How did your waters go?

[hairymclairie]

Dd1 was born in her waters and it occurs to me that I don't actually know how it happens otherwise.

In TV / films it sometimes gushes out like a huge puddle unexpectedly, but I've never heard a story of that happening in real life. Does it happen? Are people kind about it if it happens in public? How does it get cleaned up?

How did your waters go? Should I start carrying a big towel around with me in case?

All over the midwife - oops!
She'd actually just tried to send me home saying she thought I wasn't in active labour and it would be ages as it was my first. (Is been there maybe 5min max at that point).
I had been having regular painful contractions for over 12 hrs and they were less than 3min apart so I asked her to examine me and check.
I was 5cm and the waters went all over her - she very quickly changed her mind and found me a room!

Mine went whilst out dog walking. I was about half way around an hour and a half walk!

It just felt like I was constantly wetting myself. No big gush but I leaked for a good few hours

It's actually a funny story with ds1. My sister made a curry to start things off (6 days overdue at this point) and I sat down and I only took one mouthful and no word of a lie my waters popped. Midwife said it the action of sitting down to eat that popped my waters but my sister disagrees and says it was curry. It wasn't a gush, it was a small trickle, at first I thought I'd pissed myself.
Ds2 is pretty boring. Waters were broken for me at hospital. Again no gushing but it was a lot of water.

I'm loving reading all these - no stories of wildly public / inconvenient puddles yet which is reassuring 😂.

With DD they were burst by the midwife. I didn't even notice tbh, but had been in slow labour for hours and was off my head on the epidural/G&A.

And with DS they went all over the midwife I was climbing onto the bed and she bent down behind me to help me take my bottoms off and... whoosh! It was an odd sensation, can't describe it. But that time I was in so much pain (very quick and intense labour in comparison to DD) that I wasn't really paying attention.

Pop is an understatement. It’s way more a low pitch bang. In the bath.

If they go in the bath by the way be mindful that meconium is more difficult to see because the water diluted it so if the water can be described as green at all then make it known!

Mine gushed like you see in films (even though they tell you that it never happens like that!). I didn’t stop gushing until the next day and then had to be induced anyway because my contractions didn’t start on their own.

Mine was like a textbook TV birth, waters went with a big fish and straight into contractions. From waters breaking to being examined was about 45 minutes and I was already 6cm, it slowed down after that though.

gush not fish!!

I got out of bed 2 days before my due date with DD3. I felt what I can only describe as a 'ping' and felt water trickle. At first I thought I'd pissed myself but sat on the loo and couldn't stop it trickling like you can when you go to the loo.

My labour with DD2 was only 2 hours 5 mins start to finish so got ready and went straight to the hospital (sitting on a towel in the car)
I laid on the bed, pulled my jeans down and that's when they went properly. And it was quite a gush...

Hope this trumps mine went when I was having a spray tan so in the booth! I was 26 weeks through so wasn't expecting it had to be rushed to hospital with my spray tan on getting darker and darker and had to keep telling every doctor and nurse that came in that I'd just had a spray tan!!

In a hospital bed after having been induced. There was a pop but I didn't feel anything leak until I tried to sit up. Gushed properly when the midwife arrived after I pushed my buzzer and she tried to get me up to the toilet so they could check if it was my waters. Needless to say there was no denying it when it all hit the floor. PP mentioned a bucket of water, mine was the same

1. were broken for me on the labour ward at 7cm with the scary hook thingy.
2. in bed as I turned over. A pop and a gush. Then constant water leaking.
3. induction. Sudden onset of painful contractions. Examined - 5cm and waters were bulging. Baby arrived about 10 minutes later but not before waters exploded all over the poor MW. I mean covered her from head to toe.

I'd had scans the week leading up to induction and had some deep pockets of fluid but the MW mentioned "unconfirmed polyhydramnios" in my birth notes.

With my first they went in bed in the middle of the night. I woke up, they went pop! And I sat up and said ‘oh shit!’. I was only 37 weeks so not expecting to be going into labour so soon (she was born 11 hours later).

With my second, they went as he crowned and splashed all up my bedroom wall! (Has both of mine at home). I remember pushing and being conscious that they hadn’t gone yet and being slightly anxious about when they might. And then, splash! They went all over my bedroom!

Mine did the big gush too, didn’t have DS until 2 days later though

Mine were broken at the hospital.

With mine they didn't break until just before DD came out, they exploded and hit the wall the other side of the room

I was asleep in bed, woke up to a trickle and thought I'd wet myself so stood up - and there was a sudden flood all over the bedroom floor! I was 39 weeks and it was the first sign of labour - I was totally shocked as they had repeatedly said in antenatal class that waters going first and dramatically was 'hollywood, not real life'. I went to the hospital to be checked and they told me that if my waters had gone but no contractions, and for a first baby, I would certainly need to be induced in 24 hours - which I think caused a lot of the subsequent problems with them not believing I was in labour and DS nearly being born in the triage room, 10 hours later, because no one would believe I was in established labour and kept going on about this induction, until someone finally looked up me and saw his head near crowning!

First child, 6wks early. My waters went in bed at about 1am. Contractions then started, she was born at 7am.

Second child, waters went in bed again, audible popping noise! No contractions but went straight to hospital. Baby born 1 hour later after only about 15 mins of contractions.

Both times the waters went in a gush but continued to trickle.

Fore waters went whilst sitting in bed, 6 hours after induction pessary.

Hind waters, sprayed the midwife as DS was born. Quite dramatic!

I moved slightly on the sofa as I had backache (obviously the start of things) and thought I'd wet myself. There was a gush but I didn't expect the constant trickle afterwards.

Someone did tell me on MN, OP (when I was worrying about going into labour at work because I worked nearly to due date) that it's quite rare for labour to start out and about because it nearly always happens when a woman is in a relaxed and safe state - it might be total bollocks but I found it comforting and it was true for me!

At work, in the canteen queue, waiting for my bacon butter to cook.

Buttie rather.

I had a frequent trickle all day, I thought I'd lost control of my bladder! DSis (doctor) asked me to wear a pad and tell her what colour it was after a while - then told me to go to hospital, it was my waters and it had been 24h.