What does amniotic fluid smell like? Amniotic fluid should be odorless. Contact your healthcare provider if you notice a foul smell as it could be meconium-stained or mean there is an infection.
Symptoms of leaking amniotic fluid
You can tell whether you're leaking amniotic fluid and not urine by taking the sniff test: If it doesn't smell like ammonia, it's more likely to be amniotic fluid. If it has an ammonia scent, it's probably urine. If it has a somewhat sweet smell, it's probably amniotic fluid.
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.
Your water broke
Amniotic fluid looks a little different than leukorrhea, though. It's watery and straw-colored (like pale urine), instead of whitish and mucus-like in consistency. And it usually trickles out continuously once it starts.
If you and your midwife suspect that your waters have broken but are not sure, you will be offered an internal examination. If you agree to this, your midwife or doctor will insert a plastic speculum into the vagina so that they can see if water is leaking through the neck of the womb.
What color is amniotic fluid? Amniotic fluid is mostly clear but can be a pale yellow like the color of straw. Amniotic fluid that's tinted brown or green means the fetus has passed meconium (their first poop) in your uterus.
Your water may have broken if you experience: A popping feeling followed by a gush or trickle of fluid from your vagina. Fluid in your underwear or down your leg in either small or large amounts. Wetness that's odorless and clear or pale yellow.
If the fluid is clear and your are having only mild contractions or none at all, your physician or midwife may have you stay home for awhile. If the amniotic fluid is green, brownish-yellow, or anything other than clear in color, notify your physician or midwife and come to the hospital as soon as possible.
The bag of waters around your baby has broken and the fluid is able to trickle out, but your labour has not started yet. This is called pre-labour rupture of membranes (PROM). You may have experienced a small trickle of water, or a gush of water.
Your doctor may use the term “premature rupture of membranes” or PROM. This happens when you have carried your baby full term, your water breaks, and you are ready to go into labor. However, some women experience water breaking but don't have contractions, pain, or discomfort.
In a few rare cases, however, amniotic fluid leakage ceases, amniotic fluid volume is restored, and pregnancy continues until term.
Normal amniotic fluid is a watery clear or straw colored fluid, and looks similar to urine.
In general, amniotic fluid is odorless, although some people detect a sweet smell like semen or chlorine.
95 women in every 100 will give birth within 4-5 days of their waters breaking however the risk of infection in your womb increases significantly after 24 hours. This is the reason we recommend planning an induction after 36 hours.
When your water breaks you might experience a sensation of wetness in your vagina or on your perineum, an intermittent or constant leaking of small amounts of watery fluid from your vagina, or a more obvious gush of clear or pale yellow fluid.
Signs of leaking amniotic fluid
Leaking amniotic fluid might feel like a gush of warm fluid or a slow trickle from the vagina. It will usually be clear and odorless but may sometimes contain traces of blood or mucus. If the liquid is amniotic fluid, it is unlikely to stop leaking.
The good news is that, in most cases, amniotic fluid leaks are not cause for concern. However, you should consult your doctor immediately if you suspect you are leaking amniotic fluid, as too little fluid can cause the umbilical cord to become compressed, preventing your baby from getting enough food and oxygen.
Leaking amniotic fluid is usually characterized by the presence of a transparent, odorless liquid in your underwear that results in wetness. It usually occurs more than once a day.
Believe it or not, one of the most common reasons people come to the maternity unit is because they're leaking something. Most of the time, it's not amniotic fluid but— you guessed it—pee. When you've got a baby pressing on your bladder, sometimes it leaks.
The AL-SENSE™ Amniotic fluid detection kit is an in vitro self-test that allows detection of possible amniotic fluid leakage in the event of pregnant women sensing unidentified vaginal wetness. AL-SENSE™ can distinguish between amniotic fluid leak (positive result) and urine (negative result).
Hormonal imbalance: Hormonal imbalance occurs when the endocrine system produces too little or too much of a particular hormone in your bloodstream. Whether caused by stress, diet, or a health issue like polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), hormonal imbalance can result in side effects like watery vaginal discharge.