Damp underwear and crazy increase in movements

[Robbo1010]

Hi all,

I'm 36 weeks exactly.

I usually have a sleepy baby who gives me a few periods of movements a day and is more active in the evening but nothing too crazy.

This afternoon I went to the loo and noticed my knickers were wet so I changed them and carried on, cooked tea for the kids and went to the loo again to find they were wet again so I put a pad in.

Since then the baby has been moving so much more than usual. Like they are unable to stay still it'd so strange.

I've just been to the loo and my pad feels slightly damp, it may be a super absorbant one but my knickers showed the wetness more than the pad. To add to this it is definitely not urine but could it be watery discharge or sweat maybe?!

Am I being really naive thinking this isn't my waters? I had to have them artificially ruptured in my previous labour to speed up the process but have read that when they go it can be trickles not gushes.

Thanks

I would personally ring MAU.
I was always told any changes, reduced or increased to ring.

Sounds like amniotic fluid. I would call in.

Call your maternity triage and go in to get checked. Any change in movements need to be monitored - don't let them fob you off.

My waters went like this I won't lie I thought I'd just stood up a bit to quick a peed myself (joys of pregnancy)! Turned out it was my waters going. As a FTM I didn't realise they didn't all gush out at once. Give hospital a call they will probably get you in and from what I remember I'm sure it was like a swab they did to confirm it was my waters going.

Definitely call MAU. I hope everything is okay.

100% get checked out. Huge increase in movement could be your baby being in distress. Call right now

I'm usually very laid back about medical type things and don't rush to seek advice but I'd ring in with these symptoms.

Hope all is well.

My waters with dc3 went like that. I had a slow leak for 24ish hours before they "went" properly. I didn't bother getting checked but nothing else had changed. The increase in movement would make me want to be seen.

Don't be surprised if you have to argue with the midwives that you aren't wetting yourself

Please ring. A big increase in movements is as much a concern as a reduction.

I phoned in and I'm currently hooked up to the monitor with a cup of tea and a big hospital pad in. 🙃

Going to do a swab soon but baby must have worn themselves out as they've gone fast asleep on this trace now.

Will keep you informed. Thanks for the wise words everyone.

You’re in the right place! Good luck

Hope all goes well

Good luck, OP.

So I essentially got patronised then asked if I was being abused and felt the need to come in to flee my home 😳

They said there were no signs of a fluid leak and it must be urine, even though I explicitly told them it didn't smell of urine. And then asked as above. Which I get they ask that but the way in which she asked was very much like did you need some attention this evening. 😳

So that's me never going back there. Think I will have a home birth now instead 😅 but glad I got checked and can now sleep safe in the knowledge that baby is fine.

@Robbo1010, you were right to go in. No wonder Britain has one of the highest still birth rates in Europe with attitudes like those of the staff you encountered yesterday.

Pleased you are both ok.

I know you say you won't go back but if you have any more concerns about your baby's movements don't let the experience of yesterday put you off getting checked out.

What?! I’m glad your baby is ok and you went and got the increase in movements checked out. But it doesn’t sound like they had a great bedside manner

So glad baby is ok!
Sorry for the awful "care" you received.
You did the right thing!

My first came early. Went in one day with green-ish discharge and was patronised in the same way.

next day things still weren’t right so I went back. As they were telling me maybe I was just a bit anxious my waters broke quite spectacularly. At that point they bothered to actually check me and I was at 5cm.

We went from everything’s fine go home, to emergency c section very very quickly.

So don’t let this stop you going back if you need to.

See I still feel like I'm trickling out today. Its a weird sensation. It's not wee I know it's not. Do you think it's too late to change trusts? My trust is known to be crap.

If you don’t feel happy returning to the same hospital then go to a different hospital, say you were visiting a friend locally. But definitely go and get checked out again.

Can you collect any of the fluid in a container to take with you?

I'd go back and keep going back. Don't let them fob you off until they've worked out what the liquid is. If it's your waters going you've got a risk of infection so it needs to be taken seriously.
Honestly I have nothing but respect for midwives in terms of the job they do, but over and over again their bedside manner can just be appalling. Just say on repeat "I have concerns about the health of my baby"

Did they do a swab to test it? I had a very small amount of leaking but my midwife sent me in and when the swab confirmed it was my waters I was shocked.

That was 3 weeks ago, and I was induced at 37 weeks last Tuesday.

I think you need to go back in. Wherever you go, you wont see the same midwife, she wont be on shift. In my experience staff at the assessment unit can be quite bullish and rude, which is baffling because they are literally there to help triage those mums with babies at risk and those whose worries are not underpinned by a serious issue. You cannot tell what the cause of yours is at home, and you shouldn’t be expected to.

Too many midwives, in my experience, assume every patient in assessment is a time waster.

And before anyone accuses me of midwife-bashing, if even one member of staff in a unit has that attitude it’s one too many. I have first and second hand experience of appalling treatment in assessment units.