Prep for water breaking

Krisd6

Is anyone doing anything to prepare for their water breaking? Liner for the mattress? Towels? Do any of these things work when it actually happens?

Marcella05

Not that I have experience, but everything I am reading says that it's unexpected, if it even happens outside the hospital. A lot of women get contractions first and water breaks at the hospital. I wouldn't worry. A little fluid ain't gonna hurt anything ... Nor will it wait until it's on top of a towel or liner...

Luckyu317

I didn't last time. My water broke while I was sitting on the couch. I guess I never really thought about it since you never know when/if it'll happen.

amroke

I put a waterproof mat on the bed and towels in my car when I was pregnant with my son. As it turned out, my OB had to break my water, but it's good to be prepared.

sisterjanet

I got a waterproof mattress pad but didn't worry about getting the awesomest one because I read mostly women don't have the dramatic gush like in the movies even if the water breaks outside the hospital.  Sure enough, the midwife broke my water for me last time.

nickinbrandon

My water broke while peeing on the toilet so I'm wishing for the same luck this time

spacepotatoes

The nurse at my prenatal class talked about this last night and said that only something like 10% of women experience water breaking as an early sign of labour, and that it's rarely a gush of fluid. Most of the time, it's more of a slow leak and you can put in a pad.

I haven't thought about it too much, probably just put some towels under the sheets or something. We do have a mattress topper already that would prevent the mattress itself from being stained so it's no biggie if it happens even without a towel.

daizijayne

I didn't last time, then my water broke at 4:30am while I was in bed.  Luckily I was able to rush to the bathroom just before it completely broke in a huge gush.  The chances of that happening again are slim, but I'm not taking any chances on my new mattress.  I'm planning to put a couple towels down on my side of the bed over our wool mattress topper.  Between the towels and topper, I'm hoping to avoid any major destruction.

sammy.k

nickinbrandon said:

My water broke while peeing on the toilet so I'm wishing for the same luck this time

Mine too!!

pistolpackinmomma

MK1013 said:

Mine didn't break with DS, they had to break it in the hospital. But- I feel like if it breaks this time it will at work. Cant prepare for that, I'm sure the 4 and 5 year olds will get a real kick out of me "peeing my pants." Accidents happen for everyone, huh?

kalette

No.. It'd be a good excuse to get a new mattress though, or couch. Last time it didn't break until just before I started pushing in the hospital.

kat8805

My water broke in bed last time after about 14 hours of gradually increasing intensity of contractions. I felt the snap of it breaking and had enough time to get to the bathroom before it really started to flow. Three underwear and pants changes later, I agreed to get in the car on a towel, and still felt too nasty from leakage to sit in a wheelchair while checking in. There's really no predicting it though, it happens, or doesn't, when it's good and ready

fatbarbie0226

With Shorty, I was taking a nap on the couch when I woke up because I really had to pee. My water broke as I was running up the stairs to the bathroom, but I thought that I just peed my pants. When I stood up off the toilet, I just kept "peeing"! I jumped in the tub and every time I moved, it felt like I peed more and more. No dramatic gush. It just got on my pants. I layered a few pads in my underwear, got in pajama pants and sat on several towels on the way to the hospital. It was uncomfortable walking into the birthing center because I was soaked by the time I got there.

ho11yday

Once my new-to-me car arrives, I'll probably put a thing of puppy pee pads in the trunk and just sit one on the seats. I think DH would have a cow if I leaked anything (much less bodily fluids) on the seats.

However, last time, my water didn't break until I was in labor. None of us (me, midwife, or the nurse) knew when it happened, just that there was some fluid under me.

jenb_99

I've never understood this obsession with the water breaking. Do you take special steps to prep for the wet spot on the bed every time you have sex, or lay towels all over the couch in case you ever spill a glass of water?

It's just fluid. Clear, clean, and nearly odorless in most cases. And not gallons of it. Wear a heavy pad 24/7 if it's a huge concern for you, but you can really never be 100% prepared. And even if you think you're ready for it, there's no guarantee your water will break before you go to the hospital. In fact, it probably won't.

cnbean

I got a waterproof cover for our mattress because I didn't want it to get stained. But my water was broken for me in the hospital so it wasn't a big deal. I'll probably put it back on the bed this time, but I'm not too worried about it. 

awc1986

https://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Maternity-Mats-1-x-5-Pack_924022/ - I bought a pack of these, which I plan to put under my bed sheets when I get closer to my due date. We just got a new mattress and I don't want to risk ruining it! If I don't use them all, I'm going to keep them and cut them in half to put under LO's bum when she's having "air time" in order to catch any accidents!

jsaffer01

I plan on just having towels or a trash bag in my car in case it breaks I can sit on those. Anything else I don't care about. If it happens, it happens. But I'm going to guess they will most likely break it at the hospital.

ShannonSky

Mine broke when I was sleeping and it woke me up. I jumped out of bed, grabbed my crotch, and ran for the bathroom. A lot of it got on my sweats, some on the carpet, and some on the toilet. Then I put on an overnight pad for the trip to the hospital, it was enough.

miniray

My water broke at home with DS1 and kept coming out in big gushes all the way to the hospital. I soaked through 3 large beach towels and on to the car seat in a short 15 minute car ride. I wore a heavy pad and it was a joke. The water kept coming out so fast and so much that the pad didn't stand a chance. It was literally just floating around in my pants when I got to the hospital.

My doula suggested keeping some puppy pee pads in our car just in case. I think it's a good idea and would have came in handy last time. We put a waterproof sheet on our bed last time and will do it again. A friend of mine had the same issue as I did and she wore an adult diaper for the car ride to the hosptal and it worked MUCH better than my heavy overnight pad.

HARLEYSMOM2010

My water never "broke" with neither of my labours.. I did get slow hind leakage though... But with my second I already had my bed ready since I was have a home birth but to save money on a mattress cover the midwive told me to buy one or two plastic shower curtains from the dollar store and put them under the sheets works perfectly I did this to my bed and couch and under the birthing pool and didn't get a drop on any surface so I'll be doing this again this time since I plan on having her at home again

5ftsmall

Ehh...water breaking isn't really a huge deal.  Mine broke with DS1 while I was attempting to roll over in bed.  It was just a small amount (more than a trickle, far less than a gush) and didn't really make a mess until I stood up and gravity took over.  Even then it only ran down my legs.  It was fairly easily containable.  I wouldn't really worry about water proof anything.  On my way to the hospital, I wore an overnight pad and it was perfectly sufficient while I was in the car.  

kat8805

jenb_99 said:

I've never understood this obsession with the water breaking. Do you take special steps to prep for the wet spot on the bed every time you have sex, or lay towels all over the couch in case you ever spill a glass of water?

It's just fluid. Clear, clean, and nearly odorless in most cases. And not gallons of it. Wear a heavy pad 24/7 if it's a huge concern for you, but you can really never be 100% prepared. And even if you think you're ready for it, there's no guarantee your water will break before you go to the hospital. In fact, it probably won't.

And possibly blood. And heaven forbid you pass your mucous plug at the same time, or your kid thought it would be cute to pass their first BM before birth... like mine did.

oscarwao

I put a waterproof cover on my bed... not because I'm worried about the chance of my water breaking in bed, but more because I figure at some point my kid is going to end up peeing in my bed. 

RickiLea25

With my first, I had the gush, at 1 in the morning. I was so soaked I had to take a shower. Not cute. I thought a pad would do the trick, ha! I had folded an extra large beach towel up to sit on in the car. That got pretty well saturated as well. I can't even express how embarrassed I was when I got out of the wheelchair to find that that too was very wet :-S

Dramatic, yes. UNCOMMON, yes. Mortifying, ummm yes.

With all of that being said, I will probably start laying a heavy towel or two under my sheets in the weeks to come. Maybe those potty training pads? Also, fwiw with my second, my water partially broke in the hospital. My midwife had to actually finish it off. Clearly, there is no way of telling what is going to happen.

flockofmoosen3

our childbirth class instructor suggested getting a waterproof mattress cover just in case. We JUST bought a brand new mattress and we don't want to get anything in it now. And my husband already said we're not taking his car and potentially ruining it--we'll use my car instead (gee, thanks!).

I know that water doesn't always break without assistance, but being over prepared makes me happy.

I've joked about it happening at work and fortunately no one seems concerned, haha. Besides, we have carpet tiles so no biggie. Though I feel bad for the guys who would have to replace them...

rak123

kat8805 said:

jenb_99 said:

I've never understood this obsession with the water breaking. Do you take special steps to prep for the wet spot on the bed every time you have sex, or lay towels all over the couch in case you ever spill a glass of water?

It's just fluid. Clear, clean, and nearly odorless in most cases. And not gallons of it. Wear a heavy pad 24/7 if it's a huge concern for you, but you can really never be 100% prepared. And even if you think you're ready for it, there's no guarantee your water will break before you go to the hospital. In fact, it probably won't.

And possibly blood. And heaven forbid you pass your mucous plug at the same time, or your kid thought it would be cute to pass their first BM before birth... like mine did.

My water broke in the hospital, and it was disgusting since my daughter had passed meconium. It was brown, poopy water and it STANK. I have a cheapo mattress cover that I will be putting on our bed, just in case. Also, I have an extra pair of pants at work in case my water breaks when I am there. I realize the chance that I will need either one is a little slim, but I would much rather be overprepared.

jenb_99

kat8805 said:

jenb_99 said:

I've never understood this obsession with the water breaking. Do you take special steps to prep for the wet spot on the bed every time you have sex, or lay towels all over the couch in case you ever spill a glass of water?

It's just fluid. Clear, clean, and nearly odorless in most cases. And not gallons of it. Wear a heavy pad 24/7 if it's a huge concern for you, but you can really never be 100% prepared. And even if you think you're ready for it, there's no guarantee your water will break before you go to the hospital. In fact, it probably won't.

And possibly blood. And heaven forbid you pass your mucous plug at the same time, or your kid thought it would be cute to pass their first BM before birth... like mine did.

DS passed his meconium in the amniotic fluid, so I got to sit in bright green poo water for a couple of hours while I was waiting for my c-section. And yeah, it was on someone else's sheets, but I wouldn't have cared if it was on my own either. It's just a puddle. We're having babies. There will be lots of puddles, most far nastier than even a bloody show and meconium water combined. I still don't get the fuss. I get a stain on my sheets, I wash it out. NBD.

jpbling

Last time, my water broke in bed when I was sleeping. I had a LOT of water (so gross!!) and wasn't prepared for it. A coworker suggested getting one of those puppy training pads and putting it under the sheet incase it happens again in bed. Not a bad idea!

Sdufort1216

I got a waterproof mattreess cover just in case