A lot of women who have been pregnant understand the feeling of simply wanting to get over their pregnancy period. If you are expectant, the last days of the final trimester are the most impatient. You will be eager to hold your young one and end the misery that comes with pregnancy. If praying for your water to break does not work, we have some tips that should help you.

How to Break Your Water at Home

1. Food

Did you know that your food choices can help you break water? While most of these methods don’t have medical backing, they are widely used and have helped many women. Here are some of the foods to try out.

2. Walking

Walking is great exercise and it can help your unborn child drop to the birth canal, bringing about contractions or breaking your water. However, do not push your body to avoid injury.

3. Nipple Stimulation

Stimulating your nipples could trigger labor. You can do this by simply rolling your nipples in between your forefinger and thumb. The idea is to simulate a sucking motion.

4. Sex

Sex is a great way of inducing water breakage, especially if your membranes have been stripped. You can have sex until your water breaks, but not after as this could introduce harmful bacteria into your uterus.

Medical Approach to Break Your Water: Strip Your Membranes

You can have your water broken by a mid-wife or a doctor. However, having your water broken near the onset of labor does not make a difference to your labor and is not recommended. The active labor stage eventually slows down and breaking your water could help get the labor process going faster. If you wish to have your water broken medically, this is the procedure that you will undergo.

Your doctor will have you lie down in bed with your legs elevated or just apart. He or she will then proceed to make a small prick in the belly membranes using an amnihook (a long thin probe). The doctor also could use a special glove known as an amnicot and this glove comes with a pricked end. Your doctor will simply prick a part of the membrane, helping your water burst. A bucket is prepared beforehand and placed underneath the bed. While this procedure is uncomfortable, it is not painful and you will be glad that the entire process is sped up. Your doctor will check on your unborn child’s heartbeat using an ear trumpet or Sonicaid to ensure that the water breakage has not distressed the child.

Contractions will become stronger after water breakage and you will be prepared to start breathing and relaxation exercises. You can also get some pain medication if the pain is unbearable.

Want to see a real-life experience? Check this out:

FAQs About Breaking Your Water

1. What If All the Methods Don’t Work?

If all the water breaking methods mentioned above did not work for you, here is a final way to speed up you labor: hormone drip.

Hormone drips are sometimes necessary and this is especially true when walking does not help with speeding up labor. This drip contains a drug known as Syntocinon which is an artificial form of the labor hormone known as oxytocin. Your baby’s heartbeat will be monitored continuously using electronic sensors on your belly or attaching a clip on the head. Constant monitoring is conducted because the drip may overstimulate your uterus thus distressing the baby. You will most likely need pain medication to help you cope with these very strong and frequent contractions that have been induced. You might want to request for an epidural injection before taking the hormone drip.

2. How Can I Know My Water Has Broken?

It’s not easy to differentiate urine from amniotic fluid. If you are unsure, you might want to get in touch with your doctor or any member of your medical team to get a physical exam and some lab tests. It’s important to keep note of the color and odor of the water you suspect is amniotic fluid and maybe even store a little for evaluation.

3. What Should I Avoid After Breaking the Water?

Your uterus no longer has a protective barrier and this means that you can easily introduce bacteria into the vagina. Sex is prohibited after breaking your water and you are advised to head straight to your hospital.

4. When Will Labor Begin After My Water Breaks?

Labor follows soon after water breakage if it hasn’t already started. In some cases, you may experience a premature rupture within the membranes and in such cases, your doctor or midwife could stimulate contractions by inducing labor. The longer the duration between water breakage and labor, the higher the risk of an infection may develop, and this infection may affect you or your baby.