What is the difference between water breaking and discharge?

When a pregnant woman is about to give birth, her amniotic fluid will rupture and amniotic fluid secretions will appear in the vagina. At this time, she must prepare for delivery in time. It is also worth mentioning that vaginal secretions often appear in the late pregnancy. Many inexperienced young women will confuse the two, so the above details the difference between normal vaginal secretions and amniotic fluid rupture.

The difference between water breaking and secretion:

If a pregnant woman's water breaks, it means that she is about to give birth. If you cannot distinguish between water breaking and secretions, it is easy to miss the preparations for the pregnant woman's delivery. On the surface, water breaking can be easily confused with female secretions, so how do you distinguish between water breaking and secretions in pregnant women?

How to distinguish between water breaking and secretion

Vaginal secretions will increase in the later stages of pregnancy, but it does not necessarily mean that water has broken. Generally, when the water breaks, you will feel a sudden flow of water out of the vagina. When the fetal head descends and blocks the cervical opening, the flow of water will decrease, but some water will still flow out as the pregnant woman moves. When premature rupture of membranes occurs, mothers often think that they have wet their underwear with urine and do not know that it is premature rupture of membranes. However, it is very important to identify premature rupture of membranes as soon as possible to prevent bacteria from ascending through the vagina to the uterus and infecting the fetus, and to avoid complications such as umbilical cord prolapse.

When a woman is not sure whether her amniotic fluid is rupturing prematurely or she is leaking urine, she can insert a specific chemical test paper into her vagina. If the amniotic fluid breaks prematurely, the amniotic fluid flowing in the vagina will turn the orange test paper into dark green. Take the test paper to the hospital and observe it under a microscope. You can see small fat lumps and fetal hair in the amniotic fluid, which means it is premature rupture of membranes.

What to do after your water breaks

1. Further treatment according to the number of weeks of pregnancy

(1) During the 16th to 22nd week of pregnancy, the fetal survival rate is less than 25% and the maternal morbidity rate of continued pregnancy is as high as 58.5%. Therefore, the principle of treatment is to terminate the pregnancy or adopt conservative observation therapy according to the patient's wishes.

(2) At 23 to 24 weeks of pregnancy, the survival rate of premature birth can be as high as 90%. However, there are still many complications of premature fetus. It is advisable to discuss with the pediatrician and then decide whether to terminate the pregnancy or keep the fetus.

(3) Conservative treatment during the 25th to 31st week of pregnancy may include the use of antibiotics, tocolytics, and steroids, and observation for clinical symptoms of infection. The inflammatory index was monitored every 3 days, and fetal maturity was assessed by ultrasound every week.

(4) If the fetal lungs are mature between 32 and 34 weeks of pregnancy, induced labor is performed. If the fetus' lungs are not yet mature, steroids can be given first and the fetus can be kept in place until 34 weeks before delivery.

(5) Prevention of neonatal group B streptococcal infection and fetal delivery should begin after 34 weeks of gestation.

2. Dealing with other dangerous situations

Clinically, if the mother is found to have a fever, the mother and fetus' heartbeats continue to accelerate, there is uterine tenderness, strong uterine contractions, foul-smelling vaginal secretions, or an increase in white blood cell count and inflammation index, it is very likely that she has "chorioamnionitis". At this time, broad-spectrum antibiotics should be used as much as possible for treatment, and the fetus should be delivered as soon as possible. Caesarean section can be performed if necessary.