Clueless: Late pregnancy / early labour

[orange2014]

I'm 34 weeks with a few questions about the last few weeks of pregnancy and being in labour...too embarrassed to ask friends, no Mum so am asking on here! Any advice would be great thanks...please feel free to be completely open & honest!

• am I supposed to wear a pad or something 24/7 in the last few weeks? Would hate to be enjoying my maternity leave out & about then realise it looks like I've wet myself...or wake up with wet sheets & mattress...
  
• planning on trying to stay at home for as long as poss before heading to hospital ...again, pad at this point? Should I have towels everywhere (as husband is pretty OCD with new furniture & house)?!
  
• any reviews of Chelsea & Westminster labour ward as opposed to MLU (new 2014)? Am pretty pro-epidural as I am a complete wuss & terrified of labour...but also terrified of hospitals so am kind of between a rock & a hard place! Eeek.

[VisualiseAHorse]

If you're anything like me, there is no way a pad will hold your waters! I put a 'maternity mat' (from boots?) on my bed, plus a towel. Same on the couch where I normally sit, and had towels in the car too. Didn't need any of that - woke up in the middle of the night thinking I had wet myself (very small amount), strolled down the hallway and Woosh, just about managed to make it to the loo before they went! Carried on like that for another couple of hours (put a pad on, and sat on a towel on the birthing ball until it stopped - I felt baby 'drop' and I guess his head plugged up the hole!), then it stopped and the rest leaked out really really slowly over the next few hours.

[Dovahkiin]

I wouldn't worry too much about releasing Niagara unexpectedly - it never occurred to me to wear a pad as labour can start in a thousand different ways for women. I've attached a link - fewer than 15% of women lose their waters before labour starts, and I wouldn't spend my last few weeks of freedom stepping from waterproofed surface to waterproof surface :)

www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/your-body/week-40/rupture-of-membranes.aspx

[PenguinsHatchedAnEgg]

I agree, it isn't like the films. Most people don't have their waters break as the first sign, and even those that do it is often a leak. Protecting your mattress is probably worth it, but the rest I would leave.

Epidurals can be great, but when you say you are a 'complete wuss and terrified', it is probably worth trying to work on your emotionas over the next few weeks as it can take a while to get to the stage where you'll be admitted, so it's not easy if you have that as your only coping plan.

[Diamondsareagirls]

My waters were broken for me as part of an induction but a pad would have been of very little use as there is so much! It just keeps going. If your waters do go at home I think your DH is just going to have to deal with it I'm afraid :)
Good luck for the birth and the safe arrival of your little one. x