where possible. 3 babies and not once having they ever broken other then AROM and just before bubs arrival.

I'll be wearing maternity pads when I go out closer to my due date when we have a third. My waters have broken at home with both my girls - while I was dozing early morning in bed with DD1 and while I was vacuuming with DD2 :D Both times I made it to our ensuite for the majority of it so it landed on tiles. I soaked through a maternity pad on the way to the hospital both times which was about a 20 minute drive. Given that though, it would contain a lot of the mess if I was at the shops I reckon. I will probably take a cloth nappy for mopping up any mess if need be as well.

My waters broke at home with DS1, but it was just a trickle - not a great gush. With DS2 was AROM but with DS3 they ruptured spontaneously while I was on the maternity ward having a nap following gel induction. I rang the buzzer and then told the midwife, "sorry, I've just wet your bed - my waters have broken". She was happy to rip the sheets off and remake the bed (albeit I was in immediate transition, so never actually got settled back into bed). I'll never forget that "pop, gush" sound as long as I live :)

when i did my twin ante natal day- there was one couple that asked so many strange questions and one that he asked was 'what happens if you waters break in the supermarket/"
the midwife who had answered 300 of his questions before this one, turned around and said " you get free groceries.!!"
We caught up with this couple after our babies were born, and guess where her waters broke?>> Yup at the supermarket !!!! and no she didnt get free groceries lol

Guess you didn't have to worry then? ;)

Nah, they broke a few minutes before DD2 popped out :p