You can't safely "push" your water to break it yourself, and attempting to do so at home is dangerous, risking infection or injury to you or the baby; your healthcare provider can perform a safe medical procedure called an amniotomy (artificial rupture of membranes) to break it during labor, which uses a small hook and helps strengthen contractions, but it's usually done when labor is already progressing and the baby is positioned correctly.
It is not possible to break your water on your own, as this procedure requires specialized sterile equipment and training. Any method used to induce labor should only be implemented when your healthcare provider confirms that your baby is at term and ready for delivery.
Your waters breaking can feel like a mild pop, followed by a trickle or gush of fluid that you cannot control, unlike when you wee. You may not notice the actual breaking. In that case, the only sign that your waters have broken will be the trickle of fluid. Or you might feel some dampness or wetness in your knickers.
“A drop in pressure or any significant change in pressure, whether it's up or down, would change some pressure and have your bag of water break, but again there's a lot of physiological forces at work and it's a hard thing to study as well,” said Dr. Elena Kraus, OB-GYN at SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital.
Water breaks when the amniotic sac weakens and stretches due to natural changes in the body and the baby's growth, which eventually causes the sac to rupture.
Your water can break at any time — before labor begins, after contractions have started or right before delivery. Your healthcare provider may even break your water for you (amniotomy). The amount of water that comes out can look like a bucket of water spilling.
Once your cervix has thinned down and dilated to about two to three centimetres we will be able to break your waters. This is done on labour ward by performing a vaginal examination and inserting a small plastic hook and putting pressure on the bag of membranes around the baby to make a hole.
This episode addresses a common concern about whether it's possible to pop something or break your water by bending over wrong. Thankfully, your baby is very safe and protected by the amniotic sac and your uterus during pregnancy.
Can anything bring labour on?
Sometimes, women may also experience mild cramping or discomfort just before the water actually breaks. These changes happen because the protective amniotic sac, filled with the baby's fluid, is getting thinner and softer as your body prepares for labor.
Amniotic fluid doesn't usually smell and is usually colourless (although it may contain specks of mucus or blood). Urine, however, tends to leak when you cough, laugh, sneeze or move suddenly, even if you're lying down. It can be clear, or straw coloured but usually has a distinctive odour.
When your water breaks, you might feel wetness in your vagina or on the thin layor of skin between your genitals and your anus, called the perineum. Small amounts of watery fluid may come from your vagina a little at a time or in a steady flow. Or clear fluid or pale yellow fluid might pour out.
Sometimes, what appears to be water breaking is mucus. If the fluid is thicker, whiter, and odorless, it's likely mucus. No urine smell — Unlike urine, amniotic fluid doesn't smell like pee. You lose more fluid when you're standing — Try standing up.
Walking and exercise often make it to the top of the list of things to try. While there's no research that says it will induce labor, 30 minutes of moderate exercise at least five times a week can be helpful in any stage of pregnancy.
Some of those early labor signs are subtle (known as silent labor signs) and some are eye-poppingly obvious!
There are no proven safe ways for a woman to break her water at home. It can be dangerous if the water breaks before natural labor begins or before the baby is fully developed. During the natural process of labor, the water breaks when the baby's head puts pressure on the amniotic sac, causing it to rupture.
Usually the bag of waters breaks just before you go into labor or during the early part of labor. It happens often when you are in bed sleeping. You may wake up and think you have wet the bed.
A fully dilated cervix is 10 centimeters open. This means that when your cervix is measured with two fingers, they can be stretched 10 centimeters across. When you're fully dilated, it's time to push and have a baby.
Typically, the distance from the vaginal opening to the cervix is between 3 and 7 inches.
As your cervix begins to dilate during early labor, you may or may not experience some signs and symptoms. It's uncommon to detect physical symptoms of your cervix opening; however, as labor begins, you'll likely feel the uterine contractions that help dilation happen.
FYI: Your Water Can Break While You're Peeing ... or Sleeping. If you think you peed your pants, think again.
If your cervix has opened up to at least 2-3 centimetres dilated and the baby's head is well engaged (low down in your pelvis), your waters will be broken (see below under Artifical Rupture of Membranes). If it is not possible to break your waters a second Propess pessary may be inserted if appropriate.
This might happen simply because the body has reached a certain stage in pregnancy where the membranes naturally thin out, or it could be related to other factors like a mild infection that weakens the membranes. In other cases, the baby's movements or even changes in environment can play a role.