how does water break happen?

[mum2015]

I am planning to come to work till 39 week of pregnancy (currently 33 weeks). This involves a commute of around an hour and half each way and 9 to 5:30 desk job. In my last pregnancy labour started with contractions and I had plenty of time before I actually needed to go to hospital and I dont remember how and when water break happened.

Does water break like a period but just water, or is it a huge gush of water suddenly? I am really terrified of the idea of water breaking in middle of commute or my office hours!!! Are there any signs before it actually happens? Will incontinence pad be enough to deal with it till i can reach home/hospital?

For two out of my three babies waters went when I was in bed, with no warning. Well, I had been having strong BH for weeks and was a few cm dilated with both I think so my body was ready.

For me it was a gush, I seem to make a lot of amniotic fluid. There is no way I could have contained it on a maternity pad if out and about. I was at home and in both cases got a cab to the hospital (five mins away) and had to take a towel to sit on. Everyone is different though - some people don't produce much at all.

Oh my goodness there is so much water that no pad would cope! Plus once it goes, it keeps coming! There was buckets of water with my twins which kept coming every time I moved/contracted. Oh and it's really warm!

There was no gush for me, it was just like a heavy period, leaking out slowly and continuously. And it has a very distinctive smell which no one really tells you about but everyone I've discussed it with afterwards agrees with.

It smells like sperm

An uncontrollable gush of water that smells like sperm !!!
I am even more terrified of it ever happening when I am outside of house!
I will keep an incontinence pant in my bag just to keep my mind at peace, though it may not help

I'm worried about this too! Debating finishing work earlier for the same reason!

First dd mine went at night with no warning.

Second dd I could feel them bulging when I was walking round Tescos and they popped about half an hour after I got home. I described it as I felt like my insides were falling out. I was just glad I got home before they went!

It smells like sperm

Oh my God, noooooo

Mine was a sudden gush at the start of labour, like suddenly wetting yourself with a full bladder. A pad ain't gonna cut it so I would avoid the tube if you can! Saying that my contractions had started by then so i think you would get a bit of warning...I don't remember it smelling of anything.

Up to you but I have to say if you can take some time off before baby arrives to just chill, do it. Still working up til your waters break sounds like a nightmare to me!

Mine went at 37 weeks whilst cleaning the bathroom and there was no hiding it...i was also a towel in a taxi job and I was soaked through despite using a maternity pad on the way. apparently waters going with no other signs first is unusual though. Maybe less than 10% of pregnancies i think

I am trying to save my maternity leave as much as possible for looking after baby. Last pregnancy i worked till Friday and baby came on Sunday morning. I didnt know about water breaking or much about labour either. Ignorance was bliss.
This time it will be commute into Waterloo with all its August engineering work and tube. I am just hoping i will get some warning sign before it happens.

Mine came in small gushes over a few hours as my hind waters went first, i was fine with a pad during that time and changed it once. They went properly as I got onto the birthing unit and was like nothing I could have ever imagined, there was loads.

Can you wfh for the last couple of weeks, especially with train problems last thing you want is to be stuck in London trying to get out.

My waters burst in active labour both times, it was like a pop then huge gush, nothing would have contained it if I had been out and about.

As pp said it's quite unusual just to burst, not like the movies! I would be more worried about the poss problems with commute tbh

I had no gush. I sat down and thought Id wet myself as I just felt a wetness. Went to the bathroom and out dripped pink water! It just sorta leaked out rather than gushing!

Just to add, the only warning sign I had was period type pains coming and going, but had no idea that meant my waters might start to go, i got up to go for a wee wee and when I got back into bed I felt the first gush.

I wouldn't worry about it, if it happens when you're out and about then so be it. I'm sure no one will be terribly traumatised by a heavily pregnant woman going into labour. There are much worse fluids released on the tube every day.

I used to carry a change of clothes with me just in case, although actually my waters had to be broken in the labour ward.

My waters didn't break with either of my DC even once I was in labour

I had the 'knitting needle' procedure during labour. No idea how much fluid there was.

The dramatic waters breaking in Tesco is probably more unusual than you think

I've had 3 children and it was different each time. 1st went after contractions and plug in hospital - can't really remember it. 2nd trickled much like a period for about 3 days before contractions started and 3rd went with a pop and a gush in the middle of the night!

Mine broke minutes before stage 2 labour all over the student midwife.

This seems to be one of those things you just can't control!

Thanks. So it could be anything from slowly to sudden. I would keep a change of clothes and wear some incontinence pad/adult nappy for last couple of weeks on commute. People in train/tube have been so helpful while I have been commuting with this big bump, hopefully it wont be so bad if at all it happens.

If it reassures you at all I'm on my 5th pregnancy & my waters have only broken in public twice. Once with #4 in the hospital car park (& no one except dh was around to see). And last Wednesday on the way home from nursery with DH & dc1s best friends mum. They don't always continue to leak though, mine have built back up since last Wednesday (I was 35+5 at the time so classed as pprom) the sonographer said that either the membranes have slipped over each other sealing it or baby is acting as a plug. With dc1 my waters went in bed. Dc2 they broke them as he crowned & dc3 was about half an hour before she was born.

Mine went with no warning what so ever and as soon as they did I was in full blown labour. Contractions coming every 1.5-2mins, like something out of a film!

I had a maternity pad on already as I was overdue and didn't want to make a mess when they did go haha! Well, I soaked that pad, my pants and pj's bottoms and the sofa cushion I was sat on, got upstairs with it leaking down my legs, changed all the bottoms, new pad on. Soaked all of them too. I ended up sat on the toilet with it running out whilst DP rang the maternity unit. Got changed again to go there and soaked through again.

My gran only had a teaspoon full of waters she said though, so I suppose it varies for everyone!

Slightly off topic but still relevant - do people use some special kind of mattress protector in case waters break in bed?

Mine didn't break until I was on labour with both pregnancies. In fact the first time my waters were broken by the midwife, so don't worry too much.