You know how in every movie or TV show ever, women are at the grocery store or somewhere like that, and their water breaks and they have their baby like five minutes later? Yeah. That's not real life. In fact, oftentimes a mom's water breaking is not the first thing that happens to start labor, and very frequently your midwife or doctor will want to break your water for you.

But is that a good idea? Let's talk about that today.

I love reviews. They encourage me so much, and this week the review I'm gonna read is from Lee JK 10. She said, “Love this podcast! I appreciated all aspects of this podcast as I'm preparing for my third birth. Lori gives such practical and statistical advice on birth for cesarean birth mamas. I've shared this podcast with my friends. I'm thankful that she is a Christian, sharing God's plan for birth.”

And Lee, I am thankful for you — not only that you left me a review, but that you took the time to share this podcast with your friends. There is nothing better than word of mouth. You know, we all listen to our friends a whole lot more than we listen to ads or commercials.

So thank you, thank you, thank you so much for sharing!

Okay, so today we're talking about whether or not you should let your birth attendant break your water. You know, a recurring theme in this podcast are all the things that are done to us as women that are against God's design for birth that end up backfiring at some place down the road. Many of the things that are routinely done in the maternity world lead to an end point of having to save you from the thing that they actually caused.

And today's topic, as you might have imagined, can be one of those things.

Your water is actually known as your amniotic fluid, and it's held inside of an amniotic sac — kind of like a balloon made of membranes filled with fluid that your baby floats in. That fluid cushions and protects your baby, keeping them safe from bumps and infection. Normally, it breaks on its own at some point, sometimes during labor or, rarely, right after birth — a baby “born in the caul.” It’s one of the most beautiful things to witness.

If it doesn’t break on its own, some providers use tools like a plastic hook or finger cot to tear a small hole in the membranes. It can be easy or hard, depending on the stage of labor. But it can also be very uncomfortable for the mom.
I’ve done it many, many times as a provider, but in retrospect, I really wish I hadn’t — most of the time I didn’t have much of a choice.

Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. It depends on how far along you are in labor.
There are two main reasons:
​* Augmentation: Trying to speed labor up once it’s started.
​* Induction: Trying to make labor start.
​

Pros:
It can sometimes speed up labor.

Cons:
Removes a protective barrier, increasing infection risk.
Raises risk of cord prolapse, a serious emergency.
Can intensify pain.
Starts the “24-hour clock” toward possible C-section.
Takes away the rare chance of a baby being born in the caul.