What to do when your waters break?

Check out this informative article below kindly provided by our friends @ The Baby Academy.

How do you know if your waters have broken? 

You may feel your waters breaking or you may only realise that your waters have broken when you feel fluid coming out of your vagina or dampness in your underwear.

What should you do when your waters have broken?

Remember the acronym “Get your COAT!”

Colour of the water. Is it clear, pink or green? If it’s green in colour, you need to make your way to your maternity hospital straight away. The green tinge can be from meconium, the baby’s first bowel movement has leaked into the waters.

Odour. Is there an unpleasant smell from the waters around the baby? A strange smell from this water could be a sign of infection. The water around the baby has a very faint sweet smell but it’s not unpleasant.

Amount of fluid. Was there a little trickle or water or a massive gush!

Make sure you note the Time. The clock starts from when the waters break. Once your waters break, your uterus is no longer the safe sterile environment it was and if your baby is in there more than 24 hours, the chance of infection increases.