time limit after water breaks

ljanette85

am i correct in thinking that after your water breaks you have 24 hours to have the baby or you get a c-section?! I keep hearing this.... I have so many questions for my next ob appt.

penelope212

Yes, you are correct. And call for any leakage!

Celyn

It totally depends on your OB.  Around here, it's common to be able to labor close to 24 hours before they start pitocin, if things aren't going on their own. I've never worked with an OB who would section a mom in active labor, wherein she and baby were both doing well, simply because a 24-hr mark was reached.

jennyann28

No.  You usually have 24 hours to be in active labor after your water breaks. 

Mine broke, but labor didn't start.  My midwives gave me 12 hours at home, then I had to go to the hospital.  They gave me 1/4 pill of Cytotec to jumpstart labor at about 16hrs, and monitored me very closely for signs of infection.   

I had a very fast, 5 hour labor, so my baby was born 21 hours after my membranes had ruptured.  If I hadn't had her that quickly, they still would not have done a c-section because I was in labor.  They did have us stay a little longer in the hospital, though, because they wanted to be sure neither one of us had an infection. 

5dogs

Depends on your OB - it was not the case for mine. I had a very slow micro-leak for 2 days before we jumped to an induction (cynotec and then pit)... and even then, I would have been given another 24 hours at the hospital, at least, before we even discussed a c-section because my fluid levels were fine & I was GBS-. I delivered about 22 hours after I came to the hospital.

SWBs Wifey

I've been told that if I'm not in active labor by 18 hours after water breaking, I'll probably need to be put on pitocin.  

With DS1, the hospital was pushy and wanted to put me on it after only 2 hours... we held them off for 5 and then my MW was finally reached (she wasn't on call that day and was just doing me a HUGE favor) and she agreed to start it as low and slow as possible.  DS was born 19 hours after my water broke...  

pinksweetpea2

If you are giving birth in a hospital with an OB, most likely.

I was in labor for 40 hours with my water broken, but I gave birth at home with a MW.  The whole 24 hours thing is a policy enforced by most hospitals for legal reasons...and also to ensure that patients are not taking up valuable space for too long.  

If people are keeping their hands to themselves, then you can go well past 24 hours without the risk of infection.    

FyreFlyeRush

I had a slow leak. So slow, that by the time I'd get to the hospital, the leak would stop. They could see evidence of it, but they couldn't get more to leak out. The baby had plenty of fluid around her. They let me go for two weeks until I went into labor spontaneously. And, when my membranes RUPTURED, it was a LOT of fluid, lol. Totally different from that trickle I'd been feeling.

choppinbroccoli22

Nope... nope nope... unless of course you have an OB. Then,...I hate to tell ya...you could be correct.

I had midwives with #1 and after my water break was confirmed (there was some doubt as it was just a piercing) the OB was immediately saying to them, "why aren't you inducing her?" I was in early labor for a long time. I left the hospital but returned and checked in for the night.

After 24 hours, the midwives' time frame for not using pitocin was at its max. (At the birth center I will be using this time, they would administer antibiotics at 24 hrs and wait UP TO 48 hours depending on other risk factors before transferring to hospital and starting pit.) So, I had increasing small increments of pitocin administered through my IV to get me to where I needed to be. I delivered at 44 hours. I used nubain to help me in the last few hours before pushing, to make sure I relaxed and achieved 10 cm and my vaginal birth. I knew that my midwives had fought for me this long, and I was pretty sure that my time was running out.

edit: words

lkm2006

My water broke 18 hours before I delivered but there was never a mention of a c section just because of that. And that's with an OB and GBS+. I was induced so I was already on Pitocin. 

DownToEarthGirl

Ours was a hospital policy, not a doctor policy.  If your water broke, which mine did first before labor started, you had 24 hours to be in "active" labor.  I was worried about this, so when my water broke with my first, I stayed home 6 hours before trying to get labor started (walking, lunges, swaying, etc.) before letting my midwife know.  Then I went to the hospital and had to do the same stuff + nipple stimulation to get it active.  Luckily for me I progressed to active labor within about 12 hours of my water breaking and had my son 26 hours after my water broke. 

julyjennifer

Not necessarily.  This is a policy at some places but for liability/$$ reasons.

As a frame of reference, when my water broke with #2, my homebirth midwife casually mentioned that my contractions would probably *start* within 24 hours.  So, she obviously was not envisioning that the whole process would necessarily have to be wrapped up by then.

That said, contractions started about 5 hours later (not sure when exactly, as I had gone to bed by then), and 3-4 hours after that, baby was born at home. 

mom2be0912

I agree with everyone else.. it seems to depend on the OB/MW policy. My friend delivered almost 48 hours after her water broke in a hospital but she fought her OB on having a c/s for a long time so that she could give birth vaginally and it worked out for her!

PansyPants

Depends on your OB/midwife. My water broke before labor even started and I didn't deliver for 17 hours. There was never once any talk of a c-section and my doctor was very vague with the rest of the hospital staff when they asked about when my water broke. 

Noethola

My friend was pregnant with twins. At 26 weeks, the water broke for one of the babies, but not the other. That was a Wednesday, they waited till Monday to deliver, to give the babies more time to grow. There is a greater chance of infection after 24hrs (hence the policy). But its not completely necessary. Babies are both doing great in NICU now.