In case my water does break, and there's no meconium...

[etwahl]

I'm wondering if it's still good/okay to labor at home for a while? I can't remember what my midwife said (although I'll be seeing her Friday). For some reason, I think she told me if my water does break, that I should plan to head to the hospital within an hour or so. Is that true?

The reason I'm bringing this up is because of Rachel's post about contractions taking up to 48 hours to start after the water breaks. Just wondering if that were to happen, would I just have to be in the hospital all that time? I'm sure just the mere fact that I'm asking this, my water won't break at all :)

Tammy,
Mom-to-be Mar 8, 2003!

[gour0]

I'm sure your Midwife will instruct you when you call. :) You may have contractions before your water breaks. I think it is very different for everybody.

[Momof3Labs]

My water broke, and they had me go straight to the hospital (though it took us over an hour to get there - we had to finish packing the bags, thanks to DH). My contractions started on the way to the hospital.

The chances that your labor will start with your water breaking are around 20%, if I remember correctly. The chances that your contractions will take two days to start are probably pretty low too -so you are talking about a very low likelihood that your water will break and contractions will take two days to start.

Follow your midwife's instructions - I'm certain that they will want you to call if your water breaks. And wouldn't it be better to be in the hospital for a little longer than deliver your baby at home, all alone?

[brubeck]

The whole risk with your water breaking is that the baby is no longer protected. There is now a possibility of outside germs getting to your little one. This is why if your water breaks you ARE having the baby, even if they have to induce labor. Don't take chances, if it breaks, go in. It's very likely that you would have the baby within 24 hours.

Also, if you do have contractions, they will be much more painful after the water breaks because the water is no longer there as a cushion. You may just want to go in for the pain relief! :-)

Keep in mind though that most women have contractions well before their water breaks. I went through an induction and a natural onset of labor. Both times the doctor had to break my water for me in the hospital.

[Rachels]

You have to ask your midwife so that you know what the hospital's policies are, then make your own judgment. For liability reasons, lots of hospitals want to get you in and labor going. They like to have the baby born within 12-24 hours. This is one of those things, though, that isn't medically supported, and is a practice that is recommended against by the World Health Organization's coalition for maternal and child health. The risk, when your water breaks, is that the baby is no longer quite so protected against bacteria. Two things about that, though: 1) the most likely source for introducing bacteria is vaginal exams, which you're not going to be having any of if you're at home, and 2) your amniotic fluid continues to replenish itself until the baby is born, so there keeps being more and more fluid in there(hence the sense that your water keeps breaking and never stops). My midwife sort of off the record suggested to me that if my water broke, I shouldn't mention it to her for 18 hours or so if there was no meconium. But my labor started well before my water broke, so it was a non-issue. I would have stayed home, though. You have to research it a little and decide what you think is safest. I knew the literature well enough to know that I personally felt my baby and I were more at risk from the interventions likely with an induced labor than from resting at home and waiting for labor to begin naturally, but again, we didn't have to cross that bridge.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[LisaS]

Actually, my Dr. and my birth class teacher told me that only 20% of all women have their water break before contractions start. Its kind of a pop-culture myth that it happens every time - as every tv show and movie would have you believe the water just breaks - in a very inconvenient or funny place and then the race to the hospital begins.

And yes, it is perfectly safe to stay at home for a little while if your water hasn't broken and you're coping w/the pain and there is no meconium or anything else that isn't quite right. My doctor advises not coming to the hospital till contractions are 5 minutes apart. He says not to even call him till they're 10 minutes apart.

A great thing to do, which I was told "speeds things along" if you're up to it and weather permitting, is go for a walk - when my contractions were 8/10 minutes apart - I called a friend to come over and we walked in the park across the street from my apartment for 20/30 minutes...sure enough when I got home, they were down to 5 minutes apart and much more intense. I then went right to the hospital and was already 4cm dilated. They had to break my water for me.

[parkersmama]

I'm one of the weird ones whose water breaks! LOL! The first time around my water broke (just a trickle) and contractions started within the first hour. Since I wasn't 100% certain that my water HAD broken, the doctor said pay attention to the contractions and if they start, head in to the hospital. By the time I got there they were getting pretty bad but my baby was breech (we knew ahead of time) and they prepped me right away for a c-section.

The second time my water broke in a big gush! I was picking my son up at his babysitter's house and I stood up and was soaked to my knees almost right away. Yuck! Luckily I was wearing pants and they soaked it up. She gave me towels and I called dh to have him meet me at home. After we got home, I called the doctor and begged to not go in because I wasn't having contractions yet but they said no. So, we just took our sweet time...packed our bags, packed a bag for my son (he stayed at the sitter's), started a load of laundry, called our parents, stopped for gas and cash. When we finally arrived at the hospital a couple of hours later there was still nothing happening. They said I was having mild contractions but I couldn't feel them. This was around 4 in the afternoon. I walked and walked and almost nothing. Finally around 11 pm the doctor came and put that gel on my cervix to get things going and that's when the contractions really started!

I was actually in labor (from the time my water broke until baby came) for about 20 hours. At 12 hours they started IV antibiotics and limited cervical checks to avoid introducing an infection. Another reason that they want you to come on in is to check for cord prolapse (the cord poking through the cervix) which could cut off the baby's oxygen.

Since it's happened to me twice before I guess I'm expecting my water to break again. I just hope it won't be too messy! LOL!

Denise
mom to:
Parker, 9/1/1997
Wesley, 3/9/2000
and #3 (a girl!) due 4/29/2003

[kfcboston]

I was hoping to hang out as long as possible at home, but my positive group b strep test apparently guarantees that I will be heading off to the hospital immediately upon real labor and/or water breaking for antibiotics by IV. Just something to keep in mind.

Katie
EDD w/#1 -- 3/7/03!