What happens if your amniotic sac is leaking

An increase in vaginal discharge is normal during pregnancy. Amniotic fluid embolism AFE is a pregnancy complication that causes life-threatening conditions, such as heart failure. Learn more here. Your discharge can say a lot about your health.

Here's our swatch-guide to vaginal…. Here's why it happens and how to find relief. During the second trimester, pain, bleeding, and vaginal discharge are normal symptoms. In some cases, however, these symptoms may be a sign of a…. Find information on birth defects, including what causes them, how they're diagnosed, and how they can be prevented.

Vaginal discharge is most often a normal and common occurrence. Some types of discharge, however, could signal something more serious. Learn about…. The hormonal and physiologic changes during pregnancy are unique in the life of women. Discover what they are here. Treatment will depend on the cause of the leak, as well as the age, health, and development of the fetus.

A doctor may recommend bed rest, meaning that the woman should reduce her activities and rest for most of the day. They may also advise abstaining from sex. If a woman has an infection, a doctor will prescribe antibiotics that are safe to take during pregnancy. If the baby is ready to be born, doctors may choose to initiate labor using a drug called oxytocin.

Alternatively, medications called tocolytics can help stop premature labor if it is too early for the birth to occur. About 12 days into pregnancy, an amniotic sac forms around the growing fetus. Amniotic fluid fills the sac and has several purposes, including:. The amniotic fluid comprises mainly water for the first 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The quantity of fluid in the amniotic sac tends to increase until around the 36th week of pregnancy when it starts to decrease. At its peak, there is about 1 quart of amniotic fluid inside the sac. It is not unusual for women to experience more vaginal discharge than usual during pregnancy.

Vaginal discharge will typically smell mild and appear milky. Women may also leak urine when they are pregnant. A pregnant woman with a liquid other than urine or normal discharge coming from the vagina should visit the doctor. This is particularly true if the fluid is green, brown, or has a foul smell. It is normal to feel a heaviness or pressure on the vagina or pelvis during pregnancy.

PROM, or leaking amniotic fluid after 37 weeks, occurs somewhere between 8 and 15 percent of pregnancies. PPROM is far less common, occurring in about 3 percent of pregnancies.

He or she can help you figure out if your water really has broken and the next steps to take. If your membranes rupture and you're at least 37 weeks along, your labor is likely to begin on its own within 24 hours.

If contractions don't start on their own, your doctor will probably induce labor. If you leak amniotic fluid and your membranes rupture earlier than 37 weeks, and your practitioner determines it's too soon for your baby to be safely delivered, you'll most likely receive antibiotics to ward off infection and may need to be hospitalized.

Depending on how early you deliver, your baby may need to be in the NICU for some time before coming home. But you can lower your risk of both conditions by attending all of your prenatal appointments, eating well and not smoking. What to Expect follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations. First of all, we ask for the story.

What happened when her undies got wet? If she describes an occasional squirt whenever she sneezes, it's probably pee. If she describes what we call "a positive shoe test"—a gush of fluid that runs down her legs and fills up her shoes—it's probably SROM. We ask, "Did you have to wear a pad to the hospital? We want to see it. Are your clothes wet? It's sounding like SROM. It's probably pee or something "yucky". Once we get our hands on the aforementioned pad, we test it with a little piece of Nitrizine paper.

That's a yellow test strip that turns bright blue in the presence of amniotic fluid. Unfortunately, it sometimes turns yellow in the presence of urine, blood and vaginal discharge too, so we use a positive Nitrizine test in conjunction with other information to "Name That Leak.

Here's What to Know. By this time, we've probably got our Leaker sitting in bed with a big blue Chux under her tushie. It's just like a puppy pad an absorbent paper pad with a waterproof back. We'll check the Chux periodically for a puddle. If we see one, we'll Nitrizine it. What if our Leaker describes a small puddle but her pad and introitus that's the very outside part of the vagina are Nitrizine negative? She might still be leaking amniotic fluid, just not very much.

So now you're probably getting the idea that ruling out SROM isn't always easy. The next step is a sterile speculum exam. Oh yeah, baby, everybody loves that.