When is it necessary to break water?

rcarmstead · June 2014

I'll be delivering in a hospital. I want to have as natural a childbirth as possible but also want to know about the possible interventions that will be offered to me and whether or not I can/should reject them. My OB said that they would probably want to break my water if I was 7 or more centimeters dilated and my labor stalled for a few hours. If there isn't any fetal distress, do I need to have my water broken or can I just wait it out, maybe take a nap or go home until labor starts again on its own? At what point would it become necessary for them to break my water? I asked my OB, but he didn't really give a solid answer.

F47 · June 2014

I don't know the answer to this, but wanted to share my experience. I arrived at the hospital at 6.5 cm (I labored at home for 14 hours before leaving). After 3 hours in the hospital I was only at 7 cm. An hour later, when still at 7 cm, I gave in to having my water broken. I then progressed from 7 cm - 10 within an hour.

Unfortunately, LO still hadn't descended enough and pushing got me nowhere. I was at 10 cm for several hours before he was born.

Sometimes I wonder if it's because my labor was "sped up" by having my water broken, and if I should have just waited it out. Contractions before water breaking were WAY easier, so I would have been fine waiting.

MandMLeona · June 2014

Necessary? I guess if the child is born and the membranes are still intact (rare, but does occur). My water didn't break with my second until I was pushing and she was born minutes later.

Most of the time it seems like this is used as a gateway intervension. It's not drugs...so it's more appealing to some. Just remember it is an intervension and does carry risks. Read up on them and decide what's right for you.

lorifili@yahoo.com · June 2014

Just wanted to share my experience...I labored naturally for 12 hours....was in the hospital for 3 hours or so and stalled at 8 cm. They offered to break my water several times and I refused...but I was getting tired and eventually asked for them to do it when I wasn't progressing. I went from 8 cm dilated to 10 cm dilated in 15 minutes...pushed twice and she was out....so, I got lucky and my baby was here 25 minutes after my water broke.

sschwege · June 2014

If they/you felt it necessary to do internal monitoring that would be a reason, you can't do internal monitoring if water is still intact. If you were starting to feel tired, you might consider it as an option to speed things up. I have a friend who was stuck at 9 1/2 centimeters, her MW encouraged her to let them break her bag in an effort to move things along. That was enough to fully dilate her in just a few hard contractions.

While rare, babies are sometimes born in their sac, so there is no reason to break the water. My bags stayed intact all through pushing and both times my MW broke it right before crowning.

Aurora_Borealis · June 2014

As PPs have illustrated, it depends on so many factors.

I arrived to the hospital fully dilated and pushing after 8 hours of labor with water still intact. In my case, the bulging bag was impeding the progress of my pushing, so after a very frustrating hour the MW broke it and DD was born like 15 minutes later.

margaritachikita · June 2014

It all just depends on the situation, which is probably why it was hard for your doctor to give you a straight answer. As PP's have said, it is technically an intervention, so it does carry risks along with benefits. Personally, I allowed my doctor to break my water to "speed things up" when I was already at a 10 and starting to push. My LO was born half an hour later. I probably wouldn't opt for it in early active labor unless it was a way to put off the use of stronger interventions.

Hallil · June 2014

It doesn't HAVE to be broken, both times my water broke after I started pushing. With DD2 she was nearly born in the caul, my bag of waters was coming out but still in tact, her head was right there. When it broke she was out in a couple pushes.

wifeofadam · June 2014

There is no reason to break it unless the doc wants to move things along. You can deliver with your waters intact. Mine usually breaks during the last push.

alohamel · June 2014

No advice here, but in my experience they broke my water at 7 cm.

klynch07 · June 2014

I agree with the other posters. Artificially rupturing membranes or breaking water is commonly performed in the hospital in order to keep things moving along, but may not be absolutely necessary. Like BirthJunkie13 said, it is important that the baby is well engaged in the pelvis before the doctor does this. Most women don't feel any more discomfort that in a vaginal exam, and may feel a gush of fluid. Voice your concerns to your OB and hopefully they can give you a clearer answer.

TrendyTina · June 2014

Never, DD was born in the caul (still in her bag) so my water didn't break until AFTER she was born. Unless there is an emergency it is better to just let your body do its own thing.

valigrl21 · June 2014

With my first, my water broke naturally while we were in triage. With my second, I went from a 6 to a 10 in 20 minutes and was pushing when the doctor walked in the room. As the doctor sat down, DD#2's head was out and the doctor realized she was still in the caul. I had to stop pushing so she could cut the bag open, and then I pushed her out the rest of the way. So it can happen, but it is pretty rare.

mrsblueeyes · June 2014

With DD the OB broke my water at 6cm, there was meconium in the fluid so I "guess" I was happy to know that fact. She was born within an hour of having my water broken. With number 3 my water broke as he came out. I don't think it's usually necessary to break the bag of waters as other have said, unless labor seems to be stalling and it that case it seems it can speed things up.

jinnymb · June 2014

I agree there is no medical reason I suppose. I had mine broken around 7cm with my last two to get me into transition, I usually stall a little bit at 7cm. My first my water broke before labor even started. Totally random and totally up to you! Contractions are more intense once your water is broken, keep that in mind in early labor.

HippieMommaX2 · June 2014

With my first they broke my water when I was about 6cm. I was 6 when I got to the hospital and a few hours later no change. After they broke it things just got much more painful. I always felt like that's what pushed me into getting the epi- which didn't work but still confined me to the bed. Honestly, that was the first in a long list of interventions that no one ever asked me if I wanted.
With my second, she was born with the bag almost in tact. It didn't hurt any thing. The MW kept telling me she was going to break it, lucky I had my husband there to tell me that now was the time to speak up if I didn't want her to and I was still aware enough to tell her no. The bag broke on my last push. There really isn't a need to break it, unless your doc is tired of waiting.
if you're looking for an all natural birth, I'll say as little intervention as possible is the way to go. Like a PP said, this tends to be step one of the doctor taking charge of your labor. It puts you on a clock and being on the defensive isn't a good way to have a happy natural labor.

myvrdavis6 · July 2014

I went all natural except for the IV for group strep B. Having said that when I got to 9cm I allowed the doctor to break my water because I knew it would have no negative effect on my son. Having said that there was meconium and I'm glad that my son didn't swallow any but really I didn't have issues with the water being broken it would have eventually anyway when I started pushing so it didn't bother me.

PineApple85 · July 2014

jinnymb said:

I agree there is no medical reason I suppose. I had mine broken around 7cm with my last two to get me into transition, I usually stall a little bit at 7cm. My first my water broke before labor even started. Totally random and totally up to you! Contractions are more intense once your water is broken, keep that in mind in early labor.

This. Mine broke naturally right before I started pushing - my body was laboring down but we were waiting on the MW (hospital birth). My contractions were irregular the entire time I was in labor and I had a slightly longer than average labor time so they had offered once to break it to speed things up and I declined for this reason.

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