Did waters breaking ruin your mattress?

[gratefulmamatobe]

MIL is suggesting I should buy some kind of protector.. but others saying it's literally just water and doesn't smell etc.

Experiences and advice please!!

I did buy a mattress protector as we had brought a new mattress not long before my due date so I was worried about this but actually my main thing was that we would probably need one anyway with the baby (Doing nappy changes, feeds, getting ready for bed out of the bath..). And it’s been very useful !

I've always had a waterproof mattress protector on my bed- just seems sensible- I've accidently spilled a coffee on my sheets before and I feel like it it's easier to clean for dust mites.

First baby they induced me and broke my waters in the hospital. So baby number two took me by surprise when my waters broke a week before I was due. Sat in the kitchen and felt a little 'pop' sensation of some fluid coming out. Didn't feel too dissimilar to when my period would come on. But then I moved and there was a bit more in a little gush. And then I stood up and it was bloody comical just pouring out for ages onto a (thankfully) vinyl floor like someone had turned on a tap.

Any attempt put on any kind of pad and underwear soaked instantly so I gave up and just stood over a towel. Was kind of embarrassing really but DH handled it really well. When it slowed down I went to bed on a new towel with a pad and labour didn't start so just kept using pads the next day and went to hospital. They insisted on doing a painful check in case it wasn't my waters as 'pregnant women can sometimes urinate towards the end without realising' apparently, which was annoying as I was totally 100% sure and they wouldn't take my word for it. Was also amazed to find waters still coming out a day later but the midwife explained your body will continually make more so it just keeps going (albeit slower!).

😆 and then there's me - sitting in a public place, waters broke. A lot. I was soaked down to my shoes.

OP, I was able to keep my shoes, they don't smell (it was the first time i'd worn them too!) so I think that

Is true

With DS1 they went a few minutes before he was born, and DS2 was born in his waters(en caul) so wasn’t a problem. However there is a lot of bleeding after birth, and then a toddler DS did wee in our bed a few times so I do now have a waterproof mattress cover. It doesn’t rustle.

Mine had to be broken manually at the hospital and it took three attempts as they really didn't want to break. They use a giant crochet book thing. Midwife had a go, then the senior midwife. Then the doctor finally managed it!

Nothing like you see on films!

Mine broke at night and there was meconium so it was brown, I'm now 40 weeks today with DC2 and have a cheap Boots protector under the fitted sheet that came in a pack.

It’s not just water. It’s actually mostly fetal urine. And it has a very distinct smell. Experienced midwives can tell if someone’s waters have broken just by the smell sometimes. Plus it could contain blood and / or meconium. However the chances of them breaking in bed are low as usually the break after labour has started, not always however.

My waters did break like in the movies but I was 10cm dilated and on the delivery ward by then. Just as the midwife was arguing with me that my waters would have definitely broken already, I was just too thick inexperienced to realise. They went all over her shoes. Ha.

When they went with DD, I was leaning over our bed mid contraction. Audible pop followed by an absolute geyser. Ex arsehole shouting "get off the effing bed" repeatedly. I did not. I could not. Should have had something on the bed. He did deserve the cleanup job, frankly.

DS1 they went on the loo, and was a similar explosion. DS2 were broken during induction over a pile of puppy pads. If I had any more (I will not) I absolutely would protect the mattress.

I've always popped some maternity pads (like puppy pads) under my sheet just for piece of mind, useful for after birth incase of any blood leakage or milk/sick etc
DD1 waters popped before labour started but it was only trickle
DD2 they went during transition in a massive pop x

Mine broke twice, once in bed and I only noticed it when I stood up and it continuously but slowly trickled out and once in the bath at some point. I would recommend getting a waterproof (breathable) covering for your mattress though as you'll likely end up with sick, wee, breast milk and God knows what else in your bed over the next few years!

Mine broke in bed. There was a weird click. I got up and they gushed out, so it does happen. But the gushing didn't happen until I stood up.

A mattress protector is a very good idea (two, so you can wash them) - post birth bleeding is heavy and that alone tends to threaten the mattress IME.

You will also probably leak milk from your breasts. The baby may well end up in bed with you at times and their nappies can leak when they are lying on their side facing you to feed. They vomit also while being held/sleeping in bed. If you change their nappy in the night and you don't have a changing table in your room you may use the bed as a table and they seem masters of weeing everywhere in the night. (Cotton wool and water was another source of calamity the first time around). I'm sure poo was involved at some point or other with one of the three of them too. When they're still only on milk, their poo is basically liquid. I had water bottles around because of breastfeeding thirst which occasionally would get knocked over or leak. It's all a bit of a sleep deprived mess. I was glad of the protectors.

My waters did go in bed with DS2 but it was more of a trickle, I woke up, felt this fluid running down the inside of my leg and said er-- what is that? I stood up and it leaked on the floor, but not onto the bed itself. It's not water, it's amniotic fluid which is not really clean. It has the baby's dead skin cells and hair in it and wee, and apparently smells faintly of sperm (!) If you go overdue sometimes they poo in it as well. Probably wouldn't be the end of the world to get on a mattress, but unless you're planning a home birth it's unlikely to get on it in any great quantity anyway. With most babies they tend to go during labour; with DS1 and 3 it was near the end. I think it's only 1/10 labours that waters breaking is the first sign (and even then you only spend about a third of the time in bed so 1/30?)

We have only just got rid of ours now DS3 is 1. And I'll probably regret it because from memory I got rid of the one I had with DS1 and then a week later he wasn't feeling well, came into bed with me in the night and threw up everywhere!

I'm pretty sure this is just one of those social media "1000 ways to fail at parenting" myths, but if concerned, they sell things that look exactly like puppy pads in the nappy aisle so surely they are fine. I think peope use the term interchangably because they look the same.

Mine didn't break until the midwife ruptured them both times but I do recommend a waterproof mattress protector for after the birth anyway, maternity pads can leak if you have heavy flow, and my breasts soaked the sheets (despite putting a towel down) for £15 it's worth putting on at 8 months or so

Maybe not for you but it is for some people! I was in a public place (luckily sitting down about to eat so I could be discreet about it) but I ruined the chair. My underwear, leggings and boots were soaked. There was a lot😅was embarassing for me as I'm very shy. So it really is like the films for some women!

It's worth getting a mattress protector if you plan to BF as the milk leaking may soak into it. So just buy one earlier.

Fwiw my waters never broke on their own, and this is quite common.

Definitely get one! Mine went while I was in bed and it absolutely was like the movies - a 'pop' and then what felt like gallons of fluid gushing absolutely everywhere. Bed was soaked but I had a mattress protector and was so grateful. Even if your waters don't go, as PP have said the mattress protector comes in handy once baby is here!

Protector had years of use right through to children learning to be dry at night, sickness bugs the lot. We got a good breathable square about 3 foot square from some incontinence products website, it had been recommended probably by someone on mums net! Not getting rid of it yet…

Before I had my first, I had quite a traumatic miscarriage and there was a lot of blood, DH took me to the hospital in the car and it was a mess. This worried me in regards to labour, for some reason I imagined it would be similar (it wasn't) so I bought some puppy pads which I put over the car seat when I went to the hospital and in the third trimester I put them under my flat sheet to protect my mattress on my side of the bed. I actually had a slow water break where it was trickling for a number of days before I went in to labour, initially I thought it was wee! My mattress was fine though.

The puppy pads were great though and I would recommend them, I've used the under DC's flat sheet when he had a sickness bug to protect his mattress and they've come in useful for potty training too. They are fairly cheap for a pack off Amazon.

Just to add, I do have a mattress protector, the puppy pads were an extra layer of protection mainly because the blood from my miscarriage never washed out of my mattress protector and I had to get a new one

I bought a mattress protector, and my waters did go in bed and it worked. However, I then continued to gush water with every contraction, and basically left wet patches all over my carpets etc. All dried out fine, no damage.

Mine didn't break until at the hospital, but definitely get a waterproof mattress cover anyway - as everyone has said - babies and children create lots of liquid messes and don't always stick to their own beds! You can get very comfortable ones that you don't even know are there.

Mine broke and it was just a trickle - wouldn't have caused much damage at all. A towel under your sheet would protect sufficiently.