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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

dumb question about waters going

95 replies

silverfishlondon · 04/11/2014 10:25

So I havnt really got a clue..

Is it like ..a puddle?
This can happen any time right, like when your out and about, or will you get contractions first? I have heard of friends going when she was at work teaching a class! Do people usually wear pads as due date approaches in preparation?

Also didn't realise about needing pads for days after birth till I read mumsnet, people dont talk about this stuff!

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

ImBrian · 04/11/2014 18:57

With my first two dc they went during labour at about 6 cm with a big gush. Dc 3 they went as I walked down the stairs with a trickle and contractions didn't kick in for another 12 hours. Dc4 they started trickling and midwife wouldn't believe me, went home and got into bed. Big huge gush every where! I was having a few contractions but it still didn't kick off for a few more hours. Pregnant with dc5 so will see what happens this time!

Sicksquid · 04/11/2014 19:05

Mine went 'Hollywood style' exactly six hours after having sex. I was 41 weeks pregnant. Thankfully I wasn't out and about; I was just getting up out of bed to start the day and they flooded the bedroom floor. I loved it! It was just how I had imagined it to be.

AntiDistinctlyMinty · 04/11/2014 19:09

With DS1 they were broken during labour to try and speed things up. With DS2 they went as he was crowning. The midwife said 'big push now, his head's almost out', I felt a huge pop and a squishing sensation, and for a brief moment I actually thought his head had exploded

IdaClair · 04/11/2014 19:37

My second went Hollywood style before onset of contractions.

My first went on the loo, after onset of contractions, but only about an hour after they started.

unclerory · 04/11/2014 19:53

I've got 3 DC. With DD1 my hind waters broke and it was like a little bit of stress incontinence, my forewaters were broken at the hospital and it was a gush. DD2 my waters broke when I was in labour at the hospital and that was a gush. DS I was asleep in bed at 36 weeks, started to dream about peeing, woke up, thought I was peeing, jumped out of bed because I couldn't stop it and had the biggest gush ever. No pad would have stopped that. A waterproof cover for the bed would have been a good idea (John Lewis sell excellent waterproof undersheets that don't feel waterproofy).

For pads after the birth, I went through a pack in the first day after each child, then a second pack over the next few days, then after a week there was a steady trickle/the odd scary clot for 6 weeks. Buy double what you think you need.

DontGotoRoehampton · 04/11/2014 19:53

Early morning, woke up sudden gush of warm water.
Staggered to the bathroom - wiped with towel, saw was greenish (meconium) and said to DH - ok - its gonna be a caesarean.
We went to the hospital, still I had no contractions, and two hours later he was born, via caesarean...

ThursdayLast · 04/11/2014 19:57

Mine did go 'Hollywood style'. Well sort of! I felt the rupture, and then the gush and within minutes my contractions were cracking.
But I've never seen a film where a woman is being induced on the antenatal ward

KittyandTeal · 04/11/2014 20:08

Mine went kind of 'Hollywood style'.

Very grumpy, went to bed. Was woken by a big contraction (been in latent phase for a few weeks, 3 times had been non starters) no more so thought nothing of it.

DH came in from work about 1am. Got up to wee and splash, big puddle on the floor followed by strong, regular, couldn't talk through them, contractions. The MW on the phone obviously thought I was faking the 'can't talk' thing until I arrived at 6cm dilated.

I did have another pop and gush while I was in the car on the way, good thing I put a bin bag down.

Most people don't get that though.

5toocoolforschool · 04/11/2014 20:16

With all 5 of my babies my waters broke just before the head came out,i felt a little pop and a gush,i was in the birthing pool too and i still knew they had gone,i could feel it.

joinedduetodunkthread · 04/11/2014 20:28

mine went before birth. for me it felt like an after bath dribble followed by a few more of the same. that's as dramatic as it gets.

bopoityboo3 · 04/11/2014 20:39

Both mine went during labour. With DS they shot 4ft across the delivery room (according to DH).

SingingSands · 04/11/2014 20:45

Mine went as I went to climb on the bed in hospital. Massive gush, that hit the floor, bounced up like a tidal wave and soaked me head to toe - I ended up having to change out my nightie and into hospital gown. Two midwives with mops cleaned the ward floor whilst laughing at my shocked face! It was very funny!

tanimbar · 04/11/2014 20:52

With DC3 I burst into the labour ward, leant on the reception desk, and gushed all over the floor. The people sitting quietly in the waiting area looked a little alarmed! DD2 born 15 minutes later.

BestZebbie · 04/11/2014 20:56

Mine went at 6am in a trickle down my leg, so I then spent 20 mins googling 'is this waters breaking or am I wetting myself' and worrying that I had suddenly become incontinent (sudden wish I had done more pelvic floor exercises). The Internet reassured me that if it keeps running down your leg when you walk about for half an hour or so, it is def your waters, and I had just about decided that when the actual contractions started. :)

CoffeeOne · 04/11/2014 20:59

I remember everyone saying to me oh don't worry they won't just burst like in the movies.

And they did.

I was standing in the kitchen feeling quite normal in my 39th week, bent over to put something in the bin and GUSH I was flooded! Soaked right through my leggings, it was a clear whiteish water. Contractions followed shortly afterwards.

DontGotoRoehampton · 04/11/2014 21:02

ha, yes 'coffee people told me it was an urban myth waters breaking in Sainsbury's - not so much.

Happymum1985 · 04/11/2014 21:09

I was in hospital as had been having contractions for several hours and so went in to check if I needed to stay or not. Lying on the bed waiting to be examined and as the wave of a contraction came I felt and heard and huge pop inside me and water came gushing out!! It was actually quite an amazing experience looking back!!

TongueBiter · 04/11/2014 21:18

So what happens to the fluid if you're having a c-section? Where does it all go??

DastardlyDachshund · 04/11/2014 21:29

I was induced for both dc but with dc2 I kind of knew it was going to happen. I woke up one morning (39 weeks and 4 days pg) and needed the loo. I remember thinking that if I got up my waters would go and they did . I got out of bed, heard a faint 'pop' and felt it trickle down my leg. It was only ever a trickle in my case, a long winded affair as more would come out whenever I moved, and it was only one set. The other set was popped during my eventual induction the following day. Dc2 was born at 39+6 (6 or so hour labour and born during the early hours).

bigbluestars · 04/11/2014 21:48

Mine went Hollywood style in the corridor of the hospital as I was waiting to be booked in. I even heard the pop!!
It was a bucket load. A pad would have been useless.

happymum- interesting to know that you heard the pop too!!

slightlyconfused85 · 04/11/2014 22:04

My waters went before labour started, my contractions started half an hour later. I felt a significant trickle and jumped out of bed, quite a bit of water but not loads so went back to bed. 5 minutes later I actually heard a loud pop! This was my hind waters which really was a massive gush! It was a very exciting start to DDs arrival.

ContentedSidewinder · 04/11/2014 22:04

40+3 with ds1, 5.30am was lay awake in bed and felt a pop inside me. Realised it must be my waters breaking (no contractions at all) and then nothing. No big hollywood gush. I was a bit disappointed.

Stood up to go to the toilet, knickerless, and gushed out water and what turned out to be the mucus plug onto the floor. Luckily it was laminate so no ruined carpet.

Still no contractions when I went to the hospital some 3 hours later and I just leaked water all day. Contractions kicked in around 11am and I got so sick of using pads for hours on end I just knelt over a bath towel as with each contraction I gushed more water. Finally stopped leaking water at about 11pm, I think it was all out by then.

ecofreckle · 04/11/2014 22:10

I haven't read the whole thread yet but assume you have been given a good variety of stories. Mine went at 42 plus 5. I sat on my birth ball for lunch and as I sat I felt a dribble. Every time I moved around the house a bit more dribbling happened. I put a pad in. And went to the cinema :-) It carried on so I consulted midwife who called me in to check. She examined the pad. Nice. But she confirmed it was my waters and sent me home again and I had my baby 28 hours later at home. The waters smelled like.....er....semem....so very obviously not wee (there'd been no actual semem around for sometime so I thought it remarkable!). Good luck op.

Sleepysheepsleeping · 04/11/2014 22:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Wincher · 04/11/2014 22:15

First time round they were broken by the mw as nothing much was happening after ages ofbeing fully dilated.

Second time I'd been having contractions for a couple of hours, I was fairly sure this was it - I was leaning on the kitchen worktop during a contraction when I suddenly felt a big pop and a gush. It was fairly unmistakable what it was. I was planning a home birth so I was desperate for the fluid to be clear with no sign of meconium in it - luckily it was, and I had a lovely home birth a few hours later.

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