Protecting Mattress-Water breaking in bed?

IsabelC687 · November 2014

Hi Ladies!

FTM here, I didn't see this on previous posts so I thought I'd ask. Is it worth worrying about and doing something to prevent the fluid from reaching the mattress? ie. possible smell, stain etc. Did you ladies do anything to protect your mattress, or didn't bother with it? I assume that the chances of my water breaking in bed aren't that great, but I would hate for my mattress to be ruined.

dacora · November 2014

I have a waterproof mattress protector on my bed, partially because we have a Tempur-Pedic and we were told by the mattress store that any sort of liquid would rot the foam. But I've always had some sort of layer between my mattress and the fitted sheet.

Anything like this would work.

twinklymama · November 2014

Not a bad idea to invest in one now. After all, a kid puking in your bed could easily stink it up.

flyster · November 2014

One of the reasons I love the bump..add this to the things I've never thought of but should have catagory!

lotsofdotts · November 2014

My water did actually break with my first while I was in bed. It wasn't a huge amount of fluid, so it didn't ruin the mattress. I had enough fluid to know it wasn't normal, but I didn't get a rush of fluid until I stood up. With that being said, I'm going to put something on the bed this time just in case history repeats itself.

CatLadyTX · November 2014

I don't think I put a waterproof pad down last time, though I had planned to. I was in bed when my water started leaking, so it wasn't as bad as it would have been had it broken fully.

maltwin1 · November 2014

My water broke while I was asleep, but it wasn't enough to make a mess. I felt my wet underwear and woke up before anything even touched the mattress. I didn't have a small gush until I went to the bathroom while I was sitting on the toilet. I would say that any kind of waterproof mattress cover would be plenty of protection.

tee18 · November 2014

I used the crib mattress protector last time under the sheet (my water didn't break in bed though) and just put it where my hips were in bed. I moved it up to chest level once ds was born to protect the bed from all of the leaking going on from nursing lol sorry if tmi but I had oversupply from too much NICU pumping.

Anyway, it worked! I might get an actual mattress protector this time since ds is now using the crib protectors.

RedGiant · November 2014

This is a good reminder to pick one up. I had one on our need until it recently fell apart (a few years old). My water did break while I was in bed last time, and whenever DS would nap in our bed I was glad to have that mattress cover for the reasons others have listed: spit up, pee, etc

chickyclg · November 2014

Another vote for a waterproof mattress protector. Not just for your water breaking but for other things you may not expect. I woke up too late a couple weeks ago and by the time I had gotten out of bed I had peed a little, I have also done this if I sneeze too hard. Oh the joys of pregnancy.

mommadozer · November 2014

You can also buy the human version of puppy pee pads. They sell them at target. Not sure how much liquid they can hold but they are inexpensive and easy.

krispy83 · November 2014

We have this:

https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=41616826&cp=&parentPage=search

Initially, I got it to go in DS' crib, but the mattress we ordered had a waterproof cover. My water did break when I was getting back into bed after getting up to pee during the night and I was glad I had put this on our bed just in case. It was also very helpful to have, as others have mentioned, when I leaked from BFing or when DS spit up or had a diaper leak in our bed (not frequent, but it did happen occasionally, making this well worth the $11 investment).

Beth.1212 · November 2014

A few weeks before my due date I put a thick towel under the fitted sheet on my side of the bed. My water did break in bed around 4 am, but it didn't leak much. I mostly had wet underwear, and the towel only got ever so slightly damp. TMI warning: I never actually got a gush - I slowly leaked fluid for hours and hours (as in, I was still leaking fluid around 3 pm when I was driving to the hospital).

umbcpt · November 2014

My water broke in bed both pregnancies. Second time was quite bloody due to the placenta previa. Both times I awakened as soon as I felt damp, nothing got on my sheets, just underwear and pjs were damp.

That being said, I have since bought waterproof mattress pads for all beds in my house, as a prevention for kid puking or peeing the bed. Kids sometimes crawl in bed with us early in the morning or if they are sick.

I have found them at Homegoods or TJ Maxx to be of high quality and very reasonably priced

mishka29 · November 2014

My water broke in bed. Even though it was a big gush I rolled out of bed pretty quickly so the sheet didn't get wet. I did have a large changing pad under the sheet just incase such a thing happened.

Protecting your mattress is a must and not just from breaking water but leaky boobs or if you feed in the bed laying down.

dreemkin84 · November 2014

You can cut a huge garbage bag and put it under your side. That's what I did. My water started to leak in bed so I'm glad I had something there.

wille2b · November 2014

My water broke in bed. As soon as I realized what had happened I just screamed for DH and he ran and grabbed a bath towel and I waddled out the room with it between my legs. I don't even think any got on the sheets. I would also assume any mattress pad would help in the event of your water breaking, but as pp have said maybe throw a crib mattress pad underneath in case you are worried

IsabelC687 · November 2014

Thanks for the advice ladies! I think I will purchase something, as some have mentioned, pads are also good for leaky bladders, milk and vomit.

thejollyrancher · November 2014

Mine broke in bed. Woke up to very little water, but the majority came out as I sat up to go to the washroom. I had already put a few towels down a week or so beforehand for that exact worry. Worked just fine, my mattress was dry.

A waterproof mattress pad would definitely work, and would be great for the breast feeding period and for when your kids are young (bed wetting happens...) a good investment in my opinion:) wish I had!

ordinary1 · November 2014

My water broke in bed. It wasn't a big gush until I sat up. I'm glad I bought it last time, especially since I was told FTMs rarely have water breaking as the first sign. This time, I will definitely have a protecter again!

PurpleTink · December 2014

my last pregnancy I bought a shower curtain from the dollar store and put it under the fitted sheet. It drove DH nuts lol I haven't decided what I'll do this time.. I'm super lazy this time around, so probably nothing!