It's all gone a bit Pete Tong......

[Creena]

I woke up just before 7am on Wednesday morning with great gushes of amniotic fluid ruining the bedding! Telephoned the hospital and, as I was 36+4 at the time, was advised to go in for monitoring. My waters broke first with my other two children but nowhere near as much as this one - at one point, as I was trying to walk down the hospital corridor to the ward, I had fluid actually spurting through my trousers and raining down on my shoes in perfect arcs! It was mortifying.

Anyway. I was kept in hospital for monitoring until today, when I persuaded them to let me come home. Apart from constant leakage, nothing else of note has occured; I had a 4 hour period of contractions yesterday morning which stopped as soon as the hospital doctor gave me an internal speculum exam. Nothing since.

I'm back home now, which is better than being in hospital but I'm still sans bobba, so feeling a bit fed up!

The hospital is happy for me to hang on in there until whenever bobba decides to put an appearance in. Basically, I'll be classed as term once I get to 37 weeks, which will be on Sunday. If I don't go into labour spontaneously before then, I can go to the midwife unit as planned but if I go into labour before Sunday, it's back to the hospital.

They reckon that most women will go into spontaneous labour between 24 and 48 hours after their waters break, with 90% doing so within 72 hours, so I guess that I just have to wait and see what happens. In the meantime, I've got to take my temperature twice a day to make sure it's in the normal range, keep an eye on my leaking fluid's colour and monitor bobba's movements. I've also got to go back to the hospital for checkups (including internal swabs - nice) twice a week until something happens.

On one hand, I want bobba to get to 'term', as it's better for him and it means we can go to the midwife unit and things will be much more straight forward. On the other hand, I feel anxious and a bit insecure with my fluid leaking constantly and the risk, however small, of infection. It's the hanging around not knowing what to do or if anything is going to happen that's bothering me, too - this didn't happen with DD or DS and I feel a bit dysfunctional this time!

So, got any top tips for a fed up pregnant woman on how to encourage bobba to get moving, hopefully timing it for Sunday??

not sure what you can do bathes and sex are probably out of teh question cos of infection risk , not much help sorry other than plan something nice for Sunday (worked for me)

Creena, been very worried about you, not seen you on here for ages. There are lots and lots of natural induction tips on the web and here on MN. Pineapple, curry, nipple stim, walking, raspberry leaf etc. No sex though if you've lost your waters.

I have to say this baby tried to be born at 36wks too, had a show, contractions, leaked a bit and after being convinced that it was all going to happen and soon, the amniotic leak sealed itself and the contractions stopped. I'm 38 and a bit weeks now and the baby's showing no signs of being born!

That said, sounds like much more than a leak.

I wish you the best of luck, we've already had 8 May babies!

Ooooohh! Sorry, no proper advice, but lots of labour vibes being sent your way!!!!

Have you tried nipple twiddling (encourages oxytocin production)?

Will the hosp offer you induction pessaries on sunday?

lots of good luck to you!

I ate 2 pineapples and 4 cups of Raspeberry Leaf tea and the following day it was all systems go as they say. DD was 10 days late at the time - could be a coincidence or could be a remedy?

Very very good luck, how exciting to think you are almost there. I only have another 26+4 weeks to go! (Not that I'm counting.)

Hi sorry to hear this. The risk of infection IS small especailly being at home, and if you are taking your temp etc. To be honest it sounds like they are managing the situation really well, pretty hands off, if you were in Singapore you would be on a Syntometrine drip right now and they would want the baby out within 12 hours or cesarean! When they did the speculum exam did they confirm that the forewaters have actually gone? it does sound like they may have, but was just wondering. Second the advice re. nipple stim but this can lead to hypercontractions so don't go mad - a breast pump works best, or if you can borrow a real life baby to nurse that works even better. You could try taking black and blue cohosh if you can see a herbalist or homeopath but that is basically induction - albeit more natural than an IV - and there are some risks. You might find that things just get going by themselves over the weekend. If not, then what - are they talking induction, or...?

basically what everyone else says!

can't so my usual sex and nipple stim line, but you can try some stim !

RLT , visulaisation, i think cauphyllum (SP), and just relaaaaaaaaaaaaaaax...

great the hospital are not forcing the issue now and making you stay in or be induced immediately.

were you dilating at all?

Hi Creena, have been thinking about you. Sorry to hear your bubba is making slow labour progress. lots of walking and nipple stim may help. We miss you on the May thread.

Creena,

just try relaxing as much as possible. Take nice walks, and get out as much as possible (if only to get your mind off things for a while). Feel free to drop into the May thread an unload your issues with the rest of us.

Best of luck Creena. No words of wisdom I'm afraid, but thinking of you. x

Thanks, everyone - that's all great advice. I'm glad that the hospital are taking a non-interventionist approach too. I think it's helped that I'm only a few days away from what they classify as 'term', so they're more willing to be flexible, I think.

When they conducted the internal exam, it was more to establish whether there was an infection already and, if not, to give thema timeline should one set in later. There was no mention at all about the condition of my cervix but, as the mild contractions I'd been having up until that point then stopped, I'm guessing that there wasn't anything going on there that was worth a mention! The leaking fluid has taken on a pinkish tinge now, which is fine and might mean that things could get going soon.

There's been no mention of induction so far. Again, I'm pleased about that. I think that they won't make any decisions that way until I get past 37 weeks; not sure if I will have to go to the hospital for induction though, as the midwife unit only deals with 'low risk' births and I have no idea whether induction falls into this category. I'm going to cross that bridge if I come to it, I think!

Thanks again for all the advice - think I'll be having a curry tonight (with pineapple for dessert? )and then a long walk first thing tomorrow!

Howdy to the May 07ers! Eight babies already? That's fast work!!

Nothing of any help to add except good luck!

You could try some liquorice too - there are studies linking it with premature birth and apparently women in a country whose name I can't remember (Sweden? Norway?) are encouraged to eat it from 37 weeks.

I think induction is classed as a bit more than 'low risk' tbh...I really hope you manage to time it all nicely and not have to be done things to!
Good luck sweetie!