Question for DU moms: When your water breaks

[XemaSab]

isn't it a LOT?

Like, more like spilling the whole half gallon of milk than spilling the glass of wine?

Would a woman whose water had just broken be able to hide it, or would it be obvious to people around her?

And finally, does it mean that the baby is coming starting right then, or can the baby hang out for another several days or a week before active labor starts?

Thanks.

[JVS]

1. A quart or so

/fast times at ridgemont high


As always, it varies
http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,6128,00.html

[Breeze54]

2. Can't access google? I feel your pain.

:eyes:

Not everyone's water 'breaks'. I've had 3 and mine never did. The Dr had to break the membrane for all of them.

[madeline_con]

14. Google is being scrubbed. Try again later.

The Repugs are removing photo evidence of Palin's slender figure mere weeks before the miraculous birth.

[downticket gumbo]

20. like this one?

[Delphinus]

25. Which of these women

is supposed to be Sarah?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. My dear Xema!

It depends...

For some, it is very obvious, and a huge puddle and stain...

Not so much for others...

It normally means that the baby is on the way...

And if it doesn't arrive within 24 hours, then it will most likely be induced...

Since there's an increased chance of infection with the membranes broken...

Germs can enter and infect the child.

[RoadRage]

4. Totally depends..

If the baby's head is already down in the birth canal.. the fluid can just slowly drip out - sort of like a plug in a hole. If that's the case, it can come out very slowly, and not be noticable. If the baby's head is still up - it would gush out quite a bit.

And yes, they can delay birth with antibiotics for quite some time if neccessary... as long as no infection sets in. Usually a week or so at the most, but it totally depends on the situation.

[TwilightGardener]

5. When you are near term and you are either leaking or gushing

amniotic fluid, it means that there's an opening in the amniotic sac for infection to enter and affect mom and fetus--generally you must report to the hospital within 24 hours to deliver. Also, that fluid is a protective cushion, and loss of it means that the baby is going to undergo increased stress in the womb. If a woman is wearing a pad, she might be OK if it's a very small, slow leak, but I don't know any woman who, realizing the fluid is draining too EARLY, would stand up in public 7 hours later to give a speech, knowing that it could all come gushing out at any moment with increased movement or strengthening contractions. How embarrassing would that be, as a professional? Most women would just head to a hospital on her fifth pregnancy and not fool around--because they can shoot out like cannonballs after multiple deliveries.

[BlooInBloo]

27. "shoot out like cannonballs" - hahahaha!

:rofl:

[Kittycat]

6. Leaking is slow - but leak or gush, it's time to grab the suitcase, and head to the hospital

Not give a speech then board a cross-country flight without even bothering to tell the pilot you're in labor or at minimum, getting a release or exam from a doctor.

[anigbrowl]

7. It depends...

But when I was married and my wife delivered, it was the half-gallon, towels and an ambulance.

[mahina]

8. When your water breaks, it's time to give birth.

Speech and long airplane flight? Without a doc or midwife?
Not so much.

[seabeyond]

9. 4 a.m. and palin called doctor. my first child a lot, on baseball bleachers, had standing ovation

from four fields.... lol. lots of water

second child leaking. not lots. consistent. and knew it was leakage

i dont know if a pad could contain as it leaked cause i got my ass to hospital BOTH times... lol lol

it takes a while. both babies doctor induced. first baby was stressed. they dont want complications.

[scarletwoman]

10. Heh. When my water broke I was trying to cook dinner.

I'd had a back ache all day, and was super hyper running errands and cleaning and stuff. So there I was, tying on my cooking apron when *SPLOOSH* -- HUGE puddle on the kitchen floor!

"Oh shit", thinks I, "I guess I won't be making supper after all." I called my midwife (I was doing a home birth), got some instructions, and went upstairs to get my bedroom/birthing room ready. Called hubby and told him he'd better pick up something for his supper.

Contractions started almost immediately after the *SPLOOSH*, and baby came 8 hours later.

I'm much more inclined to put credence into statements that say that Palin was "leaking" amniotic fluid, than those that say "her water broke". I personally think the latter is bullshit.

sw

[Fridays Child]

11. For starters, to Ob-Gyns, leaking amniotic fluid is the equivalent of the water breaking.

Just wanted to clarify that because Palin tried to downplay her water breaking by referring to it as a leak.

But, to answer your question, it can come out a little at a time or all at once. Among other things, it depends on the strength of the contractions. In any case, though, no Ob-Gyn in his or her right mind would have allowed Palin to take a multiple-hour commercial plane ride back to Alaska, then drive another 45 minutes to get to a small town hospital to deliver a premature, high risk baby. Contractions or no contractions, her doctor would have told her to get to the nearest emergency room.

When fluid leaks that means the only barrier between the infant and the world has been breached. To expose a baby, trapped in a warm, wet environment, to a host of fast-multiplying microbes--not the least dangerous of which being those that are harbored in even the cleanest of crotches--would be unthinkable.

Additionally, for the doctor to expose herself to a major malpractice lawsuit had Palin or her baby been harmed by acting on her advice would be completely out of the question. In the blink of an eye, she would be found to have acted recklessly and to have utterly ignored "standard of care" rules that are so basic even first year med students understand them. And, remember that, among the many, many health problems Down Syndrome babies are predisposed to, life-threatening infections rank at the top of the list.

This whole story stinks to high heaven, and I don't believe for a single second that Sarah Palin had that baby.

[moriah]

12. There is a difference between manifestations of PPROM and "water breaking" at term.

SROM = spontaneous rupture of membranes, which is what most people think of as "water breaking" -- when, during labor, the amniotic membrane is ruptured without outside influence.
PROM = premature rupture of membranes, which is when a woman who is considered "full term" but is not in labor's membranes rupture.
PPROM = premature preterm rupture of membranes, which is when membranes rupture before the pregnancy is considered "full term".

While the medical term "rupture" is the same for a very tiny hole in the membrane and for a large tear, the manifestations and prognosis are very different depending on gestational age and how much amniotic fluid is lost.

Very small leaks can actually reseal. And those very small breaks that reseal usually are in cases where an amniocentesis was done for prenatal diagnosis because screening tests indicated a problem.

Any rupture, no matter how big or small, can cause infection and if the doctor does not decide to deliver the child within 24 hours, antibiotics are very important to keeping infection at bay. Additionally, since the amount of amniotic fluid is very important to fetal growth, very low amniotic fluid levels can cause intrauterine growth retardation ("retardation" meaning slowness, not any kind of mental condition).

From EMedicine.com:

"PPROM occurring from 24-37 weeks' gestation is far more difficult to manage than PROM at term. Several issues need to be considered in formulating a plan of management. Prematurity is the principal risk to the fetus, while infection morbidity and its complications are the primary maternal risks. All plans for management of PPROM remote from term should include the family and the medical team caring for the pregnancy, including the neonatal and maternal medical team. Remote from term, PPROM should only be cared for in facilities where a NICU is available and capable of caring for the neonate. Because most PPROM pregnancies deliver within a week of ROM, transfer of the pregnant mother to a qualified facility is urgent and should be facilitated immediately upon diagnoses.

The vast majority of women proceed to active labor and deliver soon after PPROM. With appropriate therapy and conservative management, approximately 50% of all remaining pregnancies deliver each subsequent week after PPROM. Thus, very few women remain pregnant more than 3-4 weeks after PPROM. This is important information to give the woman considering expectant management remote from viability."

One other quote that from the article that is helpful when discussing the various decisions a mother can make if they experience premature rupture of membranes:

"Since risk of infection at term with ROM is small during the first 24 hours, expectant management and waiting for spontaneous labor may be considered in selected patients for the first 12-24 hours if a patient desires expectant management. The use of expectant management after the first 24 hours is questionable."

Here's the link for more authoritative information.

http://www.emedicine.com/Med/topic3246.htm

[madeline_con]

13. She'd be drenched , if that's what you mean.

There wouldn't be a dainty spot in her panties.

[lady raven]

15. For me, it was a very small trickle (TMI alert)

I actually walked around for almost 48 hours with a small leak without realizing it. I'm lucky my twins were born healthy. I thought I'd just had a bit of the discharge they tell you about, just like I'd had in my first pregnancy. Not this time.

If I'd had ANY idea, I would have been at the hospital immediately.

[medicswife]

16. When mine broke,

it was an enormous gush. But, it is possible to have a small trickle. The reason you're told to go to the hospital if that happens is because of a high risk of infection. If my water broke, I wouldn't get on an airplane and fly. But, the possibility that she wanted to prove her mettle and hard core Alaskan girl strength is plausible in it's own sick way.

[progressivebydesign]

17. Mine broke, like a quart.. and I nearly gave birth in the car...

I can't say that I know anyone that had a leisurely flight with a connection in Seattle, if their water broke and had mild contractions, (as reported by her spokeswoman.) Can't imagine why you'd get on a damn plane with ANY contractions on a 5th child, with special needs (I think that DS kids can have medical issues immediately, so it shocked me that her doc wouldnt' have told her to get to a hospital in Tx with a neonatal specialist immediately.)

But then again.. she's a religious extremist who probably believed that God would take care of everything...

[pnwmom]

18. I read somewhere that what she had had was a "leak."

Which is possible.

Once water actually breaks, doctors like labor to begin within 24 hours, because of the risk of infection. Sometimes labor has to be induced if it doesn't stop naturally. It would also depend on how far advanced the pregnancy was.

[downticket gumbo]

19. am i showing yet?

[pnwmom]

23. Are you even sure that's her? Her sister and she look almost identical.

Also, two of the symptoms of Downs are a lack of sufficient growth of the uterus and reduced (or sometimes increased) amounts of amniotic fluids.

[Hugin]

28. *yawn* Same undated photo of some woman somewhere.

Got anything more evidence like?

[JI7]

29. the pic looks to be from the 80s based on that yellow outfit and hair

on the woman in red.

[justgamma]

21. Mine broke at 8 months

Don't know if it was a lot as I have nothing to compare it with. My first chld. 2 hours later I started labor and 1 hour after that, I had a baby girl.
It's insane to go on a long plane ride, because you never know. I've had 4. baby #2 was breach. Babies 3 & 4 were long labors, but the doctor never came, because I went from 7 to ready to deliver in less that 15 minutes.

[Kaylee]

22. It was like a pop and the water came gushing out. ....

We headed straight away to the hospital...although I was in active labor for about 8 hours after.

[Jennicut]

24. I had to have my water broke for me for both my daughters

It would be impossible to hide and near impossible to sit on a plane for 10 hours. Its a huge gush of water. After my water was broken I went to having intense contractions right away and about an hour and a half later I had my first daughter. My second daughter took even less time. Everyone is different I guess but my girls came fast.

[finch96]

26. OB nurse, 12 years' bedside experience

1. Rupture of membranes can be a trickle or a huge gush. It depends on where the bag breaks, how much fluid is in there to begin with, and how big the tear in the amniotic sac is. In other words, no, it's not always a flood.

2. Yes, a woman would be able to hide it if it wasn't a huge gush.

3. It doesn't mean the baby is coming right then. Babies can hang out for weeks after the water breaks, if it's a high leak. The amniotic sac can reseal itself, too.