Difference between urine and waters/amniotic fluid?

[oatlattetogo]

I am mildly mortified to be asking this, but I guess pregnancy is not the time to be trying to be modest and ladylike… Apologies for any TMI.

I’ve never had the greatest of pelvic floors, and it has definitely got worse during pregnancy (currently 19 weeks) to the extent that I have leaked a little bit of urine two or three times when I’ve been really desperate.

I needed a wee badly yesterday and when I sat down on the toilet there was a wet patch roughly the size of a walnut/small plum in my knickers. Given that I did really need a wee I would be very surprised if it was waters but being the paranoid person that I am I started worrying, especially as this time I didn’t actually noticed that I’d wet myself a bit.

I had a telephone consultation with a consultant today for an unrelated matter, and mentioned it to her. She seemed fairly certain that I’d be able to tell the difference between wee and waters from the smell, as wee smells of ammonia. The issue is though, that if I am well hydrated my wee doesn’t really smell of anything. It doesn’t smell completely neutral but it certainly doesn’t smell really strongly of ammonia or even smell especially unpleasant. I did try and explain this to her, but she wasn’t the best at listening to what I was trying to say. She did however say she was fairly confident it was wee, but that I could go and get checked if I wanted.

So does anyone have any clever tips as to how to actually tell the difference, as now I’m going to spend the next 20 weeks or so being paranoid that my waters are going every time I leak a bit

My waters broke before contractions (but much much later than 19w - i was 37+5). I also wasn't sure if it was waters or I'd wet myself. Triage told me to do 2 things before I went in to be checked out:

1. pop a panty liner or pad in your pants to collect the leak. Amniotic fluid should be clear or very pale. A midwife can check the pad and then confirm.
2. Lie down on eg. the bed. When you stand up, is there a leak? If so, this could be waters as it pools when you are lying down.

Can you get it checked by a midwife to put your mind at ease? Realistically there was no mistaking mine because it was an enormous gush Hollywood movie style. It was an awkward taxi ride to the hospital sat on DH's waterproof coat

Also, get doing your pelvic floor exercises! Download the NHS Squeezy app if you are rubbish at remembering.

To me it felt like a trickle that I knew wasn't the same as weeing.
It's like you know you haven't got the ability to stop it.

Like previous said, if fluid - it just goes...you cant control it... specially when changing positions it just flows out of you

New babies & amniotic fluid have a distinctive smell.
If you aren't sensitive to smell of piss now, you will become so.

As someone whose waters did break in the night, I went and sat on the toilet and it sort of fell out. Then every time I stood up, I could feel it fall out and I had zero control over it.

I have been having the same as you this pregnancy and got checked out for it but it was wee and discharge from thrush! Get checked out at the hospital though if you are concerned

Thank you for the advice everyone. Will keep an eye on it and give the number a call if I notice anything before my next scan!

If you aren't sensitive to smell of piss now, you will become so.

Well that’s something to look forward to

I worry about my waters breaking too and won't be able to notice. What if my waters break in the shower ? We all know those shower gels have a strong perfume/fruity smell, will the amniotic fluid smell be stronger than the shower gel?

Amniotic fluid smells like straw, it's very distinctive.

If your waters go, you'll know. It's usually more of a gush than a trickle and you can't hold it back.

@Monday55 I wouldn't worry too much. Even if they go in a gush you still get trickles coming out for a while after.

I am not a midwife, but did obstetrics in my nurse training.
I always thought that amniotic fluid had a v distinctive smell, a little like tinned sweetcorn.

The difference with waters is; Once it starts, it doesn’t stop! It might only be a trickle but if you put a pad on, it will just keep coming.

(I mean it will keep coming anyway, but if you put a pad on you’ll see the volume!)

Don’t have any advice on if it was wee or not - although I will say if it keeps happening, you do need to go and get checked out.

Just wanted to say it’s not too late to work on your pelvic floor. The NHS Squeezy app is great! Get it now and do your pelvic floor exercises (if you don’t already) - you don’t want to end up with a prolapse after labour.

I had this very late on... around 11am on the morning I was due to go in to be induced actually (I was due to go in at 10pm).

I felt like I was wetting myself. So rang the hospital and told them I wasn't sure if it was pee or not. They laughed at me and said they thought I'd know the difference, so likely just wet myself.

But it then kept coming. In small gushes. I know most movies/tv show labour with the waters going first, but it's pretty rare in real life. Hadn't had a single contraction until I got to the hospital. Then they came constantly. I wasn't dilating though. Gave me an epidural despite not even being 1cm. He was born by emergency section at 7pm as his heart rate kept dropping.

My waters only trickled unless I stood from lying down.

I spent last few weeks worrying about this as someone told me embarrassing story about waters breaking in a shop...... As it happened three pregnancies and waters never went til delivering the babies🤷

I have the Squeezy app already, thank you!

Things have definitely got worse during pregnancy (I hadn’t previously suffered with any leaking) but obviously that doesn’t mean they’ll go back to normal afterwards

Not sure on 'trickling' waters, but when mine went i heard an audible pop sound. I knew something was on its way out but I knew I didn't need the toilet. Never moved so fast in my life - legged it to the toilet and felt smug as anything that it all went in the toilet. Definitely had a weird feeling to it - uncontrollable and odd.

Told the nurse, who didn't believe me so she took me back to the ward. I sat down and was hit by an absolute flood as the rest of the waters went (no one told me about hind waters).
It was absolutely uncontrollable and my pjs were inflated around me there was so much fluid.

I'd say at 19wks it would be very unlikely to be leaking waters.
You've got my worried now though as I'm 35wks with my second baby and haven't done any pelvic floor exercises yet .

Mine broke when I was already at 10cm moving from one bed to another to give birth, but it was a lot and it felt really really warm! Much warmer than wee. It can trickle though. I think the only way to really know if you can't tell by smell is for the hospital to do a swab, then they can know for sure good luck with the rest of your pregnancy x