How to tell whether your waters have really broken, according to a midwife

When a woman’s waters break, it’s a sudden gush followed by a hurried trip to the hospital according to the movies, but it’s not always like that.

To clear up the confusion, registered midwife Esme Witty (@esme_bumpsandbirths) explained how women can really know whether their waters have broken in a reel on Instagram.

“From working as a midwife, I often found that women didn’t realize you have forewaters and hindwaters, so I wanted to make this clear in the video. To explain further, your waters (amniotic fluid) are contained in one ‘sac’ or ‘membrane,'” the 29-year-old told Newsweek.

Witty, also the founder of Bumps & Births (bumpsandbirthshypnobirthing.com), said that forewaters are in front of the baby’s head and the hindwaters are behind.

Using a make-shift prop (a pelvis she uses during antenatal hypnobirthing courses, a freezer bag and her daughter’s doll), Witty “breaks” the hindwaters which come out as a small trickle.

Next, she “breaks” the forewaters, which come out gushing, much like the movies.

In most cases, it’s the baby’s head which is presenting first and is against the cervix, Witty said.

“So, if your hindwater membrane breaks, the head acts a bit like a ‘plug’ for all the amniotic fluid behind the head and it trickles out slowly. Comparatively, when the forewater membrane breaks, it’s much more of a ‘pop’ or a ‘gush’ of fluid as shown in the video,” she said.

Witty’s reel has been viewed over 2 million times, with many moms sharing what happened when their waters broke.

“All my waters stayed up behind bub… total splash landing and one soaked midwife,” one user laughed.

“My forewaters broke when I was laying down and it shot out like a large hose, past my feet and hit the end of the bed. It was completely painless for me, but the feeling was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. Wild,” wrote another.

Regardless of whether it’s your hindwater or forewater membrane that breaks, the management is the same, Witty said.

“There’s no particular reason why the forewaters or hindwaters break. However, if you have an induction of labor, or choose to have your waters broken during labor, it will be the forewater membrane that the midwife [or] doctor will break,” she said.

After the success of the reel, Witty was pleased to report that she’s gained many more followers and sign-ups to her courses and birth workshop.

“I’ve been inundated with lovely messages, people sharing it and so many comments and questions,” she added.