RELEASE OF MEMBRANES

Your baby has been growing inside a fluid-filled membranous sac called the amniotic sac, through your pregnancy. And it is like a liquid cushion that protects your baby. When membranes release, the amniotic fluid can either trickle or gush out. This is what we call the ‘water bag breaking’ or ‘water breaking’.

Further, water breaking is also known as the ‘rupture of the membranes’, in medical terms. And we would like to rephrase it to ‘release of membranes’. 

Your membranes will release either at the beginning of labor or during active labor. If they release earlier than 37 weeks, it is known as PROM - pre-labor release of membranes and requires immediate medical attention.

You have been led to believe that when your membranes are released, it means the baby is coming out. In some cases, this may be true. Otherwise, it is just to signal that your baby is on his/her way because at times it may take a day or two for your baby to arrive, after the water bag breaks!

In most cases, labor will begin with contractions and sometimes in the course of the labor, your water bag may release with a gush. In this case, you would already be in the hospital and this release will speed up the contractions. However, for some women, membranes may release early, even before the contractions begin. This may happen as a slow leak or trickle!