How long does it take for the water to break before the fetus is in danger?

When the fetus is intact, the breaking of amniotic fluid is a signal that the baby is about to be born into the world. However, if the due date has not arrived, the breaking of amniotic fluid is a sign that the pregnant woman needs to be sent to the hospital immediately. So the question is, how long will it take for the breaking of amniotic fluid to cause intrauterine hypoxia in the fetus?

How long does it take for amniotic fluid to break to cause fetal intrauterine hypoxia

If the amniotic fluid of a pregnant woman is not within the normal range, it will also cause the baby to lack oxygen, and the amniotic fluid of a pregnant woman is also turbid. When the amniotic fluid breaks, you must lie flat. If the pregnant woman secretes too much amniotic fluid, the uterus will stick close to the body of the fetus, stimulating the uterus to cause inharmonious uterine contractions, thereby affecting the progress of the delivery process and the blood circulation of the fetus, causing dystocia and fetal intrauterine hypoxia.

In general, the breaking of amniotic fluid is considered a dangerous condition and you must go to the hospital for treatment immediately. However, most people mistakenly believe that the rupture of amniotic fluid will cause the fetus's CO2 supply to be interrupted, and many nutrients supplied by the mother will also flow out, putting the fetus at risk of insufficient oxygen and malnutrition. In fact, this is an incorrect concept. The main component of amniotic fluid is the urine of the fetus, which of course contains a very small amount of minerals, rare elements and hormones, but its main function is to prevent the fetus from suffering severe vibration when the pregnant mother falls or gets hurt, just like the anti-skid airbag in a car, except that the fetus has an anti-skid "water bag".

Therefore, the main function of amniotic fluid is not to provide the fetus as a source of oxygen or nutrients. Having said that, rupture of amniotic fluid still has a serious risk factor for the life of the fetus. The most critical source of risk is not causing fetal intrauterine hypoxia and lack of nutrition, but causing fetal umbilical cord slippage.

Solution after water breaking

If the amniotic fluid breaks in the early stage of pregnancy, it may cause bacterial infection or umbilical cord prolapse. Therefore, it is necessary to rupture the amniotic fluid after the pregnancy to avoid any situation that may affect the fetus. There are roughly three steps to deal with the situation after the amniotic fluid breaks: the pregnant woman lies down, calls an ambulance, and goes to the hospital. The actual details are as follows.

1. Pregnant women’s approach:

No matter where you are, you should lie down immediately to prevent the discharge of amniotic fluid.

Posture: Lie flat on the bed, put the pillow under your buttocks, lift your buttocks, and try to keep your head low and your buttocks high. The purpose of doing so is to prevent umbilical cord prolapse, especially for pregnant women with breech presentation and twins.

2. Relatives’ practice:

Lie down flat and call an ambulance. On the way to the hospital, be sure to continue lying flat. If brown or green tarry substance (meconium) is discharged from the vagina, tell your doctor, because it is the result of squeezing of the fetal intestines and often means that the fetus is stressed or in danger.

3. The hospital outpatient department clarifies whether the amniotic fluid has broken.

Whenever you feel your water has broken, you must go to the hospital for a check-up to confirm whether it is the case.

4. Doctors will solve the problem according to the signs of amniotic fluid rupture

If a woman has no signs of labor within 6 to 12 hours after her water breaks, in order to prevent bacterial infection, the doctor will use oxytocin to help the pregnant mother enter the labor process and start labor.

Generally speaking, the amniotic fluid of a normal pregnant woman will break during labor, but excessive exercise or excessive fatigue can also cause the amniotic fluid to break. If the pregnant woman's amniotic fluid has not dropped for more than 4 hours and the fetal head has not dropped, she should take antibiotics to prevent intrauterine fetal infection.

5. Doubt: Is a caesarean section necessary after the amniotic fluid breaks?

Not necessarily. It depends on whether the mother has cephalopelvic disproportion (such as funnel pelvis, micropelvis and other pelvic abnormalities or the fetus is too large, etc.), abnormal fetal position (such as fetal breech presentation, fetal transverse position, etc.), intrauterine infection, fetal intrauterine distress and other conditions for cesarean section. If there are no such problems and the mother is in a position for natural delivery at 36 weeks of pregnancy, she can have a natural delivery.

Therefore, from the above we know that when a pregnant woman's amniotic fluid breaks, her family and the pregnant woman do not need to be overly anxious, but should be sent to the hospital in an orderly manner and immediately.