# Water broke with no contractions--How likely is this to happen again?



## anne1140 (Apr 10, 2007)

I know it's like, what, a 10% chance that your water will break at the start of labor? I was in that 10%. I never started regular contractions, even over 24 hours later and with the use of a hospital-grade breastpump, and I had to start pitocin. I believe my waters rupturing in the beginning eventually led to me having a c-section. I don't think my son was quite ready to come out.

Does anyone know my chances of this happening again? Does it tend to be a random occurrence, or does it tend to happen to the same people? FWIW, I have a septate uterus, meaning it's not the normal shape and is slightly deformed, and I don't believe my son was in the optimal position (possibly posterior), although I could never get anyone to verify it. I do wonder if he couldn't get in proper position because of the shape of my uterus, or if he just didn't have time, since my water broke before he could. (The said reason for c-section was that he was stuck. I pushed for three hours and he seemed to be stuck behind a curve or bone or what have you.)


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## Nicole730 (Feb 27, 2009)

Mine broke first with both of my births. I am curious to see what happens this time. I had 14 hours between water breaking and contractions with my first. Only 3 hours in between with my second. What is your hospital's policy? my first wanted me contracting by 24 hours past the water breaking. For my homebirths I have to go to the hospital if no contractions after 24 hours. My CNM in the hospital found a study that said up to three days with no contractions is normal and safe for mom and baby, but unfortunately hospitals do not follow that.


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## Adaline'sMama (Apr 16, 2010)

Mine broke 6 hours before any contractions with my first birth and 2 minutes before my son was born with my second birth. I dont know what the likelyhood is that if it happened once it will happen again, but in my case it didnt happen


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## Plummeting (Dec 2, 2004)

Mine broke 7 or 8 hours before contractions with my first. It broke a little over an hour before contractions with my second. It broke right at the start of contractions (that I wasn't even sure were contractions) with my third. I don't know if it's usually random, but I'm 3 for 3 on water breaking before or right at the start of labor.


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## mandib50 (Oct 26, 2004)

i know that if your membranes ruptured before labour began the first time, you are at an increased chance of having the same happen again. not sure on the percentage though.


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## nugget's mommy (May 13, 2006)

Longtime lurker stopping in just to relay my story in case it helps you and anybody else  Sorry I don't have answers and statistics for your specific question. I know it is incredibly frustrating to hear when all you want and need is a crystal ball, but every birth can be different, even within the same woman.

With my first, my water broke and nothing happened. I hadn't found MDC yet, but I knew I wanted an intervention free birth. Unfortunately, I didn't know much about homebirth at that point, so it was a hospital birth that ended up having every intervention under the sun and ultimately a c-section. For what it's worth, my super medically minded doctor did "let" me go for (if memory serves) over 58 hours with my water broken because she did know how much I wanted a vaginal birth. But eventually I started developing a fever despite being on antibiotics for GBS and he started having the bad decels in his heartbeat. Like you, I think he was positioned poorly and if we weren't in a hospital there may have been a chance.

Then my second birth I had found MDC, prepared like crazy, hired myself a doula, and found a dr. that was much more natural minded. I did a lot of soul searching about homebirth, but ultimately decided to go the hospital route again. Well didn't you know it, it happened again. Water broke (at work no less) and absolutely nothing happened - again. With the coaching of my doula, I tried every way to get labor going - even castor oil, but no - not even a twinge. I even fibbed a little to my dr. about when my water actually broke. For what it's worth, my doula (actually she was a monitrice (sp?)) said I would've "timed out" of the homebirth midwife she worked with, so I'm glad I didn't opt for homebirth. So, 24 hours later I went to the hospital. No GBS this time, so no antibiotics for that, but my dr. was getting antsy about the time (and he didn't even know about my time "adjustment" that really would've made him twitch). So I had zero interventions this time, but about 40 hours after my water broke nothing was happening and I was dialated zero cms, so I was just frustrated and done and tired of getting pressured, so I consented to another c-section.

At this point I was convinced my body was, indeed, broken, but I am stubborn. We decided to go for #3. With the help of some MDC mommas and ICAN, I found a provider that would let me try for a VBA2C. I took a sh!t-ton of vitamin C (supposed to help strengthen your membranes) and all kind of things to make sure I was GBS free again, my blood pressure stayed low, and I didn't fail the 1 hour GTT (didn't ever before, but I wanted there to be no complications). I listened to hypnobabies VBAC disc, to boot. So two days before my due date I felt a familiar gush of fluid. Craptastic. So I went to bed to try to relax and get some sleep (this is the ONLY thing I didn't do after the first 2 times my water broke prematurely). And wouldn't you know it, about 2 hours later LABOR STARTED!!! I was so freaking excited. At first they were coming 5 minutes apart and not too strong. They quickly progressed to 2 minutes apart and got stronger but I reveled in the pain. So off to the hospital we went, about 4 hours after labor started. Stop reading here if you want to imagine that I went on to have my triumphant VBA2C....ok I warned you. Anyway, even with the 4 hours of regular contractions I got to the hospital and I was only dialated to 1 cm - BOO! Had some interventions that didn't go over well, and ended up with my 3rd section, but the point of my story is that I was sure I would never go into labor on my own, but I did, and the fact that I did was so incredibly healing to me - I wasn't completely broken (though I also don't seem to dialate on my own, but with patience and better support the first time, I may have eventually dialated and had myself a baby the good old fashioned way). So don't give up or assume anything. Hope my personal experience helps a little and good luck with your future VBAC!!! Oh and sorry I wrote a novel. I tend to do that


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## hildare (Jul 6, 2009)

hi. i had a c-birth with my first for exactly the reason you describe; my water broke and then past the 26 + hour guideline/limit later, i still had made absolutely no progress- o effacement, 0 dilation.

this was also at 40 w 4 d. so not early, at all. dd's head also was engaged, oddly enough.

with my second, we waffled about vbac a whole lot, both babies were pretty huge, so i did have a second c. at 39 weeks, i had not moved to dilate or efface, my cervix was not even soft.

i tend to think in my case, b/c i tried to search for "answers" about this, too, is that i have a very uncooperative cervix. i don't think for me it was about the rupture of membranes so much as the cervix. i have also read that this is linked to maternal age, and i am an older mom.

also (M/C mentioned) i had a blighted ovum and had a d & e. my ob did not mention this but i snooped in my medical chart, and saw that there was some difficulty dilating me for the procedure.

i hope that you have success with your vbac attempts, though! every one of us is different


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## Justmee (Jun 6, 2005)

With the twins, my water broke. The two singletons I went into regular labor. With the twins, contractions didn't start until 12 hours later, adn they weren't born until about 20 hours after that, but thank goodness I avoided a section and they were a normal birth.


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