You've probably seen that cliché movie scene: the pregnant woman is leading a corporate board meeting in heels when her water breaks, or maybe she's mid-fight with her partner and boom — she's soaking. If you've never given birth, the act of "the water breaking" seems like a cinematic moment in the labor and delivery process. Sorry to break it to you, but it's not always so dramatic.
When your "water breaks," it's actually the amniotic sac rupturing, and it usually happens at the beginning of labor. Often, the doctor does when you're at the hospital, numb on an epidural, and you don't even feel it (at least, that's what happened to me, twice).
Still, there are some cases when someone's water breaks unexpectedly, making a perfect story that will be told time and again. I recall a friend's water breaking after our prenatal yoga class, and she walked around New York City for hours before realizing it. She described it as a subtle wetness (which if you've been pregnant, you know happens).
If you're wondering what it might feel like and when it might happen, get a sneak peek from the moms in the What to Expect Community. Here's what they were doing when their water broke, but be warned: The old wives' tale about sex inducing labor may have some substance to it.
LOLing
"I was sitting and laughed at a joke! I confirmed it when I went to pee, and a lot more came out, including the mucus plug. Then, I started filling pads up. I was 39 weeks plus four days and that day I had intercourse, went to dinner, and also walked a lot. So who knows what caused it?" — @Yo44
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"I was watching TV and laughed at a joke. It felt like I just peed myself, and it was, in fact, leaking water. I was doing absolutely nothing to move things along faster because I wanted an October baby [and it was still September] — she had other plans." — @jmp1024
Taking a leak
"Peeing, lol … it just kept coming. When I stood to walk away, I couldn't make it stop. You can stop urine midstream, but you cannot stop amniotic fluid." — @5-peaseinapod
"Going pee. I thought, Wow, I sure am peeing a lot — I thought I'd be done by now. Then I realized that what was coming out was definitely not coming from my urethra. — @n-elizabeth22
"I had gotten up to make breakfast, went pee as usual, went to the kitchen to make something, and something told me to go back to the bathroom. When I sat down, it immediately broke. — @mariaguidi
"I sat down on the toilet and had some fluid leak out. I wasn't 100% sure if it was my water breaking. Then I was walking down the stairs to leave the house and had a gush of fluid that soaked through my pants." — @grace7087
Getting beauty rest
"I woke up, felt a pop, and got up to go pee since I was awake anyway. As soon as I stood up it hit the ground like a movie scene. It woke my husband up." – @xhx
"Sleeping! I randomly woke up at 1 a.m. and thought, why am I up?! Within a minute, I felt and heard a pop and a gush." — @jccc2024
"I stood up from the couch. That's it … I had been napping." — @almared
After sex
"I used my vibrator the night before with nipple stimulation, too, and it broke getting out of bed the next morning. Hubby was at a 24-hour work shift. Sorry, hubs!" — @pflowers87
"I was 38 weeks plus 6 days. I had sex in the morning, went for a long walk in the afternoon, and was on my exercise ball at around 10 p.m. watching The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio. As I was bouncing, I felt a gush of liquid. I ran to the bathroom and the mucus plug came out." — @sapphiresky88
In the bath
"Taking a bath! It broke while I was relaxing in the bath, and I didn't feel anything! Went to bed afterward and woke up in transition three hours later. I got to the hospital and they asked, 'When did your water break?' I said, 'It didn't!' And they said, 'It definitely did — you have no bag of water.' So we can only assume that it all came out in the bath that night, and I never felt a thing!" — @rmw92
"I was already in labor, so I took a bath to help with the pain. It must have broken while I was in there because when I got to the hospital, they told me it had broken — which was news to me." — @samd2112
In motion
"With my first, I was doing laundry. I am 40 weeks plus one day today, and I'm just waiting for it to happen again." — @GabbyGonzalez2021
"It broke three weeks early while I was dancing in the kitchen with my toddler. I picked him up, put him on my belly to dance and felt the trickle. At first, I wasn't sure if I peed or it was my water breaking, but when it didn't stop trickling, I knew it was my water." — @mountainmama232
While brushing
"I was brushing my teeth right after getting out of bed. There was a very small leak. I wasn't even sure if it was my water or not, but it was confirmed later that morning at the doctor's office." — @mat95
During active labor
"With my second [baby], I was pushing him out, and my water broke as I delivered his head." — @Vetmama
"I was in active labor. I felt the urge to push with my contraction when I was 10 [centimeters dilated], so I did and broke my water." — @KatieK-2-27
"With my second [baby,] the amniotic sac didn't break until minutes before she was born — she was nearly born in the sac! That sac was strong. It broke during a crazy contraction when I was pushing. We'll see what happens this time around." — @AndreaS040321
At an OB-GYN appointment
"With my first, I went into my 38-week appointment, had a cervical check, and as the doctor was taking out his hand, I felt a gush of water come out. He goes, 'Wait, what was that?' He checked again and was like, 'Okay, get ready to go to the hospital we're having a baby!'" — @mayfago
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