not sure if i'm leaking amniotic fluid

[quitescared]

don't really know what anyone can do or say but i'm nor sure what i should be doing either???

I think (but i'm really not sure) that I may be leaking a bit of amniotic fluid. With past 2 pregnancies my waters had to be broken and I always thought it happpens as a bit of a waterfall but something strange is happening and I'm not sure what it is.

Please excuse the details but I'm having some discharge that is not mucos-y, not offensive, but sticky?! I'm on antibiotics for a urine infection but seeing as i'm on the last day of a 7 day course i don't think it can be that.

Not sure what action i should be taking or not taking.

any thoughts or advice?

You don't say how pg you are. If it's less than 37 weeks, I'd give your midwife a call to discuss it.
IME though amniotic fluid is watery and either clear or pink (or meconium stained, but that's another issue) rather than sticky and opaque. The latter more likely to be increased discharge for one reason or another. But check with your mw.

Oh yes and amniotic fluid is supposed to have a "distinctive" farmyardy smell

I'm 36+3 weeks.

No chickens or pigs present as far as I can tell!

This is the strange thing about the stickiness - it's quite watery at the same time and is virtually colourless...it sounds so contradictory doesn't it?

thanks for your thoughts though. x

Hi, I'd ring your midwife who'll probably tell you to pop to hospital. I had this with dd at 38+4. Told me to go in for a check, mw said it didn't sound like a leak, did a swab which said yes it was leaking. They sent me home with disposable thermometer strips to check my temp every 4 hrs (while awake), I went in again 2 days later and was induced, but i had already been having contractions, they just weren't achieving much. In my experience the waters were just watery, and colourless, I knew something was up. I didn't notice a smell though.

My waters broke without any spectacular effect - it was just a slow leak. The MW at hospital (a man!) sat me on a mat to leak a bit, then explained to the student he was working with that one easy way to tell if it was amniotic fluid rather than wee was to sniff it. It has an inoffensive smell and is different from wee.
My hospital has a policy of wanting baby delivered within 48 hrs of waters breaking to minimise the risk of infection. Get it checked though.

You really need to phone the mw tonight and see what they say.

I think an infection (even with abs) puts you at increased risk of earlier labour. You need to speak to a midwife tonight and you probably will need to go in to be checked. In your shoes that's what I would want to happen. Baby moving ok and everything else alright? (If not, don't bother replying just go to delivery ward and ask for help now)

Go and get checked out tomorrow. They can do a test with swabs to see if it is amniotic fluid.

Be insistent, though. My local hospital (huge teaching hospital with no. 1 in the country reputation for obstetrics) sent me home twice with leaking waters, finally did the test on day 4, induced me on day 5, dd was born with an infection (not StrepB, thank God) and had to spend 5 days in hospital having intravaenous antibiotics. And this was in 2001, not the dark ages.

Having said that, I don't think you need to go tonight ... even if you are leaking they will give you 24 to 48 hours before inducing you.

Thank you for all your help and advice everyone.

Was told to put in a pad and that if it was amniotic fluid it would make the pad sufficiently damp to know it was a leak.

Rang back in the evening with the 'pad update' and they didn't feel it could be amnitoic fluid so said i didn't need to go in. Told to keep an eye on it and report back if things increase.

Thankfully have a scan tomorrow anyway so i know i'll get properly checked then.

Thanks again.
xx