What actually causes the water to break?

[Anonymous]

I have an super active baby and am wondering if that will help to break my water or if it just happens on its own. At 39 weeks and 4 days I am ready to get things moving!!!!

[Anonymous]

About 90% of the time, the bag of waters breaks during active labor, when contractions are very strong (4-5 min. apart, 60-90 seconds long).

About 10% of the time, it breaks prior to the onset of contractions. In a healthy, well-nourished mother, there's nothing in particular that causes it to break.

Contractions tend to feel more painful after the bag has ruptured because you lose the cushion between your baby's head and you cervix. Also, if your baby is not in a good position for birth, it's harder for a baby to turn after the bag has ruptured. Finally, you are "on the clock" once your water breaks. Research says rates of infections increase after 18 hours of active labor with ruptured membranes but most OBs behave it's a problem after only 12 hours of even early labor.

So hang on to your bag of waters.