After your waters break – adapted due to COVID
We would then monitor your baby’s heart rate on the CTG for a further half an hour.
After this time it may be possible to remove the monitor.
Your midwife/obstetrician can give you our leaflet on induction of labour, which will
explain this in more detail for you.
Waiting for 36-72 hours before starting labour
After we have assessed you and the baby, we recommend that you go home.
You will need to check your temperature every 4 hours (while you are awake). Come
back to the hospital if your temperature is 37.5
o
C or higher or if the fluid changes
colour or starts to smell different.
Having a bath or a shower at home will not increase the risk of infection but having
sexual intercourse may do.
If you do not go into labour within 36-72 hours, we would usually recommend that
you come back into hospital where we will start off your labour with a hormone drip.
We will also offer that you antibiotics to reduce the risk of infection in your baby.
These are given through a drip into a vein in your arm or hand.
If you need a hormone drip to start your labour, your baby will be monitored
continually with a CTG throughout your labour.
Reasons to wait
You may prefer to have as little medical treatment as possible.
You can stay at home whilst labour starts.
About 6 in 10 women will start labour within 24 hours of their waters breaking.
When this happens you should contact one of the midwifery led units, or the
Maternity Assessment Unit (John Radcliffe Hospital) for advice.
Waiting longer than 72 hours
95 women in every 100 will give birth within 4-5 days of their waters breaking
however the risk of infection in your womb increases significantly after 24 hours.
This is the reason we recommend planning an induction after 36 hours. However, if
you decide that you would like to wait for the start of your labour, we will arrange
extra outpatient check-ups for you and your baby. We recommend you continue to
take your temperature every 4 hours (while you are awake) and follow the ‘checks to
carry out at home’ instructions.
Checks to carry out at home
Signs that you may be developing an infection are a rise in your temperature above
37.5°C or if you unwell – especially if you are hot and feverish or cold and shivery.
Please contact us immediately if you develop any of these symptoms.