Got a Funny Kind of Feeling Like I Have Broken Glass in My Underwear
In the movies, the first sign that a woman is going into labor is usually marked with a splash of water between her legs and a wet sidewalk that looks like someone just threw down a water balloon. However, the ceremonious water splat isn't as universal as you think it is. In fact, Dr. Jamil Abdur-Rahman, an OBGYN, says only 10-15% percent of women have their water break before going into labor. So if the numbers are in your favor, you won't be pulling a Charlotte York looking shocked at a wet sidewalk while other New Yorkers continue to lunch al fresco.
Dr. Jamil explains that when your water breaks, it's actually the membrane of a protective sac of amniotic fluid rupturing. This fluid is what surrounds the growing baby and the placenta. It's this sac that keeps the baby from being exposed to gravity, which could hinder tissue and organ growth. Fun fact: amniotic fluid contains nutrients but is largely made up of baby pee. Dr. Jamil explains that the baby will urinate in the sac, making new fluid, then swallow the fluid they've made. It's like your body is its own recycling system!
Typically, Dr. Jamil explains, if a woman is ready to give birth, labor will start within eight hours of the bag breaking. However, depending on how dilated the cervix was at the time the water broke, it can still take several more hours for the baby to be born. Dr. Jamil recommends going to the hospital after your water breaks, and not waiting for labor contractions to begin at home.
Here, nine women explain what it felt like when their water broke.
1. "The big break felt like I had a water balloon in my crotch and somebody just poked it with a pin. It didn't hurt, it just felt like a bunch of water flowing out. The young front desk man at the hospital just told me where to go as he stared at what just happened in shock. There was a distinct smell that was actually similar to what semen smells like." — Lisa, 41
2. "I read the books. I went to the childbirth classes. I listened to my doctor about everything on my pregnancy. So, you would think I would be prepared for when my water broke. Nope! I didn't get the Hollywood-style waterfall rush of water or the contractions that make you double over in pain. What I got was me changing my pants at least 4 or 5 times over an 8-hour period, thinking "Man, I sure am peeing my pants a lot!" And contractions? Nope, I thought I was having hunger pangs because I hadn't eaten for a few hours! I went to the hospital the next morning at my doctor's advice and told the intake nurse I just needed a cheeseburger so she could send me home. Her response? 'Honey, you're in labor — get with the program!' Hollywood, TV, and movies failed me." — Cathy, 36
3."My water didn't break for my first two children, but for my third child, I was standing up when I felt a big "SPROING!"— an internal lurch kind of feeling, as if I were on a roller coaster and the mechanism that pulls the cart up engaged." — Amy, 48
4. "I crawled into bed and heard a strange sound — like a cross between glass cracking and water balloon popping — and felt a strange feeling in my lower abdomen. I knew instantly what it was, rolled my 39 week pregnant self out of bed like a ninja, and somehow made it to the bathroom before the water went everywhere! It is the strangest sensation — a feeling of flowing warm liquid...and it just keeps coming!"— Britt, 37
5. "I was lying in bed talking about when to go to dinner when my water broke. It started seeping out slow but full, like a steady dam building up and releasing ... it felt different than peeing, and there was no controlling it! It felt like it was coming out of my vagina rather than the urethra (where you distinctly feel it when you pee). Of course I had to bend over and smell it, just because, and sure enough, it smells clear and like nothing basically, so, not pee! I was soaking wet, and my bed was as well, but at least I didn't smell like pee!" — Crystal, 32
6. "I was 36 weeks pregnant with twins, in the hospital with my husband, being monitored for possible preeclampsia. We had to spend the night, and the next morning we ordered breakfast. As soon as I took my first bite I felt my water break. It basically feels like warm water rushing out of you, and you can't control it. Every time you move or shift more rushes out." — Pam, 30
7. "Although all three of my labors were vastly different, my water broke at the beginning of the 'pushing' phase with each one. There was so much pressure from the [contractions], I knew the instant my water broke because it felt like a water balloon had popped between my legs. Almost immediately the intensity of the sensations doubled. From there the hardest work of the labor got underway and the baby was in my arms in no time." —Judith, 38
8. "In the early morning hours I was awoken by the sensation of water trickling down my backside. I was only 36 weeks pregnant. I went to the bathroom because I thought I peed myself and put on a panty liner and went back to bed. I was concerned it could be my water breaking, but as I dozed back to sleep I did not feel any more water, so I assumed all was good. After I fell asleep, I was awoken again by water trickling down my backside. I went to the bathroom again but quickly realized that water was gushing out of me effortlessly. I called for my husband, grabbed our bags, and a towel for me the sit on in the car as we rushed to the hospital...There was so much water coming out of me, that any time I had to get up from the hospital bed, my husband and or the nurse would follow behind me with a towel to clean up the trail of water I was leaking." —Jenny, 37
9. "I was using the bathroom for what felt like the 45th time that morning when I realized fluid just kept leaking out. I jumped in the shower stall, and the flow still didn't stop. I yelled to my husband that my water had broken and phoned my mom, doctor, and doula from the shower. The amniotic fluid leaked the entire time it took us to eat a snack, pack our bags, drive to the hospital, and check in to labor and delivery. I had to sit on a disposable underwear pad during the car ride to protect the seats. I felt like someone had left a garden hose on at a trickle." — Jenni, 37
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Source: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/a13518847/water-breaking-what-it-feels-like/
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