Recently someone told me that in their experience, contractions after your water breaks are way worse than contractions before your water breaks.
I wouldn't know, because both times my water has been broken from the very start of labor. And I will say all my contractions hurt horribly.
What was your experience?
Also... "water breaking" is such a weird phrase. But "amniotic sac rupturing" just sounds so medical.....
59 votes
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
With my first my water broke in the hospital after I’d been in labor for quite a while. They did get a lot more intense (and yes painful) after. But things progressed very quickly after that too.
My second labor was very fast anyway and water broke while I was pushing in the delivery room, so it would be hard to say the contractions got worse at that point!
pomelo / 5084 posts
@DesertDreams88: Waaaaay worse. I guess that was the real “start” of labor although I was already at the hospital and about 4 cm when it broke!!
pomelo / 5258 posts
I voted no real difference because I have no idea when my water broke with either delivery.
hostess / papaya / 10219 posts
I don’t know because both times they broke my water after my epidural but both times it sped things up tremendously.
pineapple / 12053 posts
My water breaking was the start of each labor for me! And they were both fast with the second being very intense!
kiwi / 656 posts
Mine were worse but it feels coincidental, because my water didn’t break till I was already in transition/ out of transition, so I was trying to ensure pushing contractions to get to the hospital.
cantaloupe / 6086 posts
Definitely worse, but I was roughly 5cm both times so it was also time for things to get real anyway. But before then, things hurt but were not super intense.
apricot / 370 posts
Way way worse.
My water broke before labor started with my first and contractions came fast and furious. I couldn't walk or talk through them before I was even 2cm.
With my second my contractions felt manageable until my doctor broke my water at 8 cm. Things got intense and painful really quick after that.
persimmon / 1481 posts
I was induced and right after starting Pitocin, I was having regular strong contractions but the literally did not hurt at all. They just felt like Braxton-Hicks. Then my water broke and it was really painful right away. I was thrust into transition just after water breaking and my labor was under 3 hours from the start of Pitocin.
nectarine / 2148 posts
I was induced with both my kids. I also had epidurals, but said it hurt worse after because it rapidly sped up my labor. I delivered both kids within 30 minutes of my water breaking.
pear / 1728 posts
They were so much worse once my water broke! My contractions were really mild at first - to the point where I wasn't sure I was in labor. Once my water broke my contractions were very painful and 2-3 minutes apart.
grapefruit / 4321 posts
With my daughter they went to break my water when I was 10 cms. They tried multiple times and my doc finally said it seemed like it was already broken. Best they could tell was that by the time my water broke the baby was already corckscrewed into the vaginal canal and blocked it from coming out because it all gushed out behind her. So it was essentially like my water was in there to “cushion” the contractions all along, and yet, my contractions were much more painful with her. With my son, my labor started with water breaking, and I needed pitocin to really get him going but still the contractions weren’t as bad as my first. So I’m the opposite I guess.
clementine / 874 posts
They broke my water after the epidural with my first, so I didn't really notice anything.
With my second, I got to the hospital in transition and they couldn't tell if my water was broken because of how far down she was. 20 minutes later on the next check, the doctor did figure out how to break my water around the baby's head and things went pretty quickly after that. Not sure if the water breaking really factored into that or if it just happened to be at the same time it ramped up.
kiwi / 625 posts
Fisrt time labor started with water breaking. Baby was sunny side up, and labor was - HELL NO - worst pain ever
Second labor, I didnt even think inwas remotely close and labored at home because contractions were so managable. Then my water broke and the pain got very intense, so we headed to the hospital. I had my baby 20 mins after my water broke - 17 mins of which was in my car 
persimmon / 1045 posts
Way, way worse after my waters broke both times. Like next level/transition crazy! First time I had been labouring for nearly ten hours then Baby was born an hour or so afterwards, and wth LO2 waters broke after four hours of labour but then Baby was born like ten mins later 
pomegranate / 3601 posts
This is interesting. My contractions hurt a lot more before my water broke with my first two. But my water basically broke right before it was time to push both times (and the second time LO2 was out something like 2 minutes later). With the twins my water broke before I had contractions so that was a little different.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
I don't think the water breaking had anything to do with the level of pain my contractions felt. It just coinciding with things progressing further and getting more real. Both times, as soon as my water broke, I felt a level of relief, because the amount of pressure I was feeling subsided a little bit. But then everything picked back up where it left off and continued to progress until baby was here.
pear / 1648 posts
The OB broke my water during my inductions - around 4cm with both girls. Immediate increase in the pain/frequency of contractions! It was way worse with DD2 and they actually had to give me a shot of terbutaline because baby couldn't handle the contractions (which made me feel a little better because I couldn't handle them either!) I have a high pain tolerance and I literally felt like I was going to die with DD2 - they were constant and absolutely excruciating. I definitely should have listened to the OB and gotten the epidural before they broke my water! On the bright side, I went from a 4 to a 10 in less than an hour...
apricot / 485 posts
I would say yes, they hurt worse after your water has been broken. My first was induced and we started pitocin and they came within an hour and broke my water and it made a big difference. I got an epidural by 2cm I was in so much pain. With my second I went into labor on my own and my contractions did not get as bad until about 6cm (and my water had not broken yet, that's when I checked into L&D and got my epidural).
nectarine / 2086 posts
Agree they were more intense! Doctor had to break mine after an hour of pushing. I begged her to hold off bc she said things would get more intense and I didn’t understand how I could handle more, but she was totally right!
pomegranate / 3192 posts
Waaaaay worse after my water broke! My second was almost born en caul and my contractions were manageable until the very end!
eggplant / 11716 posts
I don't know that I felt a difference. But both times my water was broken by the doctor right before pushing. Obviously pushing/ring of Fire hurt a lot, lol....so who's to say?
nectarine / 2951 posts
My water was broken both times by my OB and it really moved my labor along. Contractions got really close and intense. I felt a huge difference.
nectarine / 2821 posts
I think that’s what I have heard from many,many people, but for me the first time my water broke at some point in the hospital and it wasn’t a noticeable increase in pain (I just remember them being painful the whole time) and with my second, my water broke prematurely and I had to be induced when labor didn’t start!
pear / 1739 posts
LO1 labor before water breaking was a breeze. I thought it was just Braxton Hicks. Water broke and immediately felt the most intense pain. Couldn’t walk, couldn’t talk, could only squeal and writhe in pain.
LO2 water broke before labor started. Had 0 contractions for hours after my water broke. Ended up needing pitocin to get contractions going.
LO3 had painful contractions before water broke, got an epidural. They broke my water and instantly got hip labor. I tend to feel all my labor in my right hip for some reason.
persimmon / 1095 posts
My water broke before I was even in labor. Contractions started about two hours later. They were what I expected. At first very minor pain and they gradually got worse until we went to the hospital and I got that wonderful epidural. Not like my water broke and I was in immediate labor with terrible pain. My husband and I were more like "ugh...what do we do now?" lol
coffee bean / 43 posts
My water broke 2 days before I went into labor (first timer newb who had no idea that that occasional trickle was actually my water). So I have nothing to compare it to. But I did think it was worth mentioning to keep an eye out for that - nobody warned me!
coconut / 8861 posts
With my first, I had contractions before they broke my water long after being admitted to the hospital. With my second, my contractions were plenty strong during the epidural and pressure he put on my nethers as he broke the water bag while they were still waiting for antibiotics to do their thing before delivery.
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