Worried about how long hospital leave me after waters have broken

[KaraJS]

My last two children were early due to waters breaking, both times I was left to go into labour naturally even tho they knew I'd have to have a csection with the last baby due to him lying transverse and the risk of cord prolapse, unfortunately that is what happened and the baby was delivered by emergency csection luckily he was ok! I'm now pregnant again and know that I will have a csection this time but am worried that the same could happen again does anyone know at what gestation they perform elective sections in nottingham

Hi Kara,

Sorry to hear about your previous experience. I cant really comment on Nottingham, but I believe the general NHS protocol is to get you about a week from your due date before performing an elective C-section.

Due to your history of early labours they may arrange to perform the C-section earlier, but this will go on how early your previous babies were born. If you go into labour before the date of C-section, they will take you straight in for your C-section when you arrive at the hospital.

Best thing you could do is discuss it with your consultant and let him/her know about your early births and I am sure they will sort out a date that will avoid allowing you to go into natural labour.

Best of luck to you

My DD was an emergency csection so I chose to have my DS that way too & was able to pick a date from 38 weeks & have been told by my dr the same will happen this time. I'm in London x

My first rely baby was born at 35 weeks naturally, I went in to labour naturally 4 days later, with my 2nd I went into labour 6 days after the waters broke he was born at 32 weeks, even though I knew he would be a csection due to him lying transverse the mw wouldn't check to see if I was dilating because my contractions went strong enough to be picked up on the monitor and she didn't want to check due to risk of infection, 20 mins later I the cord prolapses and I was over 4 centimetres, I guess I'll have it will depend what position the baby is in wheny waters brake and how far along I am

I always thought that when the waters broke they liked to get the baby straight out but apparently when it's before 37 weeks they like to leave you as long as possible

I was also under the assumtion that they would get the labour going if 24 hours after water went nothing had happened, but also I guess the safest place when that early is the womb. I am guessing they gave you antibiotics.

I am hoping your consultant will be able to help put your mind at rest x

We were told last night that our hospital would induce you, if labour hadn't started naturally, 18 hours after waters breaking to avoid infection. We were told this was a very conservative approach.

Kara, the midwife who does your booking-in should set up a consultants appt to discuss exactly this.

My waters broke at 30 or 31 weeks if I remember correctly. I was booked in to be induced at 35+2 (they wanted me to get to 35 weeks for lung development) I was constamtly monitored (scans and bloods taken every other day) every bit of fluid my body made just leaked straight out!

I went into labour naturally at 34+5 and a perfectly healthy ds was born 20hrs later

Oh and I had to have a really painful jab in my backside to accelerate ds's lung development, it was not a fun 4 weeks but the hospital were happy enough to just leave me.

Its a balance of risk. If you're past 37 weeks then once you're waters go its considered that the risks of leaving them in are greater than the risks of getting them out. The earlier you are in pregnancy the greater the risks of preterm birth become and so the bigger the argument for trying to keep them inside - but trying to find the course of action that minimises the over all risk isn't trivial and needs to be determined on a case by case basis and reconsidered regularly, which is probably why the advice seems inconsistent from woman to woman.

I'm sorry you had such a traumatic time of it before, Kara - and fingers crossed things are a bit more straightforward this time round.