What does ruptured membranes look like

You may feel a large gush of fluid after the membranes rupture. The uterus keeps making amniotic fluid until the baby's birth. So you may still feel some leaking, especially right after a hard contraction tightening of the muscles of the uterus.

Sometimes it can be hard to tell if your membranes have ruptured. As you get closer to your due date, your uterus puts more pressure on your bladder. A strong Braxton Hicks contraction or sneeze can cause some urine to leak. You might mistake this for a rupture of the membranes.

If you are lying down when your membranes break, you are more likely to feel a gush of liquid. If the membranes break when you are standing up, you are more likely to feel just a trickle. That's because the baby's head gets pushed down against the cervix and acts like a cork when you stand.

If you think your membranes have ruptured:. You can also go to the hospital or birthing centre. The health professionals there will test the drainage to see if it is amniotic fluid. Amniotic fluid is normally a cloudy-white to an amber-straw colour.

Let your health professional know if the leaking fluid:. To start induce or speed up labour, the doctor or midwife may rupture your membranes. Tests for PROM involve analyzing vaginal secretions to determine if amniotic fluid is present. Since the fluids might be contaminated with blood or other secretions, these tests look for substances or certain characteristics that are normally only found in amniotic fluid.

Your health care provider will collect some fluid from the vagina using a medical tool called a speculum in order to do most of these tests.

They will insert the speculum into the vagina and gently spread apart the vaginal walls. This allows them to examine the inside of the vagina and to collect fluid directly from the vagina.

This test involves testing the pH of a sample of vaginal fluid. Normal vaginal pH is between 4. Amniotic fluid has a higher pH of 7.

Therefore, if the membranes have ruptured, the pH of the sample of vaginal fluid will be higher than normal. This test involves putting a drop of fluid obtained from the vagina onto paper strips containing Nitrazine dye. The strips change color depending on the pH of the fluid.

The strips will turn blue if the pH is greater than 6. This test, however, can produce false positives. If blood gets in the sample or if there is an infection present, the pH of the vaginal fluid may be higher than normal. Semen also has a higher pH, so recent vaginal intercourse can produce a false reading. A few drops of fluid will be placed on a microscope slide and observed under a microscope. Once PROM is confirmed, additional tests to assess the following will likely be performed to assess the following:.

If you are at term more than 37 weeks pregnant , you may go into labor naturally or your health care provider may induce labor to help reduce the risk of infection. If your health care provider decides to delay delivery, they should continue to monitor you and your baby to make sure that this decision remains the best course of action. The biggest risk of PROM is infection. If the uterus becomes infected chorioamnionitis , the baby must be delivered immediately.

An infection can cause serious problems for the baby. For preterm PROM, the biggest risk is a preterm delivery, which increases risks of complications for the baby. These complications include:.

So you may still feel some leaking, especially right after a hard contraction. Author: Healthwise Staff. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Learn how we develop our content. To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.

Updated visitor guidelines. You are here Home » Rupture of the Membranes. Top of the page. Topic Overview When you are pregnant, a fluid-filled bag called the amniotic sac surrounds and protects the fetus. Your contractions may get stronger after your membranes rupture. Spontaneous rupture of the membranes Sometimes it can be hard to tell if your membranes have ruptured.

If you think your membranes have ruptured: Call your doctor. If the pregnancy is less than 24 weeks when the membranes rupture, the fetus's limbs may be deformed. After the membranes rupture, contractions usually begin within 24 hours when the woman is at term but may not start for 4 days or longer if rupture occurs between 32 and 34 weeks of pregnancy.

Using a speculum to spread the walls of the vagina, the doctor or midwife examines the vagina and cervix the lower part of the uterus to confirm that the membranes have ruptured and to estimate how much the cervix has opened dilated. If prelabor rupture of the membranes is diagnosed and the fetus can survive outside the uterus, the woman is usually admitted to a hospital so that the status of the fetus can be determined.

If the pregnancy is less than 34 weeks, usually rest, close monitoring usually in the hospital, antibiotics, and sometimes corticosteroids. If the pregnancy is less than 32 weeks, usually magnesium sulfate to prevent bleeding in the brain and problems with development of the newborn's brain.

Doctors must balance the risk of infection in the uterus and in the fetus when delivery is delayed against the problems that may occur when a newborn is premature. Generally, a doctor or certified nurse midwife does the following:. If the pregnancy is 34 weeks or more, labor is artificially started induced Induction of Labor Induction of labor is the artificial starting of labor. Usually, labor is induced by giving the woman oxytocin, a drug that makes the uterus contract more frequently and more forcefully.

If the pregnancy is less than 34 weeks, the woman is closely monitored for signs of infection or labor in the hospital. Sometimes doctors analyze a sample of amniotic fluid to determine how mature the fetus's lungs are. The sample may be taken from the woman's vagina or by amniocentesis Amniocentesis Prenatal diagnostic testing involves testing the fetus before birth prenatally to determine whether the fetus has certain abnormalities, including certain hereditary or spontaneous genetic In amniocentesis, a doctor inserts a needle through the wall of the abdomen into the amniotic fluid and withdraws a sample from the membranes around the fetus.

If the fetus is in severe distress or the uterus is infected, labor is usually induced and the baby is delivered regardless of the length of the pregnancy. If the pregnancy is less than 34 weeks, labor is delayed. The woman is advised to rest and to limit her activities as much as possible.

She may be hospitalized so that she can be monitored closely.