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How do you know if you’ve lost water?
As we approach spa, all women wonder where and how they are going her water broke. On the sofa, in the middle of the night or in the street, rupture of membranes can occur at any time, even if in practice it occurs most of the time at home. maternity. Ultimately, the volume of amniotic liquid represents between 1 and 1,5 liters. Suffice to say that if we lose this amount of liquid, we will quickly realize it. We will even feel very wet!
Can we lose water little by little?
He’s sometimes hard to know if we are really losing water because at the end of pregnancy the vaginal secretions are more important and sometimes the poche may simply crack, resulting in a light flow over several hours. Amniotic fluid is not difficult to recognize. Composed of 90% water, it is transparent and odorless.
If have noticed that the liquid is tinted, this may be the first signs of a fetal distress. An emergency appointment at the maternity ward.
The spontaneous rupture of the water bag
If you are at term, the water loss in principle means that childbirth will begin soon. As surprising as it may seem, we still do not know today what is the mechanism that causes the rupture of membranes in the absence of work. Still, most often, the water bag breaks spontaneously under the effect of contractions when the cervix is dilated between 2 and 5 cm. In any case, you must get to the maternity because the baby is no longer protected against infections. In addition, it happens, in very rare situations, that the umbilical cord slips into the vagina in front of the baby’s head. The risk is that it is compressed and deprives the child of his oxygen supply. We call it the cord procidence .
How to artificially break the pocket of water?
The water pocket favors the dilation of the cervix. But if the job stagnant, the midwife may decide to induce its discharge by piercing it with very fine forceps. Don’t worry, this action is completely painless for us and our baby. Once the bag of water is broken, the contractions usually become more intense. The baby’s head, which is no longer protected by the amniotic fluid, descends and in turn presses on the cervix.
La artificial rupture of the water bag also releases prostaglandins which help speed up dilation. However, if the work is developing favorably, it is not necessarily necessary to pierce the pocket of waters. This will spontaneously burst at the time of expulsion and will then facilitate the exit of the baby. Sometimes a child is born covered with part of their amniotic membrane. It is said that the baby is “combed”. A sign of luck, this impressive phenomenon remains extremely rare. Note that in the case of a cesarean section, the pocket of waters is artificially broken up and the liquid immediately aspirated before extracting the baby.
Loss of water: your testimonies
« For my first baby, I lost the water at home, on my bed. I was busy writing when I felt a little tear in my lower abdomen. I immediately felt that something was happening. The flow was sudden like I was peeing on myself. I went to the bathroom (just in case!) And finally and I have or observed that the amniotic liquid flowed happily down my legs! So I went to the maternity ward, and the labor started spontaneously a few hours later.. » Aeneas
« My first daughter arrived after term. I lost the waters in a Parisian sports department store. It happened without warning as I wandered the shelves. I was very ashamed at the time. We left immediately to clinical. Fortunately, for several weeks now, my maternity suitcase had been waiting quietly in the trunk of the car. This beginning ofdelivery incredible did not prevent me from finishing in emergency cesarean section after 10 hours of work. ” Karine