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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

What's the reason for having your waters broken?

25 replies

moonstorm · 06/06/2010 18:41

Is it just to induce labour and can you refuse? It just seems that it is a terrible experience for so many women and I'm wondering what the point is especially knowing that babies can be born with the sack intact...

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ASecretLemonadeDrinker · 06/06/2010 18:46

I had mine broken to induce labour (well, first time labour had started but was veeeery slow) but the 2nd time I was going strong, and 4cm and she offered to break while she was "up there" and I stupidly agreed, cue a 10lb 4oz baby flying out about an hour or two later before I got my epidural/spinal tap Waters breaking didn't bother me, it didn't hurt but I think I will refuse this time unless it's for actual induction rather than speeding things along.

Ryma · 06/06/2010 19:10

I had mine broken just 1 hour before baby was born.

Narketta · 06/06/2010 19:14

I had mine broken with DS when I was 5cm dilated and gave birth to him 15 mins later.

DD was born in her sack.

Lulumaam · 06/06/2010 19:15

it is often used to induce or augment labour

of course you can refuse

esp if the baby is back to back for example.. having the waters intact can help the baby to turn in labour to a better position

it can make a bearable labour unbearable and too fast to cope with for some women

mrspear · 06/06/2010 19:20

All i remember of my short labour was "we are breaking waters now" cue i screamed because it hurt [for the fast majority it doesn't] then "now push" - baby out in 15 minutes.

No idea why they did but was made to feel they had to, to allow DS to be born???

MumNWLondon · 06/06/2010 19:29

It can be used to induce labour or to speed things up if things are going slowly.

It should not be done without your consent.

Original poster

moonstorm · 06/06/2010 19:39

Interesting about the back to back thing... I have an anterior placenta and was wondering how this could affect my VBAC.. Although I am starting to think now about optimal fetal positioning!

I just seems that breaking waters causes more pain, and often seems unecessary...

OP posts:

Lulumaam · 06/06/2010 20:17

waters will break spontaneously most times,. although as has been said, some babies are born in teh sac, but on the whole, waters will go spontaneously

i had mine broken first time, to be induced..didn't really help.. i ended up with a c.s ..

second time they broke spontaneously around 6 -7 cm, and DD was born just 2 hours later..

i really do think with a VBAC, a spontaneous start to labour and no intervention to try to augment the labour gives you your best chance

Tillyscoutsmum · 06/06/2010 20:19

Mine were broken when I was 5cm and my 10lb 5oz DS was born 20 mins later . It was a bit fast and furious in the end but DS has been back to back and it had taken me 4 days of contractions to get him turned and get to 5cm so I just needed it to be over quickly.

DilysPrice · 06/06/2010 20:20

Speeds things up - gets immensely painful immensely quickly.
I wouldn't want to do it with a VBAC personally.

Egg · 06/06/2010 20:21

Both labours mine were broken as babies were desperately trying to come out but couldn't and once waters were broken were out in a few minutes. Both times was 10cm dilated when waters broken.

zapostrophe · 06/06/2010 20:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

TheBreastmilksOnMe · 06/06/2010 20:23

That's interesting what Lulumaam said about not breaking waters for a back-to-back baby as my labour had to be augmented as it was so slow and they broke my waters at some stage, I had an epi, still wasn't dilating very quickly then they discovered he was back to back (it was very painful even with epi) and ended in a c-sect, so, it would have been better if I never had the epi and never had my waters broken. DS might have been a vaginal birth.

I'll know for next time.

EmmaBemma · 06/06/2010 20:27

I asked for my waters to be broken because they hadn't yet, I was nearly ready to push and I felt as if my pelvis would crack from the enormous pressure of each contraction. That pressure did ease after they were broken, though the contractions themselves got a lot more intense but also productive and my daughter was born not long afterwards. I'm glad I had it done and would ask again in the same situation.

Lulumaam · 06/06/2010 20:32

i don't generally understand the 'speed thing up' thing.. well , I do .. it is more to get things going in accordance with protocol. if labour is progressing ,albeit slowly, and the baby is happy and so is the mother, then why speed things up?

ARM is a legitimate tool for induction /augmentation but surprisingly common ..

it does have an impact on labour, it is an intervention, and should not just be accepted as something that happens

Ineedsomesleep · 06/06/2010 20:32

The MW broke them with DS, didn't seem to make much difference apart from increasing the pain.

DD came out in her sack. The pressure was much greater but the pain wasn't as bad and she was a much more chilled out baby, but that could just be because she was my second.

Hopefully you will get a really good MW who will be open to discussing it with you as thing progress.

fifitot · 06/06/2010 20:32

Having my waters broken was one of the most painful things I had every experienced! Had had 2 lots of Prostren (sp?) gel with no impact at 10 days over and still not dilating. labour really started after that but incredibly intense and so had to ask for an epi which dragged the whole thing out.

TheBreastmilksOnMe · 06/06/2010 20:35

Lulumaam- they put me on a drip as my contractions were inefficient and irregular and I had been in pain with them for 24 hours. As it happens it was another 48 hours before I gave birth.

I agreed to augmentation as I was very tired by this point and hoped it would speed things up, it just intensified the pain and caused me to have a c-sect though.

slushy06 · 06/06/2010 20:56

Ds broke as the start of labor.

Dd I had opted for no interference birth and after 11 hours and only 4cms Mw said my waters were stopping me dilating and that she couldn't burst them because I was on a natural birth team. I wailed I wont tell if you don't and she said she couldn't use the hook but would try in a examination which she did, By this point I was in so much pain I could not distinguish between the two pains anyway. DD was born 45mins later so don't know if it speeded things up but I am glad I did it.

Lulumaam · 06/06/2010 21:07

i don't thikn there is anything wrong with augmentation per se... it should not be a question of 'let's break your waters now, to speed things up' if htings are progressing ok.

not everyone dilates at 1cm per hour..

Ineedsomesleep · 07/06/2010 19:53

There was a thread on here, I think it was last year, about babies being born in the caul. I can't find it now though. It was very interesting, we all seem to have very chilled out babies.

Original poster

moonstorm · 07/06/2010 20:22

This is really interesting. I think I am going to refuse this (if my waters don't break first!).

Thank you for your stories

OP posts:

Ineedsomesleep · 07/06/2010 20:34

My very chilled out baby could have been thanks to this book though.

It was a bit odd though that everyone who had posted saying that their baby was born in the caul had a chilled out one.

My neighbours kept commenting on how they never heard her cry. I think they though I'd sold her on ebay.

LittleSilver · 07/06/2010 20:36

I found ARM excruciating and regret consenting to it, which in hindsight I feel that for DD3 was done for their convenience, and, in the case of DD2, was done without my consent under the guise of a VE.

marjean · 07/06/2010 20:42

My waters were broken with my first dd about an hour before she was born. I had been in labour for about 14 hours. It didn't hurt at all but then it all got furious. Having had two more since, I can safely say that it didn't make it more painful.

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