Chorevia

Day 276 of 280 · 39 weeks + 3 days

If the waters go

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 8 sources · Plain-text version

Thirty-nine weeks and three days. Waters often go as a trickle, not a gush. Today you write the four things to note before you call: the time, the colour, the smell, and you.

Size this week
about the size of a watermelon
Length this week
around 50.7 cm from head to heel
A Latina woman with a full bump in a loose dress and slippers stands in a hallway with a phone to her ear, a packed holdall by the front door, soft early morning light.

Thirty-nine weeks and three days. In films, the waters break in a rush in the middle of a supermarket. In life it's often quieter than that. Today's note is about what to do when it happens, however it happens.

Your baby

A single small watermelon on a plain pale wooden table, soft window light.

Around now your baby is around 50.7cm long from head to heel, about the size of a watermelon (NHS). Once they're born, they may take a few seconds to cry or splutter. Their breathing may be fast and then slow, with gaps of up to 5 seconds, while they learn (NHS). The newborn guide answers that one too: why a newborn breathes fast and then pauses.

Your body

The NHS's advice for this week is to be alert for your waters breaking, which may be a trickle, and to call a midwife or doctor for advice if it starts (NHS). The Office on Women's Health says to tell your doctor the time your water broke and its color or odor, because the risk of infection rises if labour is delayed afterwards (OWH).

For most women, contractions begin within 24 hours after the water breaks (MedlinePlus). Your provider will tell you whether to come in now or wait at home. That's their call to make, which is why you ring.

Try today

  1. The waters note

    Time: 5 minutes

    1. Put a pack of maternity pads in the hospital bag and one by the bed. A pad shows you the colour; a towel doesn't.

    2. On your card, write: "Waters: time ___. Colour ___. Smell ___." Those are the details the OWH says to tell your doctor (OWH).

    3. Under it: "Then call, day or night." MedlinePlus says to contact your provider right away for leaking amniotic fluid (MedlinePlus).

    4. Tell your partner where the card and the pads are.

    Make it work:

    If your group B strep result was positive, say so on that call. MedlinePlus lists 18 or more hours after the waters break without delivery as one of the risk factors for passing GBS to the baby (MedlinePlus).

Watch for

  • Normal

    a little urine leaking when you cough or laugh, as the pelvic floor relaxes (NHS).

    Call your provider

    right away for fluid leaking from the vagina (CDC); if you can't tell which it is, call and ask, which MedlinePlus says to do whenever you're unsure (MedlinePlus).

  • Normal

    waters going before any contractions.

    Call your provider

    as soon as you can for fever or chills (OWH), and tell them about any colour or odor (OWH).

  • Normal

    a baby who is squashed for space but still moving in their usual pattern (NHS).

    Call your provider

    right away if the movements slow down or stop (CDC).

For you

It may be a trickle rather than a gush (NHS), and you may not be sure at first. You can't really practise this one, so practise the call instead. Say it once out loud: "I'm 39 weeks, I think my waters have gone, it was at about this time, and it looked like this." Once those words have been said once, they're easier to find on the night.

If you're the partner: you're the one who writes down the time. She'll remember the moment; you remember the numbers.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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