Ep 22: When Your Water Breaks

In this episode, Alex and Lacey answer some questions that came in from the episode about sex before diving into information about the risks of infection when your water breaks followed by what you should look for when it breaks. Be prepared to talk to your provider by grabbing your COAT- color, odor, amount, time. 

Transcript

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Welcome to Doula's Unhinged, the podcast where we tell the unfiltered truths and disrupt the accepted view of modern birth and parenting. We're your hosts, Alex Shaw and Lacey Morgan, here to cut through the noise, share the stories no one else will, and empower you with real talk that's equal parts honest, funny, and unapologetic. Let's get unhinged. Yeah, so our recent episode about sex during pregnancy. Yes, baby. It's about anyway. It led to some questions, and um, I thought we should answer them for the wider public because it's fun. I'm sure other people have similar questions. Yeah. Um, so one, a dad texted and said, um, is it okay if I'm on top to uh put weight on my partner's belly? Yes. Okay. And my response was um, it is, uh, but moms do not generally feel comfortable with a lot of pressure on their belly, right? And so maybe he's got really long arms. Yeah, well, right, and and so he was like, Should I be bracing myself so that I'm not laying directly on her belly? Like, she's going to tell you if the pressure is too much in her belly. Either it will be uncomfortable for her or it'll be uncomfortable because the baby will be kicking. Yeah. This dad also asked, is it okay to drink the milk from the nipples prenatally? Uh, which was a great opportunity to discuss the fact that it's not milk, it's colostrum. Yeah. Uh, and that colostrum does not have a limited quantity, that it is uh the effect of the placenta at about 20 weeks, the body starts producing colostrum and does not stop the production of colostrum until about three to seven days after the placenta is uh vacated from the body. Okay. And then in postpartum, yes, uh, it is okay for dad to uh drink the milk that comes out. And I was like, listen, heads up because you're urine for an awakening, right? When moms are sexually aroused and lactating, they often leak milk. Uh-huh. Um or can squirt milk when they orgasm. God. Um I had this friend, she could like shoot her milk across the room like a water gun. She we had be we had our first babies at the same time, and she was like, yo, dude, check this out. She whips out her her breast and she's like, pshh. And I was like, oh my god. I was like, well, I definitely can't do that. It was cool. A lot of moms will drip milk during sex, uh, which, you know, is something that I think people are not um aware is going to happen. Yeah. I found the question. If a mom, should I read the whole as it is? Sure. Or should I like change it a little? This one? Uh-huh. Okay. Uh oh no, not that one. I was gonna read this one. We'll start well, you start there then. Okay, so um a mom messaged us and said, Is there any benefit of the oxytocin from sex to the baby? Also, is there a difference in the oxytocin quality between masturbating and sex? Yeah. I mean, obviously, when you're intimate with a partner, that oxy like and I guess it it depends, right? Like, it depends on your level of connection, right? Like, are you in with your partner, are you enjoying the sex with your partner? Um, or do you enjoy masturbating, you know? Like, I think that that is uh an important question to ask yourself. Either way, oxytocin is getting released. Yeah, and I would say that um, you know, the going back to that knowledge of like there's proprioceptors on our skin that are only activated by the touch of other people's skin. Uh, and so whether the amount or quality of oxytocin is more like is there more or or less, depending on whether it's a two-man show or or a solo event? Um, I I think that there are other hormones that are released when you are intimate with a partner. Yeah. Uh, who you like. Who you like. Uh, but all to answer her question, is there a benefit of oxytocin from sex to the baby? Anytime mom is releasing oxytocin, baby is exposed to it, right? And so it's always good for baby to swim in the oxytocin, right? The hormone of love. All the dopamine too. Oh, feel the ooey-goooey goodness of their mom feeling. Feeling good. Yeah. Right. Um, another mom, if sh if a mom hypothetically masturbates every day in pregnancy, uh, what would be the benefit? Um, to which I said, benefits would be all those natural hormones and neurotransmitters that get released during arousal and orgasm. Um, specifically oxytocin, endorphins, adrenaline, nitric oxide, dopamine, um norepinephrine, even estrogen and testosterone take a hike up. Um, so it's a huge cascade of hormones what that are released in your body when you are aroused and having orgasms. There's um, oh my gosh, what's it called? But like there's like four stages of arousal that all have like specific benefits, right? Tumescence is a word. Basically, like a um a male erection, but it's a female erection where blood flow is increased to our genitals, and then they they expand because there's more blood flow to that area. And even just the thought of something that arouses you will trigger that tumescence to occur, which is really freaking cool. Um orgasmic plateau, right? Which isn't which isn't necessarily like climax, it's the stage before climax, and there's a ton of nitric oxide that gets released, which is kind of it acts as like it's a chemical, but it also can act like a neurotransmitter. And when you hang out in that that plateau where you haven't orgasmed yet, but you are it like what's called edging, um, there's a ton of health benefits for that as well. So, like if you're into the masturbate, or if you're just, you know, with a partner, hanging out in that, in that um, that edging space will help, you know, increase your oxytocin, releasing all those hormones, having good blood flow um and circulation, and um and then there's climax, which is the best part. Arguably. I know, right? The edging is actually pretty fun too. Um and then what else? And then um the refractory period. Men need a longer refractory period. And depending on what is it? It's when basically um blood flow kind of like goes away from your genitals, right? And like you're you're coming down after orgasm. Um, and so sometimes, and for women, like we we do need a period of like calmness uh and not touching because we have 10,000 nerve endings in our clitoris, right? That stretch not only just what we most of us think is like the top little portion of our vulva, it actually stretches down and around like your the labia, right? Um, and goes internal too, so it can actually um it it what's the word that I'm looking for? Um it intertwines with like our pelvic floor muscles. So when you're orgasming, not only your pelvic like your pelvic floor muscles are contracting, uh, your deep core is contracting too. But it kind of like it fingerlings down the like the sides of your labia. Um, but the refractory period, it's just we need time to like settle and then go again. And men need a longer period to settle before they can go again. Women don't need such a long period, uh, which is why some women are like, all right, let's go again, chop chop. And like when we get aroused to our uh vaginal walls like swell, right? Um and elongate vagina itself elongates. Yeah, and it actually the towards the egg the exit of the vagina, it actually narrows, but the top of it is what like swells um in a as in a good way. Um I was just so the I would say the entrance, right? The external portion narrows, but internally it expands. It expands. Because the vagina is kind of like very elastic over, right? Like, and and so there's like folds within it, and then it stretches, which is why a whole human being can come out of it. Yeah. I was reading something recently where the the cervix will stay open for or can stay open for like 30 minutes after arousal, after intercourse, after arousal, after climax. Yeah, which is super cool because it allows the sperm to like get through to the uterus. Yeah. I was like, 30 minutes, dang. It also, I mean, your cervix also changes throughout the month anyway, um, which is super cool, but yeah, fascinating. Our bodies are so cool. Yeah, they really are. All that arousal fluid too helps helps makes things slippery and more enjoyable. So there's like four stages. That's so cool. I know. I love I love it. I'm getting all flushed because I'm like, Yes. You're getting excited just talking about it. I really am, honestly. Like, let's talk about sex, baby. Let's talk about you. And isn't that a song? Yeah. So funny. Any other questions that we had? Uh I think those were all of the questions that I'm glad that people are, you know, kind of like jumping into the conversation because sex shouldn't be taboo. It should not. And, you know, this idea that we have to keep it behind closed doors, I think is limiting our pleasure, increasing fear, yeah. Uh, you know, and and the opportunity to have a healthy sex life through your pregnancy. Um I think is good for relationships. Yeah. Me too. Absolutely. Anyway, so keep the questions coming. We're we're thrilled to answer any questions that you uh individually have. Yeah. Cool. All right. If you have any questions about this episode or any episode, you can reach out to us at duel is unhinged on Instagram or via Gmail. We'll go ahead and dive right into this week's episode. It's always doing something. Oh, it's always doing something. The computers, the technology. I hate technology. We love it though. No, I hate it. We love it. I hate it. I want to live with the off the grid. I do. I want to go back to like the 1800s. Early 1700s. I do like talking to people. Like on the phone? Yeah. I like it for some things. I really do. But also, like, I hate everyone and leave me alone. I know. My phone has been going off non-stop today. I'm so done with over stimulating. Please mail me a handwritten letter if you wrote my candlelight. It's gonna take a week to get here. I'm good with that. I'm good with communicating with you once a week. Not you, actually. I want to talk to you every day. Oh, yeah, you I can talk to you every day. And when we don't talk, I'm always like, where is she? What's she what are we doing? Why haven't I heard from her? That's so funny. We rarely go a day without talking, though. Yeah, almost never. Yeah. It's I know. I love it. Me too. Um, you know, but that's part of like the whole doula thing is you know, like you do, you almost have a marriage with your partner. Oh, absolutely. We are intricately connected. Interwilli. We have to be. Yeah. We have to be otherwise it's unsustainable. Correct. Correct. I can't I I can't imagine like my last partner, Jackie. We were the same way. It was like you have to know what's going on emotionally and in your family life, and you know, mentally and physically, like, how are you so that you can prepare and and be supportive in processing whatever the shit is, right? It is unlike any job. I like name a job, uh, I don't know, name another job where you're this close to your co-workers, you know. Like truly, I know. Yeah. I mean, I'm sure there are like friends within companies, but this is like a whole nother level. Yeah. Maybe I wonder if like OB practices or like nurses are like this. Similar, I think they probably are. Probably are. It's the same work. Yeah. Anyway. Uh speaking of being in contact with people, yes. Uh we our phones are blowing up. We wanted to talk about a topic. We had a client reach out whose water broke this morning, and she wanted to just check in on like, you know, reminders of what we had already talked about. Uh so we thought it would be a great topic to share with the public. Yeah. Like what happens when your water breaks and you're not contracting? Yeah. What are your options? What's happening? Your uh your water breaking at the as the first sign of like baby's eviction notice, right? Like because it's not necessarily labor. No, right? Like your water can break and then nothing else can happen, but there does seem to be a timeline uh once the water breaks, right? Yeah. And so uh that only happens in less than 10% of pregnancies, right? So it's a very rare occurrence, and I think because of media and movies of the 90s, like people think that like your water is going to break, you're going to rush to the hospital, and then you're gonna have a baby in the next scene. Nope. Right? And that is not reality, that is so wrong and far from yeah, reality. Yeah, and now the protocol varies from discipline, right? Whether you are working with midwives or an OB or a uh family practice physician, right? Like who is supporting your birth is going to have a different opinion. It varies regionally, uh, it varies by health system, it varies by practice, it varies by practitioner, right? And so I think that it's a worthwhile conversation to have here because there's a lot of information out there. Yeah, right, and and sometimes there's fear-mongering that is used as information, and um and I think that it's very empowering to hear what's happening elsewhere and what your options are. Yeah. So in an unmedicated, unaugmented labor, um, when your membranes rupture first, within six hours, 40 to 50 percent enter spontaneous labor. Yeah, so if you just go about your life, most of the time, what is it, 60 to 70 per 40 to 50 percent of women will start having contractions within six hours, right? So go take a nap, go about your day, put on a pad. Yeah, ignore it. Within 12 hours, 60 to 70 percent will go into spontaneous labor. Right, the gross majority. Yeah, within 24 hours, 75 to 85 percent. And so this is the idea of uh a complete rupture, not a leak, right? This is a complete release of the bag of fluid where then there is, you know, no, there's a gush, there's no question that your water broke. And then 48 hours, I think it's 85 to 95 percent within two days. Almost everybody, almost everybody, 85 to 95 percent will go into spontaneous labor. So I think and the conversations that we have with moms, a lot of it is like they're scared. The moms are scared, the moms are scared, because the providers are scared, yes, right? Because providers will tell you that your risk of infection increases increases but it only increases if we're doing I mean there's certain factors, right? But like cervical exams are something that increase your risk for infection. So if you're not ha and intercourse, if you're not doing cervical exams or having intercourse, your risk of infection stays the same. Or is minimal. Minimal. Right? And I think that there was a midwife that I once knew who she said, um, you know, all of the energy is coming out unless we are pushing things in. But the direction of birth is supposed to be down and out, right? And and so I think if you kind of keep in that mindset, um, if you keep things out of the vagina, like there's very low chance of a uterine infection any other time in your life, why would it be dramatically increased in pregnancy, other than your immune system is in a depressed state in pregnancy, right? But but even with those factors, I think you know, like I always go back to like logic, right? Like, I'm not worried about having you know fingers or penises in me. I'm not worried about having taking baths that I'm going to get a uterine infection in my everyday life. That the butter's just gonna get sucked up your vagina. Right. That doesn't happen. It doesn't no, it doesn't happen. And so many of the recommendations are made to CYA. Yeah. Right? And and out of fear and out of hearsay, and you know, all of these things like the rhetoric that is just passed down from generation to generation of providers, right? But not really rooted in sound logic or even good research. Yeah. Right. And so um within 12 hours, right? So from water breaking to 12 hours, the risk of infection is basically baseline. So virtually no increased risk in the first 12 hours, which is where most people will be in an active labor pattern. Yeah. If they just go about their life and don't stress over it, right? Around 12 hours, then we start to see the numbers are you know creeping up a little bit, but we're talking about one to two percent of people will develop an infection. And I want to like I want everybody who's listening to be waiting with bated breath for me to drop the bomb, right? So within 12 hours, well after we exceed 12 hours, we're looking at one to two percent of people who might develop an infection. Between 12 and 18 hours, we're looking at two to four percent of people, right? Which is still minimal. Almost nobody. Yeah, somebody, but almost nobody, right? 18 to 24 hours, we're looking at three to five percent, and then beyond 24 hours, we're looking at say five to ten percent, right? This is from meta-analysis, which means that they take all the different research out there, and that's why you get a spread of numbers, right? This two to four percent, because here's what all the data says it's somewhere in here, yeah, right. What this data does not control for is whether or not vaginal exams were occurring, right? And so if your water breaks and you're part of a research study and you go into the hospital, you're put on the standard protocol and you're treated otherwise typically. And what do standard protocols involve? Three to four hour ver vaginal exams. Right, so you're getting fingers stuck into your body repeatedly over the course of this timeline, versus if you just wait and stay at home and eat healthy food and drink fluids and flush your body and go to the bathroom, and you're not exposed to the MRSA that you know the physician or nurse or whomever picked up when they touched the elevator button going to lunch today. You're not being exposed to the same. Uh germs right that that exist in a hospital, how high is your risk? We don't know. But I would venture to guess, in my non-medical opinion, it's pretty freaking low. It's probably pretty low. Yeah. Right? Because if you're not sticking anything in there, how is anything getting in there? Yeah. Now, things that increase this risk factor. If you're immune compromised. Yes. Right. If you uh are GBS positive, right? And we did an episode on GBS infection and you know, and and who might be at risk with that. Um, you know, I think that those are factors to consider, right? And what kind of a birth do you want? Like if you're going to plan to get an epidural, yeah, maybe you want to go to the hospital, let them start some pitocin, get your epidural, and have your baby. But if you want an unmedicated birth, which so many of our clients desire, right? They're they're hiring us because I mean people hire us for all kinds of reasons, and a lot of our clients do plan epidurals. Yes. But uh a fair portion of our particular clients plan to go unmedicated. And my question to them is always if you want an unmedicated birth, why would you start it medicated? Yes, correct. Right? Correct. Especially knowing that within two days of your water breaking, the likelihood that you will be in full-blown active labor or have delivered your baby is incredibly high. Yes. Right? It's so it's you can't get to 100%, right? I mean you can if you wait ten days or something. Yeah. Right? We had that one client. You had that one client. I had her next. Who okay, so the second timer? She was a first-time mom, super educated, super empowered, wanted an unmedicated birth. Her water broke and she waited three days for labor to start. Labor started, progressed super typically. We went to the hospital. She did everything that I suggested. We labored in the parking lot to get her labor pattern back into a normal pattern. Um and I can't remember. There were I I remember there were fireworks on her baby's birthday. So it was either New Year's. I think it was New Year's Eve or Fourth of July. I think it was Fourth of July. Um, you know, and and she had a baby completely unmedicated because she trusted her body. Her body. And so my question to people, how long are you with, especially the unmedicated mom, how long are you willing to wait? How comfortable are you willing to wait? Right. And that is a question to ask yourself before it happens, right? Before anything, like you have to always consider the what's going to happen. But water breaking on the onset of contractions is a possibility. Prior to the onset of contractions, yeah. So you have to consider that as a viable possibility. Yeah. And so you need to be prepared for what you're will what you're comfortable doing. And you may not even know the answer then, before labor, or when your water breaks. You may and but you will. I always tell moms, like, you will know if you want to go in or if you want to stay home. I think uh pursuing the intellectual curiosity of like, let's imagine that my water breaks before anything else. Like, let me do some research, let me read some articles, let me But when it actually happens, well, but I I think pursuing that intellectual curiosity at least gives you some groundwork as opposed to I always feel bad for the families who like don't think about breach at all. Oh yeah, and then they're slammed with a breached baby at 36 weeks. And you know, as dulas, we're like, if you want to avoid a cesarean, go to Reading. Yeah, and they're like in a panic state and refuse to even explore the option because it's overwhelming to them to, you know, be be thrown this information and feel like they don't have any time to think about it, right? So I think it's beneficial to contemplate what is my risk threshold for this, right? And and the other point that I always like to highlight, you know, for good, bad, or indifferent, is if your water broke at 24 weeks, there would be no pressure for you to deliver the baby. Yeah. Until 34 weeks. At which case they're like, well, the NICU can keep your baby alive, let's get them out because the risks outweigh the benefits. The 1% risk or the 5% risk of infection that you could treat with antibiotics, like I'm confused why a baby in the NICU seems like a lower risk than a five to ten percent risk of infection, which is prop which is probably lower if we keep our fingers out of the vagina, right? So why then are we in a hurry to get things going when we're full term? Yes. Right? Why does the mentality shift at that point, right? But we'll try to keep you pregnant for 10 weeks with a broken bag of water if your baby's preemie. And then we're still gonna pressure you to get your baby out as a preem at 34 weeks instead of waiting to 37 weeks. Why? Yeah, why? It it there's something that my brain cannot comprehend. You and me both, girl. Because I don't understand the urgency, right? Liability. Okay. Especially if they know that the water has broken, right? Yeah. And so that's a conversation that we always have with our clients, right? As an informed consumer, you have the choice to tell your provider or not tell your provider. I'm a fan of telling providers and then dealing with the conversation that might come from that. Because for me, uh, I'm like, you know, you're an informed adult with agency and autonomy. If you're comfortable with the risk, they should be comfortable too. Yeah. Right? Because they are a medical advisor, they are not the boss, and they are not responsible for the outcomes. Right. They are responsible to provide information, to counsel you based on their experience, their knowledge, their access to the paywalled research, right? But they should not see themselves as the final arbiter of truth or the decision maker. They should see themselves as an advisor, and so should we. Yeah. And when we as consumers start taking that position, doctors, I think, will feel less scared. Yeah. When we become more, listen, I see the system right now gripping tightly to the control that they used to have, but I think consumers are going to demand different care. Yeah. And that is going to force providers to take a different stance, right? And and when they shift their mindset to a place of my job is to educate and your job is to decide, they're going to be less afraid. Yeah. Right? Because you're not responsible for the outcome. That was the most important thing I was ever taught as a doula. Yeah. Right? Because I used to, my heart would break when we wouldn't get a vaginal birth. Yes. And I was told you're not responsible for the outcome. No. And so now I view my job as advisor, educator. Right? And then what you do is your story, and I will walk the path with you, and I will advise you as we face the next steps that come, but I'm not responsible for the outcome. And sometimes these doctors look at us like we're the problem. Like, you know, you told these ladies that it was okay to go to 42 weeks, or you told them it was okay to not come in when their water broke. Well, no, what I told them was here's the research, right? Here's here's the information. Here's the alternatives. And I told them that it was okay for them to make a decision that felt good for them. Right? Our conversation with our client today, I said, if you feel comfortable and it's what you want to do, you can go in and be induced. That's an okay path to take. Yes. But she wants an unmedicated birth, and that doesn't feel like the right path for her, right? And so that wasn't the advice she was looking for. She wanted to know, is it okay for me to be leaking fluid? I'm losing a lot of fluid. Yeah. Yeah, of course you're losing a lot of fluid, right? If your bag is ruptured, you're going to continue to release fluid from now until you meet your baby. Yeah. Get some depends, girl. Truly, right? And so that's normal. Our body and our baby continue to produce fluid throughout the time that the baby is in there, right? And so even if you have a complete rupture, there is still some fluid in there. I like what you always say to people that the baby's not going to turn into a raisin. Oh, I l I was just thinking the same thing. I always I'm like, your baby isn't gonna dry up into a raisin. Right. And it's it's she was like, oh, her reaction to it. She was like, oh yeah, like I could you could hear her wheels turning, like, oh yeah, that doesn't make much sense. Like, no kidding, like you know, yeah. That's interesting. Yeah. You know, and ideally, like we talk about, you know, breaking the bag of water on purpose as a labor augmentation is not ideal. Right. And having a broken bag of water prior to the onset of labor, also not ideal, right? Because then it makes changing baby's position more difficult and and all of those things. Uh but if it happens, you have no control over it. Yeah. Right? And so you just gotta roll with the punches. Yeah. And that's motherhood, that's parenthood. Yeah. This is this is part of her story for her client. Yeah. She's rolling with the punches. But so, you know, I think when your water breaks, you should look for a couple of things. Yes. Right? Color. So I was always told um coat. Some people use the acronym taco. The visual association that I make with that and the vulva, I don't I don't prefer that one. Okay. Uh so coat. So I go with I would I go with coat. Let's hear it. So what are we looking for? Color. Okay, so it should be clear. Uh sometimes it has white flecks in it. Uh, it should not be green or brown, right? Green or brown means that there's meconium. And as Adulla, I would tell people that it's a good idea to head to your birthing location. Me too. Right. Because that meconium can happen if the baby is just post-dates, but oftentimes if you're in that 39 to 41 week window, it can be an indicator of distress. So color, odor, odor. It should not smell bad, right? And and you shouldn't have to like get on the floor. I had a client who called me one time, uh, and she was like, you know, hubby is down on the floor sniffing it and can't. Oh my god. And I was like, no, no, no. You do not have to stick your nose in the fluid. If you can smell something that smells sour or bad, it's not good. You should go to the hospital. Yeah. Right. But if it's sweet or odorless, then it's normal. It's normal. Yeah. If it smells like pea, it's probably pea. Amount. So sometimes it's a trickle, sometimes it's a gush, right? Both are normal. If it's a trickle, it's often what's called a high leak, where there's a tear in the bag of fluid somewhere above the baby, and as you move and the baby moves, it kind of sloshes out and tribbles down around the uterus and out, you know, comes out out of the bag of fluid, down around the sides of the uterus, and out of the cervix. Um, the providers, when they ask this question, they're not looking for an amount. You don't have to like sponge it up and put it in a graduated cylinder. Nope. Right? They're looking for is it a trickle or a gush? And I think that a point that I want to make on this is that back when they used to do amniocentesis, and they still do this, right? That is a procedure where they poke a needle through your abdomen, through your uterus, through the bag of fluid to get amniotic fluid. And then they pull that needle out, and there is a hole in your amniotic bag. Bag, right? In the amnion, right? And corion. And so nobody flips out about these holes, can seal themselves. Yeah. Right? Yeah. And so this idea of rushing to an induction because we have a high leak, right? For me, it's like, okay, but again, going back to logic, if you had an amniocentesis, they wouldn't be forcing you into an induction at 12 or 18 weeks. They expect that puncture to close. Yeah. Right? But nobody's telling you this when you have a high leak at 37 weeks. Right? So amount. Is it a gusher? Is it a dribble? Uh and then time. Roughly what time did it happen? Because again, the risks do increase. Yeah. And when they tell you that it increases by double or quadruple or tenfold, that's terrifying. Yeah. Right? Until you find out that it's only 10%. And for some people, 10% is enough risk that they want to be induced. And for other people, 10% risk and doing everything that they can to minimize that risk. They're like, nope, I think I'll wait it out. Yeah. Right? Uh, I always advise clients that if your water is broken, monitor your health. Take your temperature, see if it's rising. Uh, how do you feel? If you're having feelings of malaise, might be worth heading in. Right? Uh, but then also on the flip side, do the immune-boosting things that you can do. Yeah. Right? So take your vitamin C, which, by the way, creates a strong bag of water. So pre-conception and first trimester, consume natural sources of vitamin C. Yeah. The research is kind of in conflict on uh heavy doses of vitamin C by supplementation. Uh so I don't know that I would say like overdo it with your uh supplements. Uh, but taking a nice multivitamin, your prenatal, whatever, make sure your prenatals are methyl methylated and don't have folic acid, make sure that they're methylated folate, uh, which is a topic for another day. Yeah. Uh, but you know, having a nice supplement and then eating vitamin C rich foods can help create a strong bag of water, create a healthy immune system. And so if your bag of water is broken, boost your own immune system. Yeah. Right? Yeah. Um, but so yeah, you know, telling the providers is an option. Yep. Right? Uh, I think that it's important that they are able to advise you with all the information. Yeah. I agree. Right? Like our one client, uh, her bag of water was broken for three days. She opted to tell her provider that it broke that morning. I was very uncomfortable with that. Um, it's not my place to, you know, be in control of the dialogue. Right? And that was her decision to make. I her choice, her birth. But I would have liked the doctor to know. Me too. Right? And we're like, oh god. I was like, I gave her a side eye. I was like, okay, like this is your birth, you know what you're doing, I guess. Right. Um she trusted herself. Yeah, she did. Her body, especially because she wanted to go unmedicated. So you have to have some level of like trust within the physiological process of birth. And she did. Yep. Uh, you know, we've had a number of clients who have opted to wait it out. Uh, you know, and and were received very differently from provider to provider, right? This mom who called us, the provider was like, well, here's the risks, you know, here's what would be standard protocol. He's like, you know, up to 72 hours is, you know, kind of where the research is. So um make a decision for what feels good for you so much. Do what you want to do. Yeah. Which I love too. Love. Like, you don't hear that. Like, this is not a very local hospital, it's a little bit of a drive. Yeah. Um, which is interesting because they have a high C-section rate and a high intervention rate at that hospital and not a great reputation. Yeah. But apparently they've got some good providers who are patient-centered. Yes. I don't like him because he's outside of the norm and telling her to do what she, you know, like giving her the information. I mean, I do like him for that. Like, I don't like him because he's doing different than everybody else. What I like is that he's giving information. Yes. And he's supporting her as an individual with agency and autonomy. Yes. And she has said that that's what he has done the entire time. Yeah. So it's that which is wonderful and alleviate some of the stress, right? Um, we had that other client who uh went to the hospital to check on baby, right? Her water broke, she was a little bit uncomfortable with it. She decided to go in and get checked. Baby looked great. She decided to come home. She went in the next morning, and they wanted to induce her, and she wasn't comfortable with that. Yeah. And so she signed herself out AMA because they were like, You can't stay if you're not gonna let us do anything, you can't be here. Yeah, which is really just we need to turn over the bed. Yeah, right. That's that's business speak for we need this table. Yep, right? If you're not ordering food at our restaurant, we need you to get going. Which is ridiculous. Right? It's the same thing. Um she signed herself out, and immediately labor started. Yeah, and it was quick. Yeah, it was quick. Yeah, it was good. Yeah, I think that uh, you know, knowing the facts, right, and holding your provider responsible for giving you real data is what leads to informed consent or refusal. We talk a lot about informed consent. That is an assumption that you are going to consent. I think that it's important to remember that there's also informed refusal, and they can chart it that you are informed and refusing, right? And so making your providers responsible for not just rhetoric. Oh, the risk increases. Well, what is the risk? What are the numbers? Where do those numbers come from? Where can I find the research? I'd like to read that article myself. Yeah. Right? What are the limitations of this article? Oh, we don't actually know whether people were getting vaginal exams or not because we lumped one vaginal exam and 18 vaginal exams into the same cohort, right? Or we didn't control for it at all, yeah, right, or the results were not recorded or reported. Like that's bad research because what is the risk of infection? Insertion into the vagina. There's very little risk when nothing is going in. Yeah. Right. So holding providers responsible for giving you real education, real information, real numbers, and not just rhetoric so that you can truly make a decision that is informative and feels right for you. Yeah. I think it's so important. So if you have questions about your water breaking, feel free to reach out. We're available on Instagram. You can also email us at dual isunhing at gmail.com. Yeah. Um if you found this helpful, please share it with a friend. Yeah, leave us a review. We want to know. Thanks for getting unhinged with us today. We hope this conversation challenged you, validated you, or made you laugh out loud. Birth and parenting aren't meant to be perfect or polished, and neither are we. If you love this episode, share it with someone who needs real and raw truths. Leave us a review and make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss what we're unraveling next. We're Alex Shaw and Lacey Morgan reminding you that your voice matters, your experience is valid, and you're allowed to do this your own way. Until next time, stay unhinged.