Some moms may only experience a slow trickle of water, and for many moms, there is still a while to go before the baby is born. Read on to find out more about what it can feel like when your water breaks and what comes next. No need to panic — your healthcare provider will let you know what to do next.
During pregnancy, your baby is surrounded by the amniotic fluid in the amniotic sac, which cushions and protects your baby. At the start of labor, later on during labor, or, in some cases, before labor starts, the membranes of the sac rupture.
For each mom-to-be, her water breaking is a unique experience. The signs of water breaking include feeling a slow leak or a sudden gush of water. Some women feel a slight pop, while others might feel fluid coming out in bursts as they change positions. The color of the fluid when your water breaks is usually clear or pale yellow, and the fluid has no smell. The fluid level reaches its peak by about week 36 of pregnancy, when there are about 4 cups of fluid, but from then on the amount of fluid slowly decreases.
Check out this short video on what happens when your water breaks, with insights provided by a labor and delivery nurse. How do you know when your water breaks? It can sometimes be difficult to tell when your water has broken, particularly if you only experience an occasional trickle, or if you only find dampness in your underwear.
You can always confirm it via a physical exam or ultrasound. If you suspect your water has broken, make a note of the time. I just noticed some leaking during contractions, and the nurse confirmed that it had broken, probably during an internal exam. The initial little gush woke me up mother's intuition, I guess.
It felt like a major gush of blood like when you stand up during your period after lying down for a long time. That's when I knew it was my water. I stood up, and felt like a gush similar to a period.
So I sat back down, and after it seemed done, I stood up and it happened again. I started laughing, which woke my husband up. I couldn't get up from the toilet because it kept coming every time. I guess that's kind of what it feels like, a perpetual pee. BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world.
When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing.
Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies. Mayo Clinic. Water breaking: Understand this sign of labor.
Merck Manual. Management of normal labor. Labor and birth. Evonne Lack Bradford is an educational writer and an instructional designer. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and three children. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, watching documentaries, and pretending she has a green thumb. Join now to personalize. Photo credit: iStock. The gush or splash The pop The trickle The in-betweener The feeling of relief The unnoticed water break The rude awakening The unstoppable force.
The gush or splash For some moms, the water really does gush out — either in the hospital bed or in a more surprising setting: "A huge gush of fluid went all over the floor. Weirdest feeling! For others, the pop is audible: "There was a pop, like someone cracking a knuckle, and then a gush. It didn't hurt; it just was suddenly very wet. In the other 20 percent, the water breaks first and is usually followed by labor pains within a few hours.
The sensation is different for everyone. For some, it's a slow trickle or a discharge feeling you may think you've suddenly become incontinent!
For others, it's that Hollywood-style gush, like you just completely peed your pants. Still others hear a pop and feel pressure, then relief, once the bag breaks. Though urine and discharge exit your body from the same general neighborhood, amniotic fluid is typically odorless, though some women say it smells sweet, like chlorine or semen.
It's also usually clear or tinged with small streaks of blood. This is the million-dollar question and probably the one keeping you up at night! How much comes out at first can vary from a small leak to an all-out gush, depending on whether you have a tear or a gross rupture, explains Yvonne Bohn, M.
In the meantime, you can wear a sanitary pad to protect your clothes or lay a clean towel underneath you to protect your seat. A call to your OB-GYN is in order — she'll advise you on when and how quickly to come to the hospital. Among the factors she'll consider are:. How far along you are.
Depending on how early this happens, your OB-GYN may try to delay labor to give your baby more time to mature. Your contractions. It's true that first-time moms often take longer to deliver.
But if regular contractions aren't happening within 24 hours of your pregnancy water break, your OB-GYN may want to evaluate you and baby, and possibly induce labor with Pitocin. How long it's been since the bag broke. If your baby hasn't arrived within 24 hours after your water broke, your doctor may give you antibiotics intravenously.
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