Inducing Labor Safely: How to Get Your Water to Break
How To Start Contractions After Doctor Breaks Water?
The first thing you need to do is relax. You want to feel like you are not going into labor. If you have been sitting up all night or if you are tired from work, then try lying down on the couch with your legs crossed and head resting against one leg. Lie there quietly until the contractions subside.
You will probably notice that the contractions don’t seem to come right away. They may take a few minutes before they become intense enough to wake you up. Keep trying to stay still and keep thinking about relaxing.
Try breathing slowly through your nose while keeping your eyes closed. You might even find that you fall asleep!
If you are feeling sleepy, then try taking a nap. Or you could just lie here and let nature take its course.
Once the contractions slow down, then you can get up and move around. You might be able to stand up on your own but it won’t be easy. Once again, try to remain quiet so that you don’t disturb anyone else in the house or neighborhood.
If you are at work or busy taking care of the kids, then try to keep yourself occupied so that you don’t focus too much on your contractions. If you are working a job that doesn’t require physical exertion, then just try to stay calm and keep going through the motions of your daily routine.
You also want to avoid taking a bath or shower since you want the constant reminder that your water has broken without looking down at your legs. If you are worried about getting the bed wet, then just move to the couch or other place that is safe. You can even put a towel down first.
If you are having contractions on a daily basis (or every few hours), then you might not be able to get much sleep. You can try to conserve your energy by getting up only when a contractions comes on strong. Remember that they usually don’t last very long so just use the time in between to get some rest.
How Long After Doctor Breaks Water Is Baby Born?
If you have no complications and your water breaks naturally on its own, then it is going to take a few days for the contractions to start and even longer for you to actually give birth. Your water could break at any time during the day or night so you may want to sleep when you can. It is not going to be easy to get a full nights rest but you’ll have plenty of time to sleep once the baby is here!
Once your water breaks, you will have contractions within an hour or two. The contractions should start off mild at first and then get stronger as time goes on. You may not even know what they are at first but as your due date gets closer, your doctor may offer to break your water to help the contractions start sooner.
It is not uncommon for women to have their water broken and then be sent home because their contractions aren’t coming on strong enough. If this happens to you, don’t worry. Your due date isn’t going to change and your baby will most likely arrive within the next 24 hours or so.
Just head on home and try to relax.
What Do Contractions Feel Like?
Contractions are never fun but when they start coming more regularly, you will feel pressure in your lower abdomen that gets stronger and stronger. It may be similar to a bad case of gas pains but these contractions will come on strong and get worse the longer they last. You may also feel like you have to use the bathroom during or right after they pass.
You may not feel them at all. Some women go into labor without ever experiencing any contractions at all. It just depends on your body and how you experience labor and delivery.
How Do You Know Your Contractions Are Stronger?
Contractions don’t all come on strong right away. Sometimes, you could have a few that are just slightly uncomfortable and then one will come on really strong and make you take notice.
If you are at work or in public, this is where gas pains will come in handy. Just tell whoever you are with that you have stomach cramps and would like to sit down for a few minutes. If your water hasn’t broken yet, you can get away with this excuse multiple times before someone may suggest that you go home and rest because you don’t look so good.
How Long Before My Baby Is Born?
You may have a few false alarms before your baby is actually born but this is normal. Most women don’t go straight from their water not breaking to immediately giving birth. It usually takes several hours of going back and forth before the actual birth happens. You will most likely know when it is time to go the hospital or birth center because your contractions will be close together and last for at least 60 seconds.
There is no need to time them until they get close to this length and frequency so you shouldn’t worry about that. As long as you are feeling the contractions and they are getting stronger, it is a good sign that your body is ready to start the birthing process.
When It’s Time To Go
Once your water breaks and you are having contractions that are at least a minute long, call your doctor or midwife to let them know that it is time to head to the hospital or birth center. You never know how quickly things can happen so it is always best to be safe and not have a baby in the parking lot!
It is also a good idea to have your partner drive so you can focus on breathing and relaxing. If you are the one that is driving, make sure you concentrate on the road and not the contractions because this can make things more dangerous.
Most likely, you will arrive at your destination before your baby decides to come. Once there, you will be checked to make sure that your cervix is fully dilated and you are ready to start pushing. If not, you may get a little break while the doctors or midwives get everything ready for the baby’s arrival.
You will most likely be put on an IV, even if you don’t normally have them because once that baby starts coming, you will need all the fluids you can get. You will also most likely be given an epidural to help you deal with the pain of the contractions and pushing because this is a long process and you don’t want to be feeling it the whole time.
When your body is finally ready, it’s time to start pushing that baby out. You can opt for some extra help if you wish but most women are just fine with their partner or someone else they choose to help them during birth.
Once the baby starts coming out, it’s all worth it! Whether you get to hold your little one right away or not, there is nothing more joyous than the moment when you first see them.
The day you find out you’re pregnant is a day that will be remembered for the rest of your life. In most cases, it is also one of the happiest days of your life.
Still, as excited as you may be to start buying things for your little one and making plans for the future, there are still a few more thing to take care of first. One of these things is going to be choosing a doctor or midwife to see throughout the duration of the pregnancy.
Once you’ve found one that you like, it’s time to get on their schedule so they can start doing routine checkups and giving you the proper care that you and your baby need. This is usually when most women start going to their doctor or midwife twice a month until birth.
During each visit, the doctor or midwife will ask when your last menstrual period was and do an ultrasound to see how far along you are and if the baby is growing at a healthy rate. They might also ask questions about your diet, how much you’re sleeping, if you’ve been experiencing any cramping or contractions and if there has been any bleeding.
Most of the time, these routine visits are pretty uneventful but every once in awhile a patient might come in with some common symptoms like bleeding or pain. Sometimes this is just a false alarm but you never know so it’s always better to be safe than sorry and check everything out.
The most common reasons for false alarms are:
~ A Blighted Ovum
This is when a woman thinks she is pregnant, usually after a home test says so or if her period is late. She will then go on to experience bleeding similar to a menstrual period along with cramping and generally feel like something is wrong. In these cases, a miscarriage has actually occurred but there is no fetus.
This can be a very scary thing to happen but the body is usually able to take care of itself without any medical help.
~ Pregnancy Symptoms That Aren’t from the Baby
While every pregnancy is different, most women will experience certain feelings and symptoms during their gestation period. Some of these are:
* Morning Sickness
Even if you’ve never had a problem with nausea and vomiting in the past, you may find that you’re suddenly hit with it at the worst times. Certain smells, foods, beverages and other items can cause you to feel sick and possibly vomit. Most women have the worst symptoms in the first twelve weeks but for others it can last all the way up until birth.
Most doctors have different theories on what can cause this. An old wives’ tale says it has something to do with the umbilical cord being wrapped around the baby but there is no real evidence to support that.
Other theories include:
~ Hormones Flooding the Body
This is the most popular theory and probably the one that’s closest to the truth. Most women who experience morning sickness find that the chances of it happening go way down after the first trimester, which is when hormones start to level out.
Unfortunately, there isn’t really anything that can be done to help symptoms. Most prescription medication only help a little and have side effects just as bad as the nausea itself. The best thing to do is eat light foods that are easy to digest, stay away from things that smell strong, try herbal teas and just take it one day at a time.
~ Stress
This can actually be worse on the body than the actual symptoms. Studies have shown that constant stress can actually cause miscarriages in some women along with other health issues.
For whatever reason, possibly due to their own comfort levels, some doctors just won’t seem to take the symptoms of their patients seriously. One woman recounted how her doctor kept telling her she was just experiencing normal symptoms when she knew something was wrong. Thankfully she listened to her own instincts and got a second opinion from another doctor who immediately sent her for further testing which revealed an ectopic pregnancy.
This is when the embryo attaches itself into the fallopian tubes instead of the womb. In most cases, this is a fatal condition for the mother and child and medical attention needs to be sought immediately.
Fortunately, she was able to get treatment in time and no permanent damage occurred. There are horror stories on the other end of the spectrum though. One woman claimed that her doctor outright told her he wouldn’t do any tests and just told her to go home and rest, ignoring her pleas of concern.
The next day she was found collapsed in front of her home with massive internal bleeding and a dead fetus inside her. An autopsy showed that she went into shock from an unknown blood disease that went undetected.
As you can see, it’s really important when something seems wrong to push your doctor for further testing.
As your pregnancy progresses into the third trimester along, your hormone levels will finally even out to a steady flow and you’ll start feeling much better. Some women still experience minor illnesses such as a cold or the flu along the way but they are able to fight them off fairly easily due to the added nutrients their body is receiving.
You may experience mood swings but that’s normal for you anyway! Seriously though, try not to let it get to you and try to focus on the fact that you are bringing new life into this world.
At your next regular appointment, your doctor will do an internal examination to make sure that the baby’s head has descended into the birth canal. Not all babies do this on their own so unless you’re having contractions or experiencing pain, don’t worry about it. Once this is confirmed, you will be scheduled for a “water breaking” appointment where your doctor will use a gloved hand to break the amniotic sac that has been protecting your baby up till now.
This special appointment might be with an actual midwife or it might be with an obstetrician.
Once your water has been broken, you will begin having contractions that could last anywhere from thirty minutes to several hours. Most women will end up in labor within twenty four hours of their water breaking so don’t worry if you start having mild cramps while you’re at the hospital.
From here on out, the process is pretty much the same as a woman going into labor without being pregnant. If you feel sharp or consistent contractions, it is extremely important that you are checked in to the hospital if not already there because it means your body is ready to give birth and could do so quickly.
Once your baby is out, postpartum bleeding (losing a lot of blood) can sometimes happen. This can be dangerous and the hospital will keep you there for a few days to monitor your condition and administer needed medicines or a transfusion if needed.
Your baby will be looked after by a nursery staff for the first few days but you may hold him or her as soon as you are able.
This is a very exciting time for you and your partner so enjoy it!
Whew! That’s a whole lot of stuff going on all at once but if you just remember to take it easy, everything should go just fine. And don’t worry, even if you don’t remember all this advice, your doctor will go over all of this with you so don’t panic if you start feeling nervous when that time comes.
Even the most experienced mothers get a little anxious at the birth of their first child. Just remember to stay calm and breathe and you’ll be fine.
Thanks for reading! If you’re interested in learning more about pregnancy or child development there are plenty of resources out there! Happy Simming!
Sources & references used in this article:
Monthly Archives: August 2013 by I Labor – mychosenveganbelly.wordpress …
The thinking woman’s guide to a better birth by H Goer – 1999 – books.google.com
When Your Water Breaks Before Labor Begins by H Goer – doulamomma.wordpress.com
Medical and maternal perspectives on pregnancy by H Graham, A Oakley – Medical Sociology: Coping with illness, 2005 – books.google.com
Feeling safe enough to let go: the relationship between a woman and her midwife during the second stage of labour by T Anderson – The midwife–mother relationship, 2000 – books.google.com
