What to Do When Your Water is Breaking
Your water may break before or after labour. In approximately ten percent of women, it happens before labour and when this happens, it means you are going into labour.1 Contact your health care provider and ready yourself to go to the hospital. When your water breaks – also known as rupture of the membranes – there may be either a gush or a trickle as some of the amniotic fluid that has been cushioning your baby leaks out through your vagina. If you are unsure if your water has broken or it is urine leakage, go to the bathroom and empty your bladder. If fluid continues to leak, it will typically mean that the amniotic sac has ruptured and labour is imminent. The fluid may be clear in colour or it may look pink, brown or green.