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LaborWeeks 32–42

What Should You Do When Your Water Breaks? What to Check and When to Call

Call your provider, midwife or labor and delivery when your water breaks, even before contractions. Note the time, color and any smell; use a pad, not a tampon.

  • MyPregnancy editorial
  • Updated
  • 1 min read
  • 7 sources

Not yet medically reviewed. This article sums up published guidance from the sources at the end. It is not medical advice: follow your own midwife or doctor.

On this page
  1. What to check
  2. If contractions do not start
  3. Before 37 weeks
  4. Using the contraction timer
Two pairs of hands forming a heart on a pregnant belly in a striped top.
Photo by Felipe Bustillo on Unsplash

Your baby grows inside a fluid-filled bag called the amniotic sac. When the sac breaks, the fluid comes out of your vagina. This is called rupture of membranes, or your water breaking. It can happen before contractions start.

It can come as a sudden gush you cannot hold back, or as a slow trickle.

What to check

It is not always easy to tell. Many pregnant people leak urine, and a quick test can show your provider whether the fluid is urine or amniotic fluid.

Fluid leaking from your vagina and discharge that smells bad are both on the CDC's list of urgent warning signs in pregnancy. Get care right away rather than waiting to see what happens.

If contractions do not start

Most people go into labor within hours of their water breaking. If labor does not start, your provider may suggest inducing it. The longer labor is delayed after your water breaks, the higher the risk of infection.

Before 37 weeks

If you are less than 37 weeks pregnant, a gush or trickle of fluid can be a sign of preterm labor. Do not wait. Call your provider right away.

Using the contraction timer

Make the call first. If contractions then start, the timer records how long each one lasts and how far apart they are. It records what you feel. It does not replace a call or a check.

Sources

  1. NHSSigns that labour has begun
  2. NHSPremature labour and birth
  3. ACOGHow to Tell When Labor Begins
  4. ACOGLabor Induction
  5. ACOGPreterm Labor and Birth
  6. Office on Women's HealthLabor and birth
  7. CDCUrgent Maternal Warning Signs and Symptoms

Last checked .

Written by the MyPregnancy editorial team from the sources above.

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