How can you tell the difference between amniotic fluid and discharge?

[minnieot]

I'm 23 weeks and went in yesterday as I've been really paranoid about the wet discharge I'm getting. There isn't much of it and it isn't continuous but it isn't like the white discharge I've been used to, just leaves wet patches. All the midwife did was get me to stay still for half an hour and then had a look with a speculum to see if there was any pooling, which there wasn't, and took a swab for infection but she didn't do the PH test so I'm still feeling really paranoid as I've read about people slow leaking amniotic fluid. Any reassurance would be appreciated as I'm just so paranoid. Thank you.

I’ve had exactly the same thing (I’m 28 weeks) and also can’t really tell the difference. Having been into hospital and it all being okay, I’m going with it just being increased discharge. Even if it’s a slow leak they would have detected it as amniotic fluid when you went in. When I was swabbed, they did discover I had thrush (I had no symptoms so was a bit surprised!) and told me to buy a pessary from the pharmacy which I did and it’s definitely improved the leaking a bit. Might be worth a try, although be prepared to have to send your partner to get the pessary as the pharmacist wouldn’t serve me even though the midwife and consultant recommended it and confirmed it was safe!

Thank you for answering. It's a pain not being able to tell the difference, isn't it? I'm just paranoid she wouldn't have been able to tell because she didn't do the actual amniotic fluid test, she just seemed completely unconcerned just because there wasn't any pooling. My own mum's waters broke at 19 weeks with my brother so I'm extra paranoid 😅 how long did it take for your swab results to come back showing it was thrush?

It's really hard to tell we discharge can get watery in pregnancy..I've been having the same stress myself. I think it's really common to worry.

Its less likely to cause issues if it's not constant anyway but always keep an eye on your temperature and baby's movement. The waters themselves breaking isn't the issue - your body replenishes it but it makes it more likely for infection to get in so there are some signs to watch for.

Smell, I found that waters smelt like condoms/spermicide.

I always used to worry about this, and more especially in my third and fourth pregnancies when the weight of everything was making my pelvic floor a little more slack. Mine was a mixture of urine and vaginal discharge. I was told to wear a normal sized sanitary pad and if it's not soaking wet within an hour then it's not your waters breaking. However I would recommend being checked over each time if you're worried. Usually I could tell by the smell that it had urine in it. I only had my waters break once because I went on to have c sections but it was greasy feeling with white flecks in.

Amniotic fluid smells sweet compared to the discharge (sorry for the TMI).

Wow! That must have been a terrifying experience for your mum. I had to phone for the results and did so 5-7 days after I went in, can’t quite remember when

Amniotic smells sweet

The above poster's statement about waters being a large amount is not always true. It's possible to have a very slow leak.
Does it come out at predictable times OP? For example as you sit on the toilet or stand up from bed in the morning? If so can you collect some in a tub and take it in? They can do a simple test to check if it's fluid - they tricky part with a slow leak is actually getting them something to test, as the speculum exam didn't find any.

I never thought of this… but I can say my pregnancy seems fine and I’ve been very wet at times with clear liquid. My apps tell me to expect it so I suppose I’ve been relaxed!

The smell. Amniotic fluid has a synthetic chemical smell.

I went into triage yesterday for the same thing. They did a swab and dipped it into a liquid which gave a negative result for amniotic fluid within 5 mins. Did they do that? If not ring triage and they’ll call you into test

Also they told me yesterday you can leak little bits at a time and doesn’t have to be daily as the babies head could be blocking it coming out