I'm a little over 39 weeks pregnant. Been having contractions since last night that don't go anywhere-haven't increased in frequency or pain. Anyway I woke up from my nap 8 hours thinking I had an "oops" and might have wet myself a bit(embarassing!). I took a shower but since then I have been very damp down there but I thought I was just sweating since the ac isn't working. However everytime I stood up I felt more fluid(again I thought it was urine) kinda running down a bit but I never could tell exactly where it's coming from. I was just laying on my back when I felt a teeny bit more running down from somwhere between the cheeks. It doesn't smell like urine-it smells like nothing and has a very faint yellowish color. I just called my doc and am waiting for him to call back but I REALLY don't want to drive almost an hour into L and D-especially since I have no car as hubby is out of town(figures). How can you tell what it is? What does amniotic fluid look like and smell like? Is it normal to possibly leak a tiny bit all day with no contractions? Is it ok do you think to wait until 8 or so tomorrow morning to go get checked? Thanks in Advance!
This happened to me as well at midnight, it turns out my water had broken. It was warm, a tad thicker than urine and didn’t have a strong smell at all. If your Dr doesn’t call, then call the hospital maternity floor and ask. If it is a slight greenish in color than it is amniotic fluid with meconium… which means baby has pooped in the amniotic fluid and is likely in fetal distress… so you need to go to the Dr now. Lie down on your side, the baby’s head won’t be blocking the opening and if it is still leaking that is likely amniotic fluid. Here is a good test to tell what that fluid is:
"The easiest thing to do to tell if it is your water or urine is to put on clean, dry underwear and a pad or panty liner. Then you’ll want to lay down for about a half of an hour. If the fluid is amniotic fluid, it will pool or gather in the vagina while you lay down.
During this half an hour, spend time gathering your thoughts. Are you packed and ready for the trip to the hospital? Do you need to call anyone like your husband or doula? Try to do a fetal kick count or make note of your baby’s movements as well. You can also use the time to take a quick nap.
At the end of the time, simply get up and go back to the bathroom. Here is where we checked to see if the pad is wet or dry. A dry pad means that your water is most likely not broken. What you experienced could have been an increase in mucus discharge, a small leak from your bladder or other common late pregnancy nuisances. If the pad is wet, you still might not have broken your bag of water. Look at the fluid. What color is it? Urine can many colors, but it is usually colored. Amniotic fluid is usually clear to pale straw colored (lighter than urine).
Smell the fluid. Does it smell like urine? If it smells like urine, it probably is urine. Bladder control issues are not uncommon in pregnancy. If it smells like bleach, it is more likely to be amniotic fluid. If you are still unsure about whether it was your amniotic sac breaking or urine leaking, call your doctor or midwife. They may advise you of other simple ways to test if it is amniotic fluid. They may also ask that you come into their office or the hospital to perform a small test on the fluid.
If you are asked to go in, bring everything you’d need to give birth with you in case they tell you to stay.Your doctor or midwife will use one of two common tests to see if the fluid leaking is your water or not. One simply involves a vaginal exam. During the vaginal exam, the doctor, midwife or nurse will introduce a small piece of paper, called litmus paper. This paper reacts by changing color when it is exposed to amniotic fluid. If the paper doesn’t react, your water is not broken.
The other test is to take a small sample of fluid and look at it under a microscope. When amniotic fluid is dry the pattern it makes on the microscope slide looks like a fern plant and is therefore called ferning. So if they see ferning, your water has broken.
If your water has not broken you will be sent home to await the start of labor. If your water has broken, what happens next is dependent upon the protocols of your doctor or midwife. Good luck!"
from here:
My amniotic fluid began before my contractions had yet begun, and it came as a slow leak.
At first I also thought I either a.) might be imagining it or b.) was confusing vaginal discharge, urine, or sweat for my waters.
Here’s how I could tell: the sensation of the liquid coming out, was focused in and from my vagina, very similar to the feel of a heavy menstrual flow. Try standing up, without undergarments. When you feel a release of warmth or wet, where does it feel like it’s coming from?
What I mean, is try to quiet yourself and your body and really feel where and what is going on. A lot of times, while our mind can’t figure it out, our body knows.
I remember the smell being very mild and simply smelling of body. Does that make sense? Not an acidic or pee smell, just a sort of warm body smell. It’s not very viscous, and is translucent, but perhaps a bit more slippery and substantial than urine?
Good luck sweet lady and congratulations in advance!
It’s a little scary that you are only 30 weeks, are having contractions, leaking something, and have no car while your hubby is out of town. I’m kind of worried about your situation, to be really honest.
Do you have a friend you can call who would take you in? If your water has broken, you face the real possibility of getting an infection, even if you don’t go into productive labor.
Let us know how you are doing!
Dawn
Let us know how you are when you get a chance! Go in, find a ride, even if it’s an hour there. I promise that no decent friend is going to have a problem taking you to hospital!
On my birthday 6 years ago, my husband (who worked in the same building as me) took me home because I was a little tired and had what I thought was false labor, but my manager was a little nervous and said for me to go on home. And, I was happy to do so, it made me feel a little tired. I didn’t believe it could be real labor because I was only 34 weeks along and my pregnancy was going just fine, no issues. I was actually going to go to the doctor (my previous appointment was the day before and he said it was going good), but by the time we got in the car and on the road, the contractions had stopped, I felt stupid, and just wanted to go lay down a little bit. I insisted Jeremy go back to work, all was well. After a nap I did get up and pack my hospital bag with the last few items (robe, etc).
My experience was confusing to me because it was right at orgasm that night that I guess my water broke. It was a particularly good orgasm, and I thought “oh my gosh!” and we kinda laughed. I took a shower and Jeremy changed the sheets. But AFTER I was in the shower, I started having a low dull ache in the small of my back, and then little contractions that didn’t hurt, but in my back. I just let the water run on my back and it felt ok. But when I laid down again to go to sleep, more leaked. And if I moved, more. If I changed position in some way, more. I was pretty upset. I thought I’d lost control of my body somehow and was having a bladder situation. It felt like a very light lube or something, in that it was slightly “slick”. I don’t think there was much of a color, and I didn’t smell it. It was midnight so we decided to wait until the next morning (because I was an idiot and didn’t know better). Jeremy thought it might be something more and so he fixed me a good breakfast, we ate, then went to the hospital. Jeremy took my hospital bag just in case but left it in the car in case it was “nothing”.
I was still thinking “I might have peed” and was very embarrassed. I went to the women’s unit and said I wanted to talk to someone privately. They wanted to know who my doctor was, and I said his name and said “But no, seriously, I need to speak to someone privately”. They still wanted to ask basic questions at the desk, but I saw an empty room and just walked in it. A nurse followed me quickly and I closed the door and said “I’m embarrassed, this is probably nothing, but last night I think I might have peed on myself, I think it’s too early for my water to break–I’m 34 weeks, it doesn’t look/smell like anything but kinda slick like a water based lube, and now I’m leaking and have to wear a pad. Have I lost control of my body or is this important? How do you know?” She said the way they know is with this little thing that looks like a litmus test from high school chemistry class. The put a little paper looking thing on the fluid and if it turns color, it’s amniotic fluid, and it takes like 1 minute to lay down, get “swiped”, and know for sure if it’s some regular body fluid (sweat, urine, etc) or amniotic fluid.
So we did that, and sure enough, it came back instantly positive. They just told me to relax and they called my doctor. Turns out even though I was only 34 weeks pregnant, it was less dangerous for the baby to be born a preemie than to stay in the womb and subject to infection and other issues (the fluid is to PROTECT the baby). An ambulance took me to a different hospital that had a NICU on site since he was going to be substantially early, and they induced labor. The labor was hard but went fine, Joseph was safe and healthy, just littler than they’d like. They kept him on monitors and he needed to stay until he could get his body temperature regulated and his breathing rhythm right, but otherwise he was perfect. He’s approaching 6 years old now and is still perfect: a happy, funny, super smart, athletic boy!
You’re full term now at 39 weeks, so everything will be just fine. But get yourself to the hospital and have someone check the two of you out! No more wasting time. And I found out AFTER he was born that you are NOT supposed to bathe “there” after your water breaks. I hadn’t gotten that far in the book at that point, so I didn’t know. In this case, I’d say you don’t even need to wait for a doctor’s return call. You can call the doctor, call the hospital, and show up. There’s always a doctor at the hospital, and they’ll get yours down there if possible, if he or she is needed.
I think you are leaking and that is not good - I hope no update b/c your doc called back and said get to hospital.
Yeah there is no way to tell on your own. Hopefully you went on in because it probably is amniotic fluid. With my third there was nothing ambiguous about it, it was a gusher. My fourth I threw some towels in the car and went and picked up carpool. 
That one I wasn’t sure.
It does sound like you “could” be leaking amniotic fluid. It doesn’t smell like urine. It would be like a pale straw color and be nearly odorless.
I hope you went and had a labor check even if it turns out to have been your plug and the fluid build-up behind the plug leaking and not amniotic fluid.
Good luck.
put on a pad drinks lots of water lay in left side for an hr or 2 don’t move when time is up and it is saturated then your leaking fluid,this is what my midwife and OB’s go by here where I live when there is no gush of liquid,or it doesn’t smell like urine,amniotic fluid has no color nor smell but if it has a tinge of blood then you need to get checked.
put on a pad and in a hr check it and see how full it is, if its a constent leak then best bet is to go get checked out, fluid is just clear and can have no smell to a sweet smell
The first time my water broke I woke my husband to say I thought my water broke and he replied I probably wet the bed. My reply was how often do I wet the bed??? NEVER. I would think it’s your water but hope you are having it checked with the litmus test at the hospital or doctor. You don’t want it to all leak out.