Nine months is a long time to manage uncomfortable pregnancy symptoms, extra weight gain, and hormonal mood swings. That’s why it's normal for many pregnant people to get antsy if their estimated due date passes without nary a contraction, and why some folks might even consider encouraging labor to begin by breaking their own water themselves.
If you've wondered whether this is a safe method to try, you're certainly not alone. However, while it's understandable to want to move things along, breaking your own water is not recommended by health care professionals, and is potentially quite dangerous for you and your baby. Here’s what expectant parents need to know—along with safe methods to encourage labor to begin.
When Does Your Water Break During Pregnancy?
Typically speaking, your water breaks toward the end of the third trimester. Prior to that, your baby is floating in a sac of amniotic fluid inside of your uterus. This fluid cushions your baby, promotes fetal development, and maintains a comfortable temperature inside the womb. Toward the end of the third trimester, the amniotic sac may rupture naturally, causing fluid to leak through the cervix and vagin*l canal, says Ashley Brichter, founder and CEO of Birth Smarter, which offers in-person and virtual childbirth classes for expectant parents.
This is known as your water breaking or rupturing the membranes, and it signals that your baby is coming soon. Typically, once the water is broken, contractions will start in the next hours or days.
Contrary to what you may have seen in the movies, your water doesn't always break before labor starts, says Ami Burns, a childbirth educator and doula in Chicago and the founder of Birth Talk. Indeed, only 15 or 20 percent of pregnant people experience their water breaking before contractions begin.
If your water does not spontaneously break before contractions begin, it will typically happen on its own during labor. “You could be in active labor, already at the hospital, and fully dilated before it breaks,” explains Burns. If it doesn't happen naturally, at various points, your health care provider may decide to move things along by either "sweeping" the membranes to separate them from the cervix or breaking them.
Why You May Be Tempted to Break Your Own Water
Some pregnant people consider breaking their own water to jumpstart going into labor or help labor progress. Others wish to avoid an induction at the hospital, which health care providers might suggest if the pregnancy progresses too long. However, there are many sound reasons for an induction as prolonged pregnancy has been linked to negative side effects for the fetus, such as shoulder dystocia, placenta problems, infection, and fetal macrosomia.
Why It's Not Safe to Break Your Own Water
Breaking your water on your own is not advised. In fact, it can actually be very risky. “Unless there’s a medical reason for your doctor to break your water or induce labor, let nature take its course,” Burns says.
There are some significant risks involved with breaking your own water, including that your baby might not be ready for delivery. Vital fetal development happens even in the last weeks and days of pregnancy.
Additionally, putting a foreign object in the amniotic sac can harm the fetus or cause infection. Germs from the birth canal can be incidentally transferred into the womb. Or you might accidentally scratch or cut yourself or your baby. Plus, inserting something into the vagin* can be very uncomfortable or painful toward the end of pregnancy.
You also don't know how quickly contractions will begin after your water has broken. Labor generally begins hours or days after your water breaks. However, it’s possible for labor to start right away and progress very quickly. You might not have time to get to the hospital and be faced with having to deliver the baby at home or en route.
Also, an unexpected complication could occur requiring medical treatment that won't be available. Breech presentation (your baby is feet first) or other unexpected factors could complicate delivery.
It’s also vital to understand that, once the water does break, most doctors recommend delivering within 24 hours. Otherwise, there is a heightened risk that an infection will travel to the baby.
Why Only Medical Professionals Should Break Your Water
If your labor isn’t progressing, a health care provider might want to break your water at your birthing location. This procedure, called an amniotomy, usually involves rupturing the amniotic sac with a small hook. It’s generally safe under medical supervision.
However, complications can arise, particularly when done outside of a medical setting, and/or by someone other than a trained medical professional. For example, if the baby is not in the ideal, head-down birthing position, there is a greater risk of the umbilical cord entering the birth canal before the baby, potentially causing compression of your baby's blood supply and the need for an immediate c-section.
Safe Ways to Encourage Labor to Begin
To get labor going and avoid induction if possible, there are some safe ways pregnant people can try to encourage labor naturally at home. While you should never break your own water, you can try other methods—but be sure to clear anything with an OB-GYN, midwife, or health care provider first. Here are some options that might be approved by a practitioner:
Movement
Help your baby get into the proper position through postural work and low-impact exercises. For example, you can bounce, rock, or rotate your hips on a birthing ball, which opens your pelvis and softens the cervix. Going on a walk, keeping your feet parallel when standing, and performing pelvic tilts may also help.
Sexual activity
Having sex may encourage labor to begin. Sperm contains cervix-softening prostaglandins (the same thing used in inductions), and org*sms might spur contractions if labor is already close.
Nipple stimulation
Stimulating your nipples to release oxytocin could cause uterine contractions, as well. Most doctors suggest doing this under medical supervision since this could lead to fetal distress or overstimulation of the uterus.
The Bottom Line
While it may be tempting to attempt breaking your own water in efforts to jump-start labor, this is strongly discouraged. It can be hard to wait for labor to begin on its own, but trying to rupture your own membranes could injure you or your baby. Instead, talk to an OB-GYN, midwife, or health care provider about your concerns. Together, you can come up with a birth plan that works for you, complete with contingencies about going past your due date and safe ways to encourage labor to begin.
